Vulcan Aircraft
From Object Wiki
| Low speed wind tunnel model of Vulcan aircraft | |
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| Manufacturer | (unknown) |
| Production years | (unknown) |
| Production location | (unknown) |
The Vulcan was one of Britain’s three ‘V-bombers’, designed to carry a British nuclear weapon into the USSR, flying at over 50,000 feet and close to the speed of sound. This was at the limits of technical possibility and required extensive aerodynamic and structural research. This is one of a range of models built for low- and high-speed wind tunnel tests at RAE. You can see a full-size Vulcan at the RAF Museum, London.
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[edit] How it works
A wind tunnel model allows aircraft designers to see the aerodynamic qualities of a design without going to the trouble of building a full-size aircraft.
[edit] Background
The Avro Vulcan was designed in response to the Air Ministry’s requirement for a bomber able to carry a 4540kb atomic bomb to a target 2775km away. It was called a V-bomber because of the shape of its wings; it was nicknamed the “tin triangle” by many of the people who saw it. There were two other V-bombers which were also designed in the late 1940s: the Vickers Valiant and the Handley Page Victor.
The wing design for the Vulcan was chosen with lots of careful research using models in wind tunnels. It was found that a delta shape is able to carry heavy loads at high subsonic speeds whilst flying at high altitudes.
As well as using models to help with the design, the Avro company built several mini-Vulcans, the Avro 707s, to test the design.
The Avro Vulcan was a very big aircraft compared to the aircraft you can see in the Science Museum.
[edit] Memories
I remember the noise of the engines
— anon
I remember I used to play cricket and the Vulcan bombers would fly over the field at an altitude of about 50 feet. They were really huge aircraft and they had to swerve to avoid the trees around the field...
— Joe Cutting
I remember a Vulcan doing a roll at the Farnborough Airshow in the 50's or early 60's.
— anon
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Do you remember Vulcan Bombers? Add your memories. |
[edit] Images
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[edit] In the Science Museum
The Science Museum has a low speed wind tunnel model of the Vulcan aircraft, dating from around 1948. The museum acquired this object in 1993 from DRA (Inv. No: 1993-2287).
This object is currently on display in the Dan Dare & the Birth of Hi-Tech Britain exhibition at the Science Museum, London.