On Tuesday 3rd November Air Cadets and Staff from 1401 (Alfreton & Ripley) Squadron, travelled to Robin Hood Airport, formerly RAF Finningley, to meet a very special lady, Vulcan XH558 known as Vicky the Vulcan to the volunteers from ‘The Vulcan to the Sky Trust’,
The cadets were treated to a guided “under” wing tour around the aircraft. There were also talks about the aircraft’s history, technical abilities and an open forum for questions. It was an amazing opportunity to get up close and personal with the aircraft.
Along with the main attraction, there was a vast array of other displays and pieces of equipment to tell the story of the Vulcan from its prototype, the Avro 707 to the B.2 version. If this all wasn’t enough some of the cadets (and staff) attempted to land a Vulcan Bomber albeit on a simulator. This proved difficult for most people but even Martin Withers struggled to land it using the simulator, apparently.
The evening was well received by all of those in attendance, for some of the cadets this event was only their second parade making it a fantastic early experience in their Air Cadet career. It was great to meet the Vulcan to the Sky Trust volunteers who help run these evenings, providing such in depth knowledge and enthusiasm it’s clear they enjoy what they do and without them we wouldn’t have been able to have the experience.