INSIDE THE COCKPIT OF AN AVRO VULCAN B.2 XL360
Just imagine to fly at Mach 1 above the Iron Curtain
by Ian Kerr
 Photographer: Ian Kerr of PanVR.com and IanKerr.com.When: 16th May 2007.
Where: Inside the cockpit of an Avro Vulcan B.2 XL360 at the Midland Air Museum in Coventry, England. It was once England’s Detroit, with numerous manufacturers building their marques in the vicinity; Jaguar, Rover, Triumph, Chrysler, Peugeot, Alvis, Daimler, Hillman, Rootes, Humber, Morris, Maudslay, Armstrong Siddeley, Standard, Lea Francis, Calcott, White & Poppe and so on and so on. Sadly all the major players have removed their manufacturing from the city. During WWII Coventry also produced military aircraft.
click here to get inside the Avro Vulcan B.2 XL360
Why: I pass the Vulcan often; it sits beyond a hedge, by the side of the road. Despite its camouflage it is an unmissable, unmistakable delta winged giant, clearly visible on Google Maps and Google Earth at Latitude: 52° 22' 26.53" N. Longitude: 1° 28' 48.78" W.
My childhood home was on a commercial flight path which was perfectly intersected by a military flight path, Vulcans seemed to use our house as a waypoint marker; at the height to which they descended to clear the business route they made an awesome noise, quite unlike any other aircraft I have ever heard; the house shook – probably with fear, for all I knew we were being “bombed”. Since that time I have been curious.
The Midland Air Museum was generously receptive to my request to photograph the interior but a little cool about a VR panorama; they thought the all round experience would satisfy the curiosity of some would-be visitors and deprive the museum of much needed sightseers. I like to think VRs give a unique photographic experience of a location but there is no substitute for climbing inside and sitting in the seats of a V bomber, one of Britain’s Strategic Nuclear weapons from the cold war era; the guides let you flick the switches, hum the Dam Buster theme tune and encourage you to imagine the dark, lonely and dangerous existence of the 5 crew members, flying at almost Mach 1, 50,000 feet above Europe in the 1950’s and 60’s. I think it very unlikely these aircraft would have returned, had they been tasked to attack the Soviet Union.
The access I was granted is available to any visitor to this museum; perhaps it is unique in that everyone is encouraged to take the guided tour up the steel ladder into the aircraft, one and all is given the privilege of a hands-on look inside this and other aircraft; in fact I had to compete for space with a stream of patient visitors. Midland Air Museum is an interactive museum expertly run by dedicated enthusiasts - not to be missed.
How/Technical details:
FujiF2, Sigma 12-24mm, Manfrotto 303SPH, PTGui and Photoshop.
Ian Kerr is a commercial photographer of architecture, industry and people. He has used panoramic photography for 15 years; a Seitz Roundshot; 70mm film, being his original weapon of choice – “a beautiful machine of which I am still extremely fond”. Hooked into the quality of 5x4 transparency and Roundshot images, he took no more than a passing glance at the launch of QTVR and he was completely surprised and captivated, when he came across Full Screen VRs a couple of years ago.
Links:
PanVR.com
IanKerr.com
MidlandAirMuseum
Ygo2coventry.co.uk
Mail: photography at iankerr.comRelated articles:
INSIDE A LANCASTER BOMBER
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