Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruffy
IMHO, it's an absolute travesty that she's being grounded for bureaucratic reasons rather than technical problems. The Vulcan is a piece of British engineering heritage and one (at least) deserves to be flying for as long as is possible.
FWIW, there's an online government petition trying to get the grounding decision reconsidered. More signatures are required. Please think about adding your name. Link |
It's got nothing to do with bureaurocracy.
From Vulcan to the Sky website...
Unfortunately, having evaluated a great many factors, the three expert companies on whom we depend – BAE Systems, Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group and Rolls-Royce, together known as the ‘technical authorities’ - have collectively decided to cease their support at the end of this flying season. Without that support, under Civil Aviation Authority regulations, we are prohibited from flying.
At the heart of their decision are two factors. First, although we are all confident that XH558 is currently as safe as any aircraft flying today, her structure and systems are already more than ten percent beyond the flying hours of any other Vulcan, so knowing where to look for any possible failure will become gradually more difficult. Second, maintaining her superb safety record requires expertise that is increasingly difficult to find. Our technical partners already bring specialists out of retirement specifically to work on XH558; a solution that is increasingly impractical for those businesses as the necessary skills and knowledge become distant in their collective memories.