There are many people, including me it has to be said, who haven't been especially complimentary about some elements of the Vulcan To The Sky campaign. It's never really been about the aircraft per se for it is undoubtedly an impressive sight and clearly popular with the general public and many enthusiasts alike. What grates for some is the lurch from one financial crisis to another, issues with how VTTST communicates with its many supporters, the language used in some of the promotional materials; an overall sense that we just don't seem to have been able to enjoy the aircraft quite simply for what it is.
So, with the recent news that the latest drive to keep the project above water, and hopefully the aircraft in the air, had achieved its short term goal, it felt like the right time to contact VTTST. It seems quite bizarre really that GAR hasn't written a dedicated piece on the Vulcan so the aim was to see where the project stands, find out what the future may hold and address some of those concerns most frequently voiced by people both wholly for or indeed reticent about the project. A couple of emails later and here we are, about to interview the man who has been at the helm through all of the highs and the lows; Dr Robert Pleming.
The first thing to state quite clearly is that, crisis appeal aside which we'll come to shortly, the 2010 airshow season proved a great success for the Vulcan.
"We flew about 20 sorties and she displayed in front of something like two million people," says Robert.
"Other than a technical problem at Farnborough she was incredibly reliable once again and the only really unfortunate weekend was where she was stuck on the ground at Bournemouth because of the weather. We had a number of shows planned that weekend - Bournemouth itself, Shoreham, Sywell and Silverstone - so to miss those was hugely frustrating.
"We also managed to reduce our operating costs and were 10% cheaper than expected, so overall I was very happy with how the season went."
So, on that basis, some people might be wondering why it was that VTTST was forced to launch a month long crisis appeal which needed to raise £400,000 in October. It's a valid question and one that Robert is happy to address.
"There was a fairly massive marketing investment this year and, quite frankly, the benefit of doing that failed to materialise.
"We went in to advertising in a big way, including with magazines such as Saga and in the motoring sector and also worked especially hard to attract sponsors of all sizes to come on board, taking a chalet at Farnborough for a day, as an example.
"We haven't seen much evidence that the advertising has really done us any good from a funding perspective but we are still discussing sponsorship with a number of parties. Unfortunately these things do take a long time to come to fruition, if indeed they do at all."
On reaching the end of the airshow season therefore, VTTST, having not reaped the benefits of its marketing attempts, was left with a big problem.
"In terms of available cash it was looking fairly disastrous in all honesty which was why we had to go back to emphasising that it was an appeal for funding. We basically had one month to raise the £400,000, and naturally I'm delighted that we did."
Robert confirms that much of this money was raised by way of small donations, albeit in great quantity, but, having essentially launched crisis appeals in each of the last five years, he and his team are keen to break out of what seems to be a vicious circle.
"We were very concerned this time that the credibility of running another such appeal wouldn't be especially high. Having said that, we have an incredibly loyal number of supporters, with 40,000 on the database at present, and it would obviously only take £10 from each them to raise that figure.
"We are working very hard to get away from the situation we found ourselves in during October however. We want to broaden the revenue streams by offering new merchandise, including some much higher value items, and we also need to work on the communication aspect of what we do."
This of course has been a recurrent theme, even for the project's many supporters, and the way in which VTTST communicates and how it goes about doing so, will be changing.
"One of the problems we've had in the past is that to send a postal mailout to our database actually costs in the region of £15,000. I know there has been some criticism regarding the frequency with which we've communicated with supporters but to be honest if we do it by post we just can't afford to do it very often.
"One of the big things we're pushing now is for people to sign up to our e-newsletter and make sure they are on the distribution list for that. Sending updates out this way is virtually free and while we are aware that some of our supporters may not have access to email or the internet, we want to encourage them to ask a friend or relative to sign up for them so that they can still remain in touch. This is a much more effective plan and means we can update people on an almost weekly basis."
It's important, I think, to emphasise that Robert does understand people's frustrations with the crisis appeal cycle and sympathises with those who have perhaps begun to doubt the long term feasibility of the project.
"I do and, looking back to 2003 / 2004 when we were putting our business plans together, we worked on an assumption that around 80% of our revenue would be based on sponsorship income. Now, we didn't make that figure up, that figure was based on expert advice from sponsorship professionals who told us we could achieve it. The fact of the matter is that our revenue from sponsorship has actually been nearer something like 20-30% of the total so we have had to explore other funding avenues such as donations, merchandise and licensing."
It is encouraging of course to hear that the sponsorship avenues do at least remain open but how confident is Robert that something significant may result from the ongoing discussions? There is also one train of thought that the Vulcan is simply too environmentally unfriendly in this day and age for potential sponsors. Is this a valid concern I wonder?
"The first thing I would say is that we haven't been completely bereft of sponsorship. Over the past two or three years we have raised £1.2 million in sponsorship revenue from various sources, which isn't insignificant, but it is very difficult to predict what the future will hold.
"It only takes one person on a Board of Directors to voice their concerns about the aircraft's environmental impact and you can lose the support of the whole Board, and therefore the will to sponsor the aircraft, just like that.
"The fact of the matter is that XH558 generates the same amount of CO2 in one year as a Boeing 747-400 does on a single return trip from London to San Francisco. Her fuel burn is around 300,000 litres per annum and 30 million litres is used in a day at Heathrow Airport. When you look at it objectively I think that puts it in to perspective really."
And what about those who might look at the Vulcan, cold war nuclear bomber as she was, and wonder whether that might actually constitute something of an image problem? Does this deter potential suitors?
"It's interesting because in fact we are seeing the opposite and her military connection is becoming more favourable. There is a huge groundswell of support for our armed forces in this country, especially with the ongoing operations in Afghanistan, and of course the defence cuts, so I think people are seeing her maybe as a symbol of sorts.
"We also saw, for the first time this year, concrete evidence that some people think that XH558 is supported directly by the MoD. We have many supporters who perhaps don't visit many airshows on a regular basis and some of them do indeed think we are funded by the government. That was quite a surprise to us when we heard it as clearly we aren't!
"Another sad truth connected with the Royal Air Force is that with the cancellation of the Nimrod MRA.4 project and the fact that the VC10's retirement has been brought forward, there is the possibility that XH558 could possibly be the last remaining airworthy all British large jet aircraft. That's definitely one to ponder!"
So what does the future hold? Almost impossible to predict in many ways but Robert remains confident and confirms that they are already looking ahead to 2012.
"That will be such an important year for the Vulcan - we have the 60th anniversary of the aircraft's first flight, the 30th anniversary of the Falklands War, the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and of course the Olympic Games.
"We very much hope that XH558 will be able to participate in the Queen's Diamond Jubilee as there is a special link between the Vulcan and the Royal Family with three members of the monarchy having taking control of a Vulcan in the past - The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles and Prince Michael of Kent. That would be a very special event for us to be involved in."
After 2012, Robert agrees that the situation may well change for the Vulcan as she approaches the final days of her second flying career however.
"I do believe that it might be more difficult after that and my expectation is that securing funding beyond 2012 will become increasingly tricky. She will also be approaching the end of her flying life and it may well be that 2013 might be a good year for her swansong. We're not there yet though and all options remain open."
And what about Dr Pleming himself? His previously stated aim was always to see the aircraft airborne and operating before ducking out to let someone else run the project on a day to day basis. It's an aim which clearly he has yet to achieve.
"There are many factors involved here, notably the fact that I do hold much of the intellectual capital that keeps the whole thing going, but, that said, I am approaching my 60th birthday and haven't paid a penny in to a pension fund over the past ten years for my own future!
"My head tells me to walk away and try and earn some money for the pension but my heart tells me that I simply cannot do it. One thing I do know is that I'm not going to let the aircraft, or the team, down. There is a huge amount of stress involved with this project and it's not just about the aircraft - the team's jobs are on the line and these are people with mortgages to pay too and difficult economic circumstances and such like. It's not easy."
With a week to go in October those jobs weren't looking especially secure and I'm sure Robert's stress levels rose commensurately when he met with the Board of Trustees for whom he actually works.
"The Trustees are all professionals who have succeeded in their own lines of work and they, naturally, ensure that we continue to operate legally, reviewing everything we do on a regular basis to make sure that nothing is going on which might get us in to trouble or damage their reputations. We were only able to demonstrate in the last week of October that we had the funds and momentum to carry on, otherwise the Board's preference was to close the programme down."
This is clearly a situation that Robert, his team, the Board of Trustees and everyone who supports the aircraft wants to avoid, and, right now, that is where everyone is focussing as they look towards 2011.
"I really want to avoid being in that situation again and I don't want us to have to run another crisis appeal; I can't emphasis that enough. Hopefully our new activity will help us avoid that and, while I couldn't possibly say that we categorically won't find ourselves there again, we really are doing everything we can to avoid it."
This means that between now and Easter 2011 that a further £400,000 will need to find its way in to VTTST's coffers and Robert remains optimistic that this will be achievable.
"We've got the time to do this now and of course we are in a different situation to that we found ourselves in at the end of the season having expended so much on marketing and advertising. Although each of the previous crisis appeals has succeeded we've never really managed to carry any momentum on afterwards, concentrating on engineering or such like once the money has been raised.
"I think we've learned that lesson now and we need to carry the momentum that we've gained on now, not wait and then find ourselves launching another appeal."
Another oft-discussed topic, and one frequently subject to rumour and speculation, is of course that of where XH558 lives on an ongoing basis and Robert confirms during the interview that they are indeed looking for a new home for the aircraft.
"RAF Lyneham closes next year and we already know that she can't stay there; the RAF has confirmed that. From a communications viewpoint we are extremely keen to move the aircraft to somewhere that the public can come and visit her all year round.
"We have been able to do some of this at Lyneham but there are restrictions on both the numbers of people who can visit, clearing them through security and also when visits can be held, so moving the aircraft is one of our biggest targets over the next few months."
With discussions at a "delicate" stage there are no clues as yet to where this might be, with the message definitely coming across as a 'watch this space'.
Finally, after so many peaks and troughs, I can't help but wonder whether Dr Pleming's own feelings about the aircraft and the project have changed in recent times. Is he still able to sit back and reflect on what's been achieved?
"We should never forget that the team accomplished something which was unique. We returned a Vulcan to airworthy status and have managed to operate it on the airshow circuit - no one else has done that with an aircraft of comparable size or complexity.
"Secondly, it still makes me feel good to see the true sense of pride that the aircraft generates from spectators at an airshow for example. The Vulcan really is a great symbol of British engineering."
So, there you have it. Whether you sat down to read this interview as a die hard XH558 supporter or not, hopefully there was something there for you. From my perspective, well, I found Robert Pleming to be open and engaging, more than willing to discuss not just the highs but also the lows and the doubts. He knows that VTTST isn't perfect and I suspect he knows that there could be more rocky times ahead. What I don't doubt however is his determination to try and ensure that isn't the case, to learn from their mistakes and, most of all, to keep on doing all he can to make sure that XH558 can be enjoyed for a few years to come.
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