The talk is the main feature of a special fundraising evening on behalf of the Vulcan Restoration Trust and all proceeds will go towards the ongoing restoration and preservation of Avro Vulcan XL426 at Southend Airport. It follows the superb talk on flying the Hawker Hunter which Rod gave at our Christmas Enthusiasts' Event & Buffet last December.
Rod is well qualified to talk about flying vintage aircraft. As well as being an accomplished public speaker, he has flown a wide variety of World War II and post-war piston-engined fighters such as the Mustang, Corsair, Wildcat, Sea Fury, Bearcat, Hurricane, Harvard and, his most favourite of all, the Spitfire. He has also flown a number of vintage jet aircraft including the Hunter, Vampire, Venom, T33 and F86 Sabre. His CAA Display Authorisation covers all these aircraft and he is fully qualified to lead formations of any size - as was shown at Duxford in September 2000 when he was privileged to lead the 'Big Wing' formation of 19 Spitfires and Hurricanes.
In 2001 Rod lead a team of five Hunters at the RAF Cottesmore Royal International Air Tattoo. Their display was judged to be the Best Overall Flying Demonstration and the team was awarded the King Hussein Memorial Sword. He is also a CAA Display Authorisation Evaluator.
The talk will take place at the Orsett Hall Hotel, Prince Charles Avenue, Orsett, Essex RM16 3HS, starting at 8.00 p.m. Doors open at 7.15 p.m.
Tickets cost £11.50 and can be ordered on-line at tickets.avrovulcan.com (subject to booking fee). VRT Members can purchase tickets at the reduced price of £10.00.
19 December 2011 is the 25th anniversary of Vulcan XL426's arrival at Southend Airport. This iconic (well, for us anyway) photo from the Evening Echo sees our Vulcan low over Southend's Runway 24 threshold only seconds away from her final touchdown.
If you are one of the umpteen billion people who use Facebook, you can get involved with the VRT on our Facebook Group. 
The sound of XL426's four Olympus engines echoed across Southend on Saturday 10 December as we carried out our first (and only) full power run of 2011.
