Visit the Vulcan Day - Southend this Sunday

[VRT Southend Vulcan]

Just a quick reminder that the VRT is holding its first Visit the Vulcan Day this Sunday, 22 April, at London Southend Airport. Please come along and see us if you can and help with our fund raising efforts. Full details of the day are below.

Our Visit the Vulcan Days are great days out for aircraft enthusiasts and the general public alike. With the RAF celebrating its centenary, our April Visit the Vulcan Day will feature a strong 'RAF 100' theme in which XL426 will take centre stage. We will be giving guided tours of XL426 and for an additional fee you can climb inside the Vulcan’s cockpit. We will also have a rare WE177B nuclear bomb on display as well as two examples of the 1,000 lb HE bombs of the type the Vulcan dropped on Port Stanley during the 1982 Falklands Conflict.

To help us celebrate the RAF centenary, we are delighted that XL426 will be joined by a full-size replica Spitfire complete with WW2 RAF re-enactors as well as a full-size replica DH2, this complete with accompanying WW1 RFC re-enactors. We couldn't fit in any more full-size aircraft to help tell the RAF story but Southend Radio Control Model Flying Club is instead bringing along 10 of its large models of different RAF types to fill-in the gaps.

To keep you refreshed we have a burger and hotdog stall and a doughnut and ice cream kiosk. There will also be a micro brewery stall to help you wash it all down! The local Thundersley Brass Concert Band will be keeping everyone entertained throughout the day.

The Visit the Vulcan Day is being held on the apron outside Hangar 5 at London Southend Airport, which is XL426's place of residence until we confirm a new, permanent site for the Vulcan with the airport's management. There is free car parking available - please follow the direction signs on the day. For those using SatNav, please enter post code SS2 6YF.

Gates open at 10.00 am and last admission is at 4.00 pm. Entry is just £5.00 for adults with under-16s admitted free. There is an additional charge of £4.50 for cockpit visits which applies to all. Cockpit visits take place every 15 minutes with timed tickets available. This means you can buy your ticket but don't need to stand in a queue. You can look at the other exhibits, or sit down and relax, until your cockpit visit time comes round. The small size of the Vulcan's cockpit means we're limited on the numbers we can get into it during the course of a day, so we recommend you arrive before 2.00 pm to be sure of getting in the cockpit and before 11.30 am if you don't want to wait too long.

If you just want to come to come along and see XL426 and take photos, please arrive at any time.

All tickets are available on the day - there are no advance ticket sales for our Visit the Vulcan Days.

If you can't make 22 April, we will be holding three further Visit the Vulcan Days in 2018 on 17 June (Fathers' Day), 19 August and 16 September.

Rich

Richard Clarkson
Trustee

Vulcan Restoration Trust
Registered Charity No 1058111