However even achieving that feat would only give the Cold War bomber, which was restored at Bruntingthorpe, a temporary stay of execution.

The project would need a further £300,000 by the end of March in order to fund appearances at air shows this summer.

The Vulcan to the Sky Trust's project to get the V-wing bomber off the ground was launched in 1997 and the jet finally got airborne in October 2007.

You can watch the Mail's video of the momentous occasion by clicking here.

And watch amazing in-flight footage of the Vulcan flying in formation with a Eurofighter Typhoon by clicking here.

The trust has also produced a promotional video of the Vulcan in a bid to attract funds. View it by clicking here.

The Vulcan wowed crowds of thousands at airshows across the country for the last two years.

But has faced a number of funding problems and has frequently called on its supporters to pledge funds to keep it going.

It will cost £2.4million to keep her flying in 2010 - a year which will mark 50 years since her construction.

The trust says it is able to fund £1.6million of the total yearly costs but has only raised £200,000 toward the remaining £800,000 it needs this year.

It took the step of placing its employees on one month's notice as of February 1, anticipating the closure of the project on February 28 if the fundraising target is not met.

Dr Robert Pleming, chief executive of the trust, said: "As we count down the days of February, thousands of our loyal supporters know full well what they will be missing if the worst comes to the worst for XH558. What is most galling is that there are millions of people who cannot realise what they will have missed - but if they did, they could well act to help save her."