Government Response

The Government responded to this petition on Monday 16th November 2015

The Government recognises the passion of those who wish to see the Vulcan continue to fly. The choice to retire XH558 has been taken due to withdrawal of technical support necessary for its operation.

In accordance with British Civil Airworthiness Requirements Chapter A8-25 criteria, the Vulcan is classified as “Complex” type aircraft, and was accepted by Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for the issue of a Permit to Fly on this basis.

In accordance with A8-25 requirements, the CAA requires continued airworthiness design support for the operation of the aircraft. This support has to be subject to a formal agreement between the parties involved, the CAA approved A8-25 organisation and the supporting design organisation.

The continued approval to operate the aircraft is based on the continuation of the design support.

We understand that the organisations involved in providing operational and technical support have collectively decided to withdraw their support beyond 2015. The A8-25 requirements for the “Complex” aircraft type outlined above will therefore no longer be met.

In response to concerns expressed by many people, the aircraft’s owner, the Vulcan to the Sky Trust, has confirmed publicly that the maintenance of the aircraft is extremely expensive, with many parts essentially having to be hand-made as the original tooling is no longer available. The aircraft’s Olympus 200-series engines are no longer manufactured, and the Trust has been reliant upon a dwindling supply of unused engines. Critical spare parts are also running out. The Trust has been able to continue to fly XH558 for longer than expected due to the generosity of not only the public but also the original equipment manufacturers.

As the Trust acknowledges, XH558’s structure and systems are already more than ten percent beyond the flying hours of any other Vulcan (all of which had been retired by the mid-1980s), so knowing where to look for any possible failure is becoming more difficult.

In addition, engineers with the expertise and skills needed to maintain the aircraft in airworthy condition are increasingly difficult to find, with some former technical staff having had to be brought in out of retirement. The skills issue is likely to become particularly acute as the aircraft’s systems and engines age and require a considerable amount of additional (and costly) inspection and assessment.

It should also be recognised that during the operational use of the Vulcan there were a significant number of air accidents, some involving loss of life.

Ultimately, the decision to withdraw operational support for XH558 has been made for commercial reasons by the technical support companies concerned, and is not one in which the UK Government has any place to intervene.

Department for Transport