Vulcan XH558 Inspiring Young People: Engineering Day, Saturday 23 July

Not our usual engineering day as it was the day before we ground run on the Sunday. As we knew we were planning to taxy the aircraft we had a couple of gremlins to sort out. One being putting the finishing touches to a Powered Flying Control Unit (PFCU) repair where we found we had a seized motor so we dug into our spares and found a serviceable unit which we could refurbish and fit.

We also took the opportunity to give the jet a wash and brush up as our resident owl who sits on the tail had made a bit of a mess. Andy Merris was tasked with the job of clearing up the debris.

Saturday was a little different for the team as we had a guest engineer with us for the day, Marcus Cordran.

Marcus is the owner of a Buccaneer cockpit section based at South Yorkshire Air Museum which he is in the process of renovating.

His mum Carolyn is a volunteer engineer with XH558 and asked if Marcus could come along and work on a live aircraft. So, he spent the day with us and he was keen to get involved in every element of the work we were doing.

Marcus helped to top up the engine oil on number one engine in preparation for Sunday’s Vulcan XH558 Engine Ground-Run event.

He also assisted with checking and bleeding the brakes, and helped to bleed the main undercarriage leg under the supervision of Sam.

Marcus had a great day with us and we are all sure he has the makings of a great Aircraft engineer.

In his own words this is what he had to say:

“It was great to be out with the Vulcan. Everyone made me feel very welcome and I had loads of fun and learnt new things.

It was good time away from working on my Buccaneer cockpit on a bigger aircraft and helping to preserve this beautiful jet in such a good atmosphere.

It was interesting doing things like helping with the functional checks, and checking the tyre pressures all under the great supervision of Sam and the team.

Thank you to everyone who made this happen. It helps to motivate me to keep working hard at school to follow my dreams and I hope it inspires others to do this as well.”

And here’s what Mum had to say:

“As Marcus’s Mum it was fantastic to work alongside him with the ground crew. He is very passionate and enthusiastic about aircraft and has been fortunate enough to grow up watching XH558 flying, and since retirement. Indeed, his big sister Alana and he used to bake gingerbread Vulcans to raise funds during the fantastic 8 years of flying!

Marcus thoroughly enjoyed his time – he has been talking about becoming an engineer for a few years as a career. His dream is to be an aerospace engineer working with classic jets so this was an amazing and inspirational experience for him. Indeed, he is a junior ground crew member for running Buccaneers. That’s in-between restoring his Buccaneer S2 cockpit rig at a local museum, which needs reskinning in large areas and a lot of work. That’s his other ‘home’ during the school holidays and at the weekends! However, we’re slowly making good progress as we learn the skills.

Just like me, he’s happiest when he’s hands on working with aircraft and making a difference. Thank you!”

I think every one will agree this is one hard working young man who has a passion for heritage aircraft.