Vulcan restoration leader wins 2007 Preservationist of The Year Award

The man who has fought for ten years to get a Vulcan Bomber back into the air – the iconic symbol of the 1982 Falklands Conflict – has been honoured with a Royal award.

Dr Robert Pleming’s efforts to rebuild the last remaining potentially airworthy AVRO Vulcan are widely acknowledged to represent the most challenging and complex aircraft restoration project ever undertaken.

Robert received the Transport Trust’s Preservationist of The Year Award from Prince Michael of Kent at a special ceremony held in his honour today at Brooklands Aerodrome, Surrey.

Robert’s "can do, will do" spirit, and his vision of a Vulcan Bomber flying once again to commemorate the sacrifice of our armed forces during the Falklands Campaign, convinced the Transport Trust that this restoration project was “a simply jaw-dropping achievement of global significance”.

Pleming was so driven by the idea of creating a flying memorial to the Falklands War that he gave up a successful corporate career to work without pay for three years to set the project rolling.

"Other people might have given up a long time ago," says Pleming, "but I'm stubborn and I love delivering the undeliverable. And what a challenge! Fortunately I have a fantastic team around me."

“Once I convinced BAe Systems, the Design Authority, to come on board, I knew then that we could get XH558 back into the sky,” he added.

“Why do I do it? At the end of the day a Vulcan overhead is a truly magnificent sight - once you see it, you'll never forget it. And we should never forget those brave men and women who never returned from the South Atlantic, so I want to bring that sense of awe, inspiration and history to new audiences, particularly the younger generation,” concluded Pleming.

To read further about the return of Vulcan XH558 to flight status, look here.

To watch restoration progress in real time via the hangar webcam, look here.

To read further about engineering progress with Vulcan XH558, look here.