Last updated at 12:54, Saturday, 01 August 2009

YOU’LL feel the earth move in Whitehaven when a massive Vulcan bomber makes its presence felt as part of an air and sea spectacular at the festival. Securing the Vulcan is a major coup for Whitehaven Food Festival organisers. It’s 111ft wide, 105ft long and 27ft high (the size of a Boeing 737). The performance will last for about eight minutes.

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“It is majestic, it has got presence, it’s got the noise, it looks stunningly beautiful and it will make the earth tremble,” said Mike Pollitt, operations director for The Vulcan to the Sky trust.

In its heyday it could fly as high as 60,000ft, at just under the speed of sound.

Gerard Richardson, chief executive of the Festival Company, said: “This is the big daddy of all the aircraft. It’s the rarest aircraft in the world and to see it fly over Whitehaven will be very special. We will never see it fly over these skies again.”

Sellafield Ltd agreed to donate £20,000 for the festival and the money is being used on bringing The Vulcan.

Mr Richardson said: “We are absolutely delighted to have a financial backing from Sellafield Ltd. Sponsors have been very hard to come by this year, much harder than in the past, and having the Vulcan was going to mean we’d have to cut back on the fireworks and other areas, but thankfully Sellafield Ltd stepped in with £20,000 in sponsorship, which means we can have our cake and eat it!”

Sellafield stakeholder director Iain Irving said: “The festival is an important event for Whitehaven, it brings in tourists and visitors from far and wide at a time when local businesses need the trade more than ever.”

The Avro Vulcan XH558 was the twelfth Vulcan B2 built. It first flew in 1960 and was delivered to RAF Waddington on 1 July 1960. Almost immediately the aircraft moved with 230 OCU to RAF Finningley where the aircraft spent some eight years before returning to Lincolnshire in 1968. The aircraft was converted to a B2 Maritime Radar Reconnaissance in 1973 and subsequently to the air-to-air refuelling variant K2 in 1982. It was returned to B2 configuration in 1985 and was the last Vulcan in service. From 1986 to 1992, it was the RAF’s display aircraft.Upon leaving service with the Royal Air Force, the aircraft was bought by C. Walton Limited and delivered by air to Bruntingthorpe on March 23 1993. The aircraft was kept in a serviceable condition and undertook fast taxi runs along Bruntingthorpe’s main runway.The Vulcan Operating Company the engineering arm of Vulcan to the Sky Trust, owners of XH558, worked to return Vulcan XH558 to flight, with the first test flight taking place on October 18 2007. They were supported by the “Vulcan to the Sky” club, a supporters and fundraising organization. During this time there were a couple of times where the project nearly stalled, however she continues to fly thanks to the generous donations by the general public earning her the name of the ‘people’s Vulcan’.The Vulcan is powered by 4 Bristol Siddeley Olympus turbojets each producing 17,000 lb of static thrust. It has a massive wing area of 3,964sq ft and a wingspan of 111ft. and a length of 105ft 6in.

THE Blades are probably the best-known civilian aerobatic team in the UK. They were formed in 2005 by the Blades parent company 2Excel aviation Ltd. Gathering together a group of individuals (each an acknowledged expert in their field), they created the UK’s only full-time civilian formation display team and the world’s only globally-accredited aerobatic airline.

The Blades first shot to fame when they appeared at the Beckhams ‘full length and fabulous’ ball. Since then their displays have been watched by over 18 million people at over 150 locations in the UK, Europe and the Middle East.Display highlights for the team have included the Cannes Festival, Her Majesty The Queen’s 80th birthday celebrations at Balmoral, the opening of the Bahrain Financial Harbour and the Bahrain Formula 1 Grand Prix.

RED BULL DISPLAY TEAM (BLADES)

The Blades fly four of the Extra 300LP a two seat aerobatic monoplane designed to withstand +/- 10 G, it is capable of over 200 knots and has a range of 350 miles. There are actually five pilots on the Blades team – Myles Garland (Blade 1), Dave Slow (Blade 2), Andy Evans (Blade 2/3), Andy Offer OBE (Blade 3) and Mark Cutmore (Blade 4). As you can see Andy Evans can fly in two different positions, giving other members of the team a chance for a day off should the need arise.

All of the members of the team are ex-Red Arrows pilots and their influence in the Blades display can clearly be seen.

HUNTER HAWKER

THE Hunter Hawker will be another prestigious visitor to the maritime festival. The prototype Hunter first flew on July 20 1951 and went on to enter RAF service in 1954. It was the RAF’s frontline fighter aircraft in the 1950’s and early 60s before being replaced by the English Electric Lightning.

Two seat trainer versions of the Hunter the T.7 and T.8 remained in service with the RAF and RN in secondary and training roles until the early 1990s. In December 2006, the Hunter re-entered RAF service with two ex-Swiss examples leased from a private operator to act as targets for a surface-to-air missile program. They were allocated RAF serials ZZ190 and ZZ191. This was followed by a two-seat aircraft in April 2007, which reverted to its original RAF serial XF995.

The Hunter displaying at Whitehaven is XE601: she was built as an F.6 model in 1956 and was later converted to FGA.9 standard in 1965. In 1966 she got posted to the Aeroplane & Armament Experimental Establishment at Boscombe Down. She was retired from service in 1999 and placed in the Boscombe Down Museum, in 2005 she was acquired by Skyblue Aviation to whom she belongs today. As a FGA.9 model she is a ‘blue note’ Hunter – this describes the unique noise the aircraft makes when air passes over the gun barrels on the front of the jet.

The pilot is Andy Foan who has a wealth of flying experience behind him from vintage aircraft to airliners to fast jets.

THE VIPER JET TEAM

THE Viper Jet Team are a new display team for 2009. The team flies four BAC 167 Strikemaster jet aircraft. The aircraft is powered by a Viper turbojet hence the name of the team. The Strikemaster is an up-ratedJet Provost a solo example of which is also displaying this weekend.146 Strikemasters were built between 1967 and 1984 and wereoperated by air arms all over the world though the primary users wereSaudi Arabia, Ecuador, New Zealand and Kenya.The BAC 167 Strikemaster is essentially an armed version of the Jet ProvostT Mk 5; the Strikemaster was modified with an up-rated engine, winghardpoints, a strengthened airframe, new communication and navigationgear, up-rated ejection seats, a revised fuel system, and shortened landinggear.The Strikemaster is powered by a Rolls Royce Viper turbojet delivering 3,410lbof thrust. It’s capable of 520mph and can climb at over 5,000ft per minute.Range is 900 miles and it can fly at up to 40,000ft.

JET PROVOST FLYING CLUB

THE Jet Provost T.3 XM479 was delivered to the RAF in 1961. It remained in service for the next 17 years until it was finally retired in 1993. It was then sold into civilian hands in 1994 and was finally acquired by the Newcastle Jet Provost company in 1995. The aircraft will be flown by Neil Mccarthy. who is in his first year as adisplay pilot.The Jet Provost is powered by a Rolls Royce Viper MK102 turbojetdelivering 1750 lb of thrust and is capable of nearly 400 knots. It hasa maximum G loading of +6 but is also capable of – 2.5G . Theprototype Jet Provost was first flown on June 16 1954 and the lastone came off the production line in 1967.

KATHLEEN & MAY

THE ARRIVAL of the tall ship Kathleen & May will be one of the highlights of the town’s summer extravaganza. And with the historic old schooner now up for sale, chief executive Mr Richardson hopes a way might be found to give it a permanent home in the harbour as part of the Energy Coast masterplan. “There is no doubt that the Kathleen & May will be a big drawing card. It’s been proved at past maritime festivals just what a stand-alone attraction it is to have one or more tall ships in the harbour,” said Mr Richardson. “This is an absolutely beautiful vessel, not a replica but an original trader built in 1900. She’s been once before (in 2005) but only for a short time. It’s going to be a joy to have such an historic ship back in our port. Besides giving visitors the chance to go on board, just having a tall ship in the harbour provides a great atmosphere.” Mr Richardson hopes to strike a deal with her owner Steve Clarke to bring in wine and food on the vessel direct from France specially for the festival. Mr Richardson said: “Mr Clarke already has a similar import agreement between France and Ireland. There could be a massive opportunity here, but we’re thinking first of the festival, it would tie in nicely indeed with the Continental market which will be taking place during that week.” The Kathleen & May is currently up for sale and Mr Richardson hopes that West Cumbria’s regeneration partners might take a look at it with a view to a possible purchase. “The idea of having a tall ship as a permanent fixture in Whitehaven Harbour has been thought about in vain for a while now, but is there any reason why it could not be linked into the Energy Coast masterplan? We hear £2 billion being made available for a few big projects but when you are talking about West Cumbria being Britain’s Energy Coast I can’t think of anything more fitting than this.”“Tall ships coming into Whitehaven enriches people’s lives and gives them enjoyment – it’s proven.” The Kathleen & May is the only wooden triple-masted sailing schooner still in existence, one of only 60 famous tall ships on the UK’s national register of historic vessels (her neighbours include the Cutty Sark and HMS Victory).

This beautiful and graceful tall ship has been completely and sympathetically renovated to its original 1900 specification.The Kathleen and May was built in 1900 at Ferguson and Baird’s yard at Connah’s Quay near Chester, for Captain John Coppack of Coppack Bros. and Co., the town’s leading shipowners. The schooner was launched in April 1900 and named after the Captain’s two daughters, the Lizzie May. She was a three-masted topsail schooner of 136 tons gross (99 tons net), with a registered length of 98.4ft, breadth of 23.2ft and a hold 10.1ft deep. She was planked with 3-inch thick seasoned pitch pine, laid on heavy doubled frames of oak and fastened with treenails and iron bolts. In her first eight years she sailed nearly 40,000 miles, carrying various cargoes of over 24,000 tons from Oban to the Channel Islands, London and Ireland.

TRADING KETCH IRENE

BUILT by F J Carver and Son in Bridgwater, 1907, Irene is the last of the West Country Trading ketches still under sail. She sailed for 50 years as part of the fleet of British Merchant vessels. through two world wars and a Great Recession.

For many years she belonged to the Bridgwater Brick and Tile Company plying the waters of the Bristol Channel between Bridgwater and Ireland, carrying cargoes of tiles and bricks. Later she was used for transporting coal and clay. She retired from her trading service in 1960 and then changed hands a few times before being converted to a house boat and then restored to her former glory over 20 years. Following the restoration Irene has been used for many commercials, film and fashion shoots. Irene played the part of “The Flying Dutchman” in the epic film biography of the composer Richard Wagner.

JET SKI DISPLAY

XTREME action will be at the festival for the first time. You will find them by the slipway in between the Sugar Tongue and Lime Tongue. Fast, furious and entertainment! See www.xtremeaction.co.uk

First published at 15:44, Wednesday, 29 July 2009
Published by http://www.whitehaven-news.co.uk