It was his "let's try it and see" spirit and a desire to see a Vulcan Bomber take to the skies again that embroiled Robert Pleming in a project that has had its share of highs and lows. "Other people might have given up a long time ago," he says, "but I'm stubborn and I love doing things I haven't done before."
Pleming, who was UK technical director at Cisco Europe and at IBM before that, says he had got to a stage in his "fast-rate", "high-energy" career where "there was not much else for me to do." A chat with the then owner of a grounded Avro Vulcan XH558 convinced him to build a project plan to get her flying again. "By April 2000, we knew we could return her to flight and convinced British Aerospace [now BAE Systems] to support us. That was a fundamental milestone," he says.
He bid his corporate career farewell and worked pro bono for "about three years". He's now a salaried CEO of the Vulcan Operating Company. Even though he had to serve notice of termination of employment to his staff only to announce weeks later that their jobs had been saved (after a fundraising mission brought in £1.2m in 21 days) he says the people management side of the role hasn't been the biggest challenge (that dubious honour falls to fundraising). "A lot are on salaries that are significantly below what they could get elsewhere, but they're fully committed. So many people want to see us succeed—that's a great motivator," explains Pleming.
It still needs £300,000 to pay for engineering costs before the Vulcan's planned flypast over London in June for the 25th anniversary of the Falklands War. Which means that Pleming and the board of the Vulcan to the Sky Trust are still reliant on public and business support (he's looking for a corporate sponsor to align itself with the engineering feat).
"We're working in a highly constrained environment (we're a registered, non-humanitarian charity). But we can never give up. The first flight will be a real occasion for celebration—a victory after a long battle," he says.
Why's it so important? For Pleming, it's a mix of aesthetics and education. "It's a truly magnificent sight—once you see it, you'll never forget it. And I want to bring that sense of awe, inspiration and history to new audiences. I like delivering public benefits," he says.
www.tvoc.co.uk
Posted 10 May 2007 : Director.co.uk