Trust to be Transformed into smaller, leaner organisation with XH558 at its heart
Vulcan to the Sky Trust chief executive Dr. Robert Pleming explains some important changes.
In August 2016, we were informed that Doncaster Sheffield Airport was in need of additional cargo handling space and that as a result, the Trust would need to move its operations from Hangar 3 to a smaller space in nearby Hangar 1. Following a period of protracted negotiations, it has been agreed that this will happen around the end of 2016. We have decided to take this opportunity to scale-back our activities.
By cutting our financial commitments, we are aiming to ensure a sustainable future, but this does mean that in the short term, we are urgently in need of funds to ensure that XH558 continues to be maintained in superb ground-running condition, for all to enjoy.
We have now successfully completed a trial taxi run and are looking forward to many more runs with you, her supporters, nearby to enjoy the sounds, smells and excitement of a Vulcan accelerating hard along the runway.
I am sure you are asking why this transformation is necessary. Since the final flight, we have welcomed more than 18,000 people to Hangar 3, and hosted many spectacular events. However the truth is that whilst some of our revenue streams, for example the Vulcan Experience tours and our retail sales, have exceeded expectations, others, such as the renting-out of space in the hangar, have not met targets.
The move to Hangar 1 gives us an opportunity to reshape the Trust around reduced financial commitments, across almost every area of our operations except the expert care we lavish on XH558.
The short term challenge is that the lack of facilities in Hangar 1 will make it difficult to continue our cash-generating businesses until we have the funds to invest. Adding the costs of physically moving everything from an environment where we are well-established, means that the need for immediate funding is critical.
We intend to cut the Trust’s financial commitments by around 30%, putting the Trust on to a more sustainable basis for the future. For the time being, all our resources will now be focussed on XH558.
The Trust has come a long way since the return-to-flight of XH558 began 20 years ago. We have completed a complex technical restoration that many people said would be impossible, we have thrilled more than two million people a year with a wonderful aircraft, and for eight spectacular seasons, we have flown her with a flawless safety record. The award-winning team that made it happen has become widely regarded as setting the benchmark for the restoration, maintenance and operation of heritage jets.
As you know, our next objective was to achieve the same success with another iconic aircraft, the record-breaking Canberra WK163. Unfortunately, the ambition to return this remarkable example of British technical and aviation achievement to the skies has so far attracted less support than we had anticipated.
As part of the Transformation of Vulcan to the Sky Trust, we will set up the Canberra Restoration Project as an independent activity with its own fund-raising campaign, but this means that our ambition to return WK163 to British airshows in time for the RAF Centenary celebrations in 2018 may not now be possible.
Only when her care is secured for the long-term will we continue to develop Vulcan to the Sky Trust into a world-class guardian of British jet-age aircraft. If you are able to help make this transformation happen, you will be helping to ensure the protection and maintenance of Vulcan XH558 into the future. We have put together a series of impressive rewards for those who do help, which you can choose from the following link
https://mxm.mxmfb.com/rsps/m/w7Y2r93q6j9TRvVtfefcqwvmCkOu1J2veWx1XHV7HJw 
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