Vulcan back in action

Avro Vulcan XH558's first three airshow appearances of 2009 proved that the “Vulcan effect” on attendances is as strong as ever. Its first appearance was at the RAF Cosford Air Show on June 14, where the police had to close motorway slip-roads after the on-site car parks reached their 18,000-space capacity. A record total of 58,000 attended the show, but that figure was dwarfed by the crowd at the Royal Netherlands Air Force display at Volkel in Holland on June 19–20, where 310,000 people, including the Dutch Minister of Defence, showed up to see XH558's first overseas displays since it returned to the air in October 2007.

With ex-'Black Buck' raid Vulcan pilot Martin Withers in command, and Kevin Rumens in the right-hand seat, the V-bomber flew in formation with Leeuwarden-based Hawker Hunter F.6A G-KAXF/N-294 and an F-16. An even more spectacular formation had been flown the previous Saturday at RAF Brize Norton's families' day, when XH558 was escorted by two of the resident 101 Sqn Vickers VC10 tankers.

We've picked just one of the many superb YouTube videos of the Vulcan at Volkel (Holland) on June 19–20 2009.



Choose from more videos of the Vulcan at Volkel (YouTube play list):

And from RAF Brize Norton's Families' Day: XH558 escorted by two 101 Sqn Vickers VC10 tankers.