The crowd at this year’s Leuchars Airshow may have been among the last in Britain to see an iconic bomber fly.
Some 40,000 people flocked to the Fife airbase and saw the Avro Vulcan XH558 take to the sky for its final airshow display of the season.
The charity that restored the delta-winged aircraft has just days to find the money needed to keep it in the air.
The 50-year-old XH558 is the last Vulcan in flying condition, but its fate will be determined on Thursday by the Vulcan to the Sky Trust, which may be forced to ground or sell it.
Trust chief executive officer Robert Pleming said, “By Thursday evening, we need to be sure that we will have £300,000 by the end of the week.”
As of Monday afternoon, the trust had raised 54% of its target.
Dr Pleming added, “If there is any doubt, she will follow Concorde into permanent retirement or be sold to a collector, almost certainly abroad. If we don’t make it, a heritage icon as popular as the Tower of London may never be seen by the British public again.”
He said the Cold War bomber was becoming an increasingly engaging part of technology and history education. “We have a great business plan for 2011 that will substantially improve our commercial funding, but the stark reality is that we look unlikely to survive beyond October.”
The trust’s business plan for 2010 required an income of around £2.5 million, but the recession has been blamed for the donations target being missed and a reduction in other areas of income.
If the shortfall can be plugged by the end of the week, it is intended next year to enhance the role the Vulcan plays in teaching science, technology, maths and Cold War history and inspiring young engineers of the future.
Since its flight at Leuchars on September 11, XH558 has flown only at a private event in Filton and a charity event for Help for Heroes in Coventry and has given a static display for Children in Need in Northamptonshire.More information on the plane, and about how well the appeal is going, is available here.