Banks of photographers, TV camera crews, project engineers and others invited to witness the event at Bruntingthorpe airfield burst into applause as the 30-year-old iconic Cold War bomber soared effortlessly into the clear autumn sky.

The delta wing jet, piloted by Al McDicken, completed a 30 minute test flight before returning to wow the crowds with a low-level flypast ahead of a perfect landing.

The flight was the culmination of a ten-year, £6 million project by the Vulcan To The Sky Trust to bring the jet back to airworthiness.

Engineers congratulated one another as the Vulcan taxied to a standstill and the ecstatic crew of three, Mr McDicken, pilot David Thomas and air electronics officer Barry Masefield emerged from the plane to a standing ovation.

Speaking after the flight Mr McDicken said: “She behaved impeccably and we wanted to stay out there for ever. It was every bit as much fun as I remembered it. We enjoyed every minute up there. I was quite relieved with the successful landing.”

Rusty Drewitt, chairman of the Vulcan’s Supporter’s Club, added: “I was screaming ‘we’ve done it, we’ve done it’ as she took off. It’s been long and painful but so worthwhile.”

Air Chief Marshall Sir Michael Knight, a former Vulcan pilot and chairman of the trust, said: “It is an emotional moment to see it fly again. The Vulcan stands above the rest in its size, sheer power and endless capacity to impress all who see it fly.”

The Avro Vulcan was designed to fulfil a nuclear deterrent role against the Soviet Union during the Cold War and was operated by the Royal Air Force from 1953 to 1984. In-flight refuelling once allowed it to fly 4,000 miles to bomb a crucial airstrip in the Falklands War.