Having had its new permit issued today, just before 6pm this evening Vulcan XH558 taxied on to the runway at RAF Waddington, in Lincolnshire, and took off for Yeovilton, in Somerset, where, tomorrow, aviation fans should be fortunate enough to be able to see the Vulcan take part in the Royal Naval Aviation Show.
Unfortunately, enthusiasts, many of whom only attended the RAF Waddington Airshow last Saturday to see Vulcan XH558 fly in the display, were only told of it's withdrawal after paying for their tickets and entering the airbase last Saturday morning.
It appears the owners, Vulcan to the Sky Trust, only became aware of the need for a new permit to be renewed prior to it's flight on the Saturday the day before.
Although the trust has apologised for the error it has still left a bad taste in the mouth of the many fans who attended the Waddington Airshow.
In an attempt to make amends the trust has published an account of events leading up to the unfortunate affair on their website, and have also set-up a Twitter account in order to keep fans updated in a much more timely manner - twitter.com/xh558. The website can be found at www.vulcantothesky.org.
Hopefully, a repeat of this permit fiasco will not occur again next year.
