AVRO VULCAN BMk2 XH558

The Avro Vulcan needs little introduction.  Britain's delta winged

nuclear bomber was conceived before the end of WW2, first flew in 1952 and entered service in 1956.  Midway through the first model (BMk1) the specification was upgraded to the BMk2 standard.  Increased wing span, upgraded engines and a tail bulge to house electronics were the most obvious changes initiated on the last 20 BMk1s.  XH558 was one of these hybrid Vulcans - starting off production as a BMk1 and being converted to a BMk2 on the production line.  She was the 12th BMk2 produced, but the first into RAF operational service in July 1960.

Lacking the full BMk2 specification, XH558 was spared the extreme stresses of Britain’s front line nuclear deterrent.  She spent most of her life in the Operational Conversion Unit before switching to conventional bombing, maritime reconnaissance and inflight refueling duties before her final role in the RAF’s display team.  Her display role survived the retirement of the last Vulcans in 1984 and she continued in RAF service until 1992.  After 15 years storage and restoration, XH558 was returned to flight in 2007 by the Vulcan to the Sky Trust.

Every single Avro Vulcan is unique due to the variety of roles and equipment installed.  This X-Plane simulation of the Vulcan has been modeled on XH558 during her RAF service. The X-Plane model and liveries show the main changes to XH558 during her life - see the liveries page for more details. 

The simulation features

1. •Flight dynamics modeled to Avro operating data
   

2. •Object model exterior incorporating detailed animation of control surfaces, speed-brakes undercarriage, crew hatch and windscreen wipers.
   

3. •3D virtual cockpit with plugin-free pop-up panels
   

4. •Avro avionics modeled with generic instruments for all X-Plane capable Vulcan guages
   

5. •JERA engine sounds sampled from Olympus engines
   

6. •Built for X-Plane version 9 (including 9.4) on Mac, PC and Linux