Concorde back in the air?
- Thread starter Badgers
- Start date
Minnie_the_Minx
someinenhhanding menbag and me ah bollox
Not as a passenger plane but for display. I love the plane, was gutted when it was taken out of service.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8712806.stm
Same as.
Could set my watch by it
I have some great memorabilia here. My grandfather was involved in the project and passed me some of his bits.
Did used to love hearing it go over. Was once sitting on the runway waiting behind Concorde as it took off. The noise and shaking was amazing and the pilot of our plane turned the plane round so we could watch out the windows.
Did used to love hearing it go over. Was once sitting on the runway waiting behind Concorde as it took off. The noise and shaking was amazing and the pilot of our plane turned the plane round so we could watch out the windows.
Sasaferrato
We've been together now for twenty years...
I saw it on the final flights before it went out of service. I was driving back to work after lunch when it came over, the traffic stopped whilst all the drivers gazed up at it. 
It used to come over us quite low when we lived in Woolwich.
It used to come over us quite low when we lived in Woolwich.
Minnie_the_Minx
someinenhhanding menbag and me ah bollox
Olympic fly past?
Almost would put up with the games for a chance to see this overhead ^ ^
I remember that
Bring the bird back.
editor
hiraethified
Concorde was wrong for so many reasons: it's an elitist, gas guzzling toff-transporter, but I loved the thing and always looked out of my window when it was thundering by.
I'm so old that I can remember watching the first take off at Filton and thinking the future really had arrived.
I'm so old that I can remember watching the first take off at Filton and thinking the future really had arrived.
SaskiaJayne
Rural Guerrilla
When Concorde was taken out of service there were several inquiries about buying one of them for private use & I think Virgin offered to buy the fleet & continue the service, but Airbus industries vetoed the idea as apparently it was only them who could service the aircraft.
Yup...
I can agree with a lot of that and don't think we should be putting a fleet back up in the air.
It made me thing amazing things were possible though.
Sasaferrato
We've been together now for twenty years...
I can remember its proving flights up the West coast of Scotland, we were living in Fort William at the time. The only three airports in the UK that could handle it if it got into bother were Prestwick, Stornoway and Machrahanish. Macrahanish has the longest runways in the UK, Stornoway has the widest, Stornoway could get three bombers in the air at a time, going down the runway side by side.
SaskiaJayne
Rural Guerrilla
When they built Concorde it was supposed to be just the start of supersonic air travel, there was a 600 seat version planned. Then oil went up in price. Does anybody remember 'Concordski' designed by the Russians on the back of a fag packet in 10 mins. in an attemped to keep up? It crashed.
longdog
What is it you can't face?
Two crashed but one of them kept flying as a testbed / laboratory until the late 90s.
I was given a book last weekend.
Concorde - The story, the facts and the figures.
Written by T. E. Blackall
Published in 1969
The book is good, one of the best Concorde books I have. What was a real bonus is that it has lots of newspaper cuttings inside. Also a pamphlet/leaflet published by BA / BOAC which has great stats and photos in it.
Reading about the Russian effort is interesting but the American reaction was more fascinating. How the US tried to persuade Britain to scrap the project.
Another good read is 'Concorde and the Americans' by Kenneth Owen.
Concorde - The story, the facts and the figures.
Written by T. E. Blackall
Published in 1969
The book is good, one of the best Concorde books I have. What was a real bonus is that it has lots of newspaper cuttings inside. Also a pamphlet/leaflet published by BA / BOAC which has great stats and photos in it.
Reading about the Russian effort is interesting but the American reaction was more fascinating. How the US tried to persuade Britain to scrap the project.
Another good read is 'Concorde and the Americans' by Kenneth Owen.
pogofish
Testicle Hairstyle
When I flew back into Heathrow the other day, I was pleased to notice that the Concorde there had been moved into an engine test stand. As this machine is one of the two BA have kept as possible candidates for a return to flight, maybe we will see it fly for the Olympics- fingers crossed 
Virgin could have paid Airbus people to maintain them.
But BA and Air France would never have agreed to letting their rival Virgin take over running the Concordes, when they had decided to stop running them - it would have been a huge loss of "face".
I always thought that when BA "retired" their Concordes, that the UK government had appropriated them for use as the UK Prime Ministers official transport.
Just so our guy could turn up in something snazzier than Air Force One at world leader's summits and such.
"What's that Mr President? It took you HOW long to get here?"
BA had 6 or 7 of them. If they were just used for official travel they would have lasted for ages.....
Giles..
T & P
|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|
A fanstastic feat of engineering, and a beautiful design to boot. It'd be nice if one aircraft is returned to airworthiness.
But for as long as the noise pollution issue remains, its commercial success is unlikely. Not allowed to fly supersonic overland is a big problem. They do say there are a couple of supersonic business jets in the making that have managed to destrically reduce noise levels, so we'll see.
But for as long as the noise pollution issue remains, its commercial success is unlikely. Not allowed to fly supersonic overland is a big problem. They do say there are a couple of supersonic business jets in the making that have managed to destrically reduce noise levels, so we'll see.
weltweit
Well-Known Member
They have an early one at Duxford which I have been inside of. It is still kitted out with extra instruments as it was a test plane.
I was once near Heathrow in the mid afternoon and went to the end of the runway to see one come in to land. It looked quite top heavy coming down with its nose down.
There should be at least one in flight condition. Would be a shame if there was not at least one.
I was once near Heathrow in the mid afternoon and went to the end of the runway to see one come in to land. It looked quite top heavy coming down with its nose down.
There should be at least one in flight condition. Would be a shame if there was not at least one.
ATOMIC SUPLEX
Member Since: 1985 Post Count: 3
I got to sit in the cockpit of the first test Concorde when I was making a show about planes and the like. It's crazy how old all the equipment looked.
Ah. Concordus. nostalgia.
Just like the support for the Royal Family, the stupid working classes, for reasons beyond humanity's comprehension; will show affection for an object which is the play thing of the middle/upper classes. And one which they will never experience.
Scrap the damn thing once and for all.
Just like the support for the Royal Family, the stupid working classes, for reasons beyond humanity's comprehension; will show affection for an object which is the play thing of the middle/upper classes. And one which they will never experience.
Scrap the damn thing once and for all.
pogofish
Testicle Hairstyle
You are obviously unaware that the original brief for Concorde was as a fast troop transport.
starfish2000
Well-Known Member
And the point is.....the Japanese and Americans are already working on Supersonic Airliners, so Concorde not flying makes not one jot of difference.
I was reading the Observer magazine today and all the car adverts are for huge Jags and 4 x 4's so despite the proclimations of the Guardian reading masses, they surely must by these things as otherwise their would be no point in advertising to them?
I saw it on the final flights before it went out of service. I was driving back to work after lunch when it came over, the traffic stopped whilst all the drivers gazed up at it.
It used to come over us quite low when we lived in Woolwich.
I was on M25 near Heathrow when it took off 3 days (IIRC) before it's final flight.
I also worked for Rolls Royce and was able to walk through one of the last pre-production test planes as they were fitting it out with seats - was struck by how 'small' it was. I'm just 6 feet tall and had to keep my head down while walking through - it had a couple of centimetres of protection on the floor but the roof seemed very low.
Love to see it fly again though.
newbie
undisambiguated
poxy horrible thing. They used to fly it over my school when I was a kid, testing it or something, then I got deafened as it flew overhead for years taking the very rich to New York. However I positively cheered when, quitye by chance, I was crossing Lambeth Bridge when it went underneath on a barge. with it's wings chopped off
Should be melted down and turned into something useful
Should be melted down and turned into something useful
I would actually be surprised to see any supersonic airliners appear in the current climate (or the future climate!). Both because of environmental issues, and the development cost.
The reason the Americans never had a "Concorde" was because when it was developed, their airlines and aircraft makers were businesses that had to justify the cost of things, and it never made sense.
Whereas the UK and French governments effectively wrote a blank cheque to develop Concorde at whatever cost, for reasons of national prestige. It only ever made money for BA because they just got given it.
It would be a bit like Eurotunnel being handed the finished Chunnel, paid for by the government, and just having to run the trains.
