TheEye confesses to be a big fan of the Vulcan bomber.

The size, the noise and the sheer elegance of this British designed and built veteran of the Cold War is breathtaking. The delta-winged Avro Vulcan first flew in 1952 and the one remaining air-worthy example is XH558 “City of London”. When they first retired from active service, the Vulcan Preservation Society was formed to XH558 flying. They were only successful for a few years before increasing insurance and maintenance costs grounded her.

After further fundraising and hard work XH558 flew again in July 2008.

A Vulcan bomber is just over 97 feet from nose to tail and has a wing-span of over 99 feet. When Vulcans were used to bomb Argentine forces around Port Stanley runway in the Falkland Islands in the 1982 war, it was suggested that the sight of this massive aircraft caused some Argentinians to question the size of British aircraft carriers, as it was considered impossible that they could have flown from Ascension Island almost 8,000 miles away.

Brown’s recession is now threatening the corporate sponsorship which provides over £1.5m per year to keep XH558 flying. Around £1m is needed urgently and an “09 Pledge Campaign” has been set up to raise the funds. Many have made their pledge to keep this iconic British aircraft appearing at air shows; please consider pledging your support as well.