Avro Vulcan XL426

Vulcan Restoration Trust

Company type	Registered charity
Industry	Aviation preservation
Founded	1993
Headquarters	Southend-on-Sea , United Kingdom
Area served	United Kingdom
Products	Preservation and operation of Avro Vulcan XL426 taxi runs
Website	vulcantrust.org

Avro Vulcan XL426 ranks among the trio of surviving Avro Vulcan strategic bombers capable of taxiing, alongside XH558 and XM655. Since 1993, it has been under the care of the Vulcan Restoration Trust, a registered charity located in Southend-on-Sea, and regularly performs taxi runs at London Southend Airport. This aircraft was active in the Royal Air Force fleet from 1962 until 1986.

History

XL426 was included in the initial order of 24 Avro Vulcans placed by the Royal Air Force on 25 February 1956. Constructed at Avro’s facilities in Chadderton and Woodford, it was the 44th unit out of a total of 88 Vulcan B2s produced. Its maiden flight took place on 23 August 1962 at Woodford Aerodrome, lasting one hour and thirty-five minutes.

Royal Air Force

The aircraft was commissioned into RAF service on 13 September 1962, initially joining 83 Squadron. The nose bore the emblem of senior RAF commander John Slessor. On 10 September 1963, Slessor piloted XL426 from CFB Goose Bay in Labrador, Canada back to RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, England within 4 hours and 5 minutes, setting an unofficial pre-Concorde Atlantic crossing speed benchmark.

Starting April 1964, following a reorganisation of squadron aircraft assignments, XL426 was rotated among all squadrons stationed at RAF Scampton, collectively termed the "Scampton Wing", a practice that continued until January 1971. Until 1969, XL426 was armed with the nuclear-capable Blue Steel missile; thereafter, the nuclear deterrent responsibility shifted to the Royal Navy.

Between 1971 and 1981, XL426 primarily operated with 617 Squadron, with brief service periods in both 27 Squadron and the 230 Operational Conversion Unit. It was the last Vulcan to receive a major overhaul at RAF St Athan in 1981, being the 298th to do so. Later that year, it was reassigned to 50 Squadron based at RAF Waddington, which became the final operational Vulcan squadron. Around this period, XL426 received its present green and grey camouflage paint scheme. On 12 October 1982, XL426 participated in the Falklands Victory Flypast over London despite not having been deployed during the actual conflict. After Vulcans were retired in 1984, this aircraft was converted for use as a crew training platform.

File:Avro 698 Vulcan B2, UK - Air Force AN1358039.jpg

XL426 flying with the RAF Vulcan Display Flight in May 1985

From 1984 through to 1986, XL426 performed numerous display flights as part of the Vulcan Historical Flight (later renamed the Vulcan Display Flight). However, due to impending maintenance requirements as its airframe hours approached their limit before a major overhaul was necessary, its display duties were handed over to XH558, which had been salvaged from a fire-damaged storage site at RAF Marham. The final display flight for XL426 occurred on 14 June 1986.

After service

In the summer of 1986, XL426 was placed on the market. Although a proposed transaction with a French group fell through, the aircraft was ultimately acquired by entrepreneur Roy Jacobsen from Croydon, who had previously purchased another Vulcan, XM655, in 1984. The aircraft’s final flight took place on 19 December 1986 when it was delivered to London Southend Airport. It was subsequently registered as a civilian plane on 7 July 1987 under the registration G-VJET. This move to Southend was facilitated by a provisional arrangement with HeavyLift Aircraft Engineering, a local maintenance firm tasked with servicing the plane. Jacobsen intended to operate both Vulcans for display flights and established the Vulcan Memorial Flight organisation. However, due to insufficient funding, XL426 remained inactive at London Southend Airport, while XM655 was similarly grounded at Wellesbourne Mountford Airfield in Warwickshire. By the time of its last sortie, XL426 had completed 1,891 flights accumulating a total of 6,236 hours in the air. Initially, XL426 was stationed on Southend’s main apron and later moved to adjacent grass near the terminal, visible to the public. In 1991, it was relocated to the northern extremity of a disused runway at the airport, removing it from public view.

Supporters formed the Vulcan Memorial Flight Supporters Club (VMFSC) in March 1990 to assist Jacobsen’s vision and aid in the aircraft’s upkeep. Ownership of XL426 transferred to this group in July 1993; it subsequently rebranded as the Vulcan Restoration Trust (VRT), achieving registered charity status in 1996. The VRT adopted a secondary objective to maintain XL426 as a taxi-only display aircraft should full airworthiness prove unattainable.

The aircraft underwent significant maintenance and received its first repaint since RAF service in 1994. In 1995, it was relocated to a specially constructed pan adjacent to the railway line on the airport’s eastern boundary, increasing its visibility. On 7 October that year, XL426 conducted its inaugural taxi run since arriving at Southend. By spring 1997, it performed its first public high-speed taxi demonstration on the main runway during an open weekend event. Ultimately, the VRT abandoned efforts to restore full flight capability and concentrated on preserving the aircraft’s taxiable condition.

Between 1995 and 2005, XL426 regularly participated in taxi displays during Southend Airport open days. The aircraft underwent another repaint between 2000 and 2001. In August 2005, public taxi runs were halted by VRT to carry out extensive maintenance under the "Return to Power" initiative. Taxi operations resumed in 2006 and again in October 2008. Between 2011 and 2014, XL426 received another repaint that restored previously obscured squadron insignia for Squadrons 617 and 50 on opposing sides of its tail fin. Subsequent taxi runs took place in April 2012, July 2014, June 2015, July 2016, December 2017, December 2018, November 2019 (marking its first public taxi run since suspension in 2005), December 2020, June 2021, September 2021, May 2022 and for its sixtieth anniversary in August of that year. In May of 2023, XL426 began conducting more frequent taxi runs often referred to as "Twilight Taxi-Runs,"

• Royal Air Force
  • No. 27 Squadron RAF
  • No. 50 Squadron RAF
  • No. 83 Squadron RAF
  • No. 617 Squadron RAF
  • No. 230 Operational Conversion Unit RAF
  • Vulcan Display Flight
• Vulcan Restoration Trust

External links

• Official Facebook page of the Vulcan Restoration Trust
• Official website of the Vulcan Restoration Trust