NOTE: RADIO CONTROL AIRPLANES ARE ON THE BOTTOM HALF OF THE PAGE.
The Avro Vulcan, like many early jets, had its origins in German aircraft design. The aircraft was
the first delta wing jet powered British bomber. During its career the Vulcan served to counter the threat of nuclear aggression from the Soviet Union.
The delta wing jet was designed as a high altitude heavy bomber, capable of delivering an atomic weapon, with a range of approximately 1,700 miles.
As part of their deployment, Vulcan bombers in Britain were kept in constant readiness to launch in 240 seconds or less. That was the estimated time they had to respond before detected Soviet missiles would hit where they were based.
Original prototypes were of a straight delta wing design. This was chosen for its ability to carry heavy loads, maneuverability, high altitude performance, and wide speed envelope.
The Avro Vulcan prototypes originally had winglets instead of the center vertical stabilizer that was used in the production design.
It eventually evolved to have the crank arrow type wing and extended nose section.
Future models evolved to carry electric counter measure (ECM) equipment in their tail cones, have in flight refueling capabilities, carry more ordnance, and utilize more powerful engines.
A cruise missile called the Blue Steel was developed especially for the bomber.
This enabled it to launch its ordnance about 100 miles from the target.
Tactics of the Avro Vulcan changed in response to improved enemy air defenses. New, more powerful Rolls Royce Olympus engines gave it
the power to perform low altitude missions in order to avoid enemy radar. Terrain tracking radar gave the aircraft additional low level flying abilities.
The Vulcan was deployed in the Falklands War in 1982.
Five aircraft took off from the RAF base on Ascension Island, in the mid Atlantic. They flew approximately 7,800 miles using in-flight refueling to attack Argentinian positions in the Falkland Islands and return to base. At the time it was the longest combat mission ever flown. Other missions included use as in flight refueling tankers and for reconnaissance.
Pictured above is the RC Avro Vulcan scratched built by Richard Phillips. It has a wingspan of 35.5" and a length of 23.5". Richard powers his
rc airplane with a CD ROM motor spinning a 8 x 4 pusher prop.
You can find plans at RC Groups by Ron who built an Avro Vulcan RC. It has a wingspan of 33". Ron used EPP foam as the primary building material. Powering it is an E-flite Park 300 motor. All up weight is between 10 and 13 oz.
There are posts at RC Groups by Cyclops 2 about his 5 foot wingspan rc Avro Vulcan foamy.
Green Air Designs has a rc Avro Vulcan for sale. It has a 3 foot wingspan, is driven by twin pusher props, is made from Depron, and weighs 15 oz.
RC Groups has a thread started by Barry R. Killick about a Jetmart rc Avro Vulcan that weighs 56 oz.
Aerofoam has a rc Avro Vulcan slope soarer for sale. Its wingspan is 34 1/2" and length is 18". Construction is from EPP and weight around 13 oz. It needs two channel elevon mixing.
Kit Cutters, Inc. has a rc Avro Vulcan EDF. It is profile scale with a wingspan of 52 1/2". Original plans for the rc airplane are from Flying Scale Models. The rc is powered by four Speed 400 type motors turning WeMoTec 480 fans.
The next two pictures below are of the amazing rc Avro Vulcan radio control airplane scratch built by David Johnson. It is 1/7 scale with a wingspan of 204". Power comes from two TJT 3000 turbine engines. All up weight is about 150 lbs.
Michael Upchurch wrote to tell us, "One of the senior Joliet club members had scratch built a rc Avro Vulcan. It was a large scale with 4 engines. They had pictures on the web site at one time, I see that they have removed them now, but I believe if you contact the club through there E-mail address pictures may still be available. This would be worth your time to check into, I am hard to impress, but this did just that!!!"
In answer to Michael's request, the next picture on this page is of Merlin Graves of the Joliet RC Club and his impressive Avro Vulcan rc. It has a wingspan of 136" and a length of 121". Power comes from four O.S. .91 engines turning Dynamax fans. All up weight is about 90 lbs. Merlin says that it has a top speed of 100+ mph!
The bottom picture on this page is of Graham Dorschell and his RC Avro Vulcan. Its wingspan is 5 1/2 feet and weight around 11 lbs. Twin Tornado pusher props provide the motivation for the scale rc airplane.
We would appreciate pictures of your Avro Vulcan rc. If you don't have a
rc Avro Vulcan of your own, perhaps you have seen one that you can tell us about. Email us.
Avro Vulcan
