It is reported that the Vulcan To The Sky project at Bruntingthorpe airfield in England has been granted a "Stage One pass" from the Heritage Foundation for funding for its goal to return one of the last surviving Avro Vulcan B.2 aircraft to flying condition, which would make it the only flyable Vulcan. The Foundation has set aside a grant of around 2 million pounds sterling for the restoration project; in order to pass Stage 2 and secure the grant, Vulcan To The Sky must raise a matching 2 million pounds. Two thirds of this amount has already been raised.
Until Desert Storm, the Vulcan held the record for the longest distance bombing raid, 7,700 miles round trip from the Ascension Islands to the Falklands during the Falklands Islands War in 1982. When it entered service in 1956, it could outfly and outmaneuver any fighter in service at its operational altitude.
Vulcan photo courtesy of Thunder & Lightnings UK. This site makes some interesting reading. I particularly refer you to the English Electric Lightning and the British Aircraft Corporation TSR.2, stunningly advanced aircraft for their day that show just how good the British aircraft industry was until it was stabbed in the back by the British government. The Lightning had supercruise capability in 1954, held many time-to-altitude records with its 50,000 feet per minute climb rate, and could beat a 20-years-younger F-15 to 30,000 feet despite an almost 2:1 disadvantage in thrust/weight ratio.
