Download: XH558 Vulcan app

The XH558 app offers a way to keep a great British aircraft flying as well as lots of information about its past and current activities.

XH558 is the only flying Avro Vulcan left in the world. The Vulcan was one of the three V bombers that first flew in the 1950's. As well as providing part of the nuclear deterrant, the Vulcan is also famous for the long range raid on Port Stanley in the Falklands War (assisted by one of the other V bombers, the Victor).

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Delivered to the RAF on 1 July 1960, XH558 served until 1993 when it was retired after many years of wowing crowds at airshows. It was then bought and maintained with a view to restoring it to airworthiness, a vision that was realised in 2007. Since then it has returned to air shows and the 2012 Jubilee celebrations.

The app arranges the history of this aircraft by the different phases of its life and includes biographies of the crew who fly in her and keep her maintained.

The news feed shows the latest updates from the Vulcan project. The links open in your browser rather than staying in the app. It brings together updates from the official Vulcan to the Skies websites as well as posts from their Twitter and Facebook feeds.

The Events tab has details of the Vulcan's appearances around the country with links to the show or airfield websites and their location.

The Media tab has a selection of images and movie links as well as an audio clip of the classic 'Vulcan howl'. Sadly mobile phone speakers can't really do it justice but at least it won't set off car alarms as the real thing does.

Pictures from the image gallery can be set to be your wallpaper. Our only criticism of these images is that the cockpit of the Vulcan isn't centred on most of the images. This means it doesn't completely appear on the centre screen of our HTC Desire C - but this is a very minor fault.

Settings include a dedicated Airshow Mode that adjusts the colours of the app to make it easier to read outdoors in bright sunlight. This tab also has links to the variousways of keeping up to date with the Vulcan.

Finally, once you've read all the information, there is a quiz on the bomber.

The Vulcan app can also be downloaded for iPhone and iPad here, and Windows Phone devices here.