curious about Concorde

do they have any Concordes in service?
since when my flight landed there was a Concorde parked near by ( i have pic which i will upload )

They're all retired, but kept on display around the world. So that's why it was parked there.

I recently flew from Heathrow and as we were heading for the runway to take off I noticed Concorde parked up near the end of the runway.

It looked in good condition, but I am pretty sure that there are no longer any Concordes in service.

No Concordes are still in service. They were retired a few years ago because they were inefficient and not widely used. It was a very expensive aircraft to support, and tickets were so expensive that few people used the Concorde as a way of travel. They decreed in (I think it was) 2002 that the Concorde would be retired.

Concordes are now on display all over the world. I don't think you can go inside, but it would be real cool to see the cockpit.

ok ( didnt look like it was on display )
a pic i took


external image

[edit on 31-8-2005 by bodrul]

Mod Edit: Image Size

[edit on 26/9/2005 by Mirthful Me]

did you land at manchester? because G-BOAC is parked in the viewing park

Originally posted by a_dying_atheist
did you land at manchester? because G-BOAC is parked in the viewing park

heathrow
time and dates on the pic

I too recently landed at heathrow and saw the same thing, it was quite dark and a thought struck me. That it must be the old 2/3 size model of concorde that used to sit outside Heathrow tunnel.

The aircrft you saw parked on the cross runway is Concorde Alpha-Bravo (G-BOAB) which has been left there temporarily until the new terminal 5 is completed where it is considered to be a likely 'gate guardian' (BA...The world's coolest live exhibits?')

At this very moment, its been taken back inside for a wash, and brush up..

The others, G-BOAA is at East Fortune, Edinburgh,Scotland; G-BOAC is visible at Manchester Airport's viewing park, England; G-BOAD is by the USS intrepid in NYC; G-BOAE is the duffer, being stuck in the middle of nothing, at Grantley adams airport, Barbados; G-BOAF is at 'home' at Airbus's Filton airfield in Bristol, England; and the last one G-BOAG is at Boeing Field, stuck in some sort of museum in Seattle...

I went last weekend to see G-BOAC on a cockpit technical tour, the only 'open' Concorde on display in the world, I was mightly privileged to fly on her two years ago this week, and equally so to go on the full 'guts n all' tour too.

An impressive lady, aviation is duller in her retirement.....


www.concordesst.com...

Out of interest didn't they say that one would be kept operational for the occasional fly-by?

Your list is not quite complete!

"Delta Golf" [G-BBDG], as she is known, has been transported to Brooklands Museum, Weybridge, [UK] where she will be reassembled and restored.

Brooklands made a vital contribution to Concorde since design work began in the late 1950s and the site's unique historical association with the type was the prime reason for the Museum's ambition to acquire an example for its aviation collection.

A greater proportion of Concorde's airframe was manufactured by the British Aircraft Corporation at Brooklands than at any other factory in Britain or France. In particular all of the forward and rear fuselages, the massive tail fins and rudders as well as many more smaller components were constructed at Weybridge

From the Museum Website

For pics of the reconstruction go here (3 Pages)


The aircraft was one of the two test aircraft for the project and had an observers station, from 1984 onward it was used for spares


EDIT: Sort out quote

[edit on 27/9/05 by Infidellic]

There is one on display at Filton, just down the road.

there is also one on display at the dulles air and space museum in dulles, VA...other side of the museum from the sr71.

Out of interest didn't they say that one would be kept operational for the occasional fly-by?

Nope. It was discussed, but then decided that it would be cost-prohibative to keep one airworthy. Sadly, the days of Concorde are over

Originally posted by Stevie_Nottm
The aircrft you saw parked on the cross runway is Concorde Alpha-Bravo (G-BOAB) which has been left there temporarily until the new terminal 5 is completed where it is considered to be a likely 'gate guardian' (BA...The world's coolest live exhibits?')

Sorry for getting Off-topic, but the prize for "coolest live exhibits has to go to the french "Cité de la mer" in Cherbourg. It features a nearly fully accessible nuclear submarine of 128m length and 8000t mass. Its the french "Le Redoutable" the first french nuclear stratetic submarineand was decomissioned in 1991. They have hidden speakers everywhere that effectively simulate the vessels noises ... Very strange feeling standing beside the 16 Missile tubes and playing around with the controls ...

Le Redoutable



Anyway, I wouldnt mind to visit or even fly on a Concorde, even IF we see another supersonic cruiser in the near future. But sadly I guess that no everyday Joe will ever again have the experience of flying with one. But gladly many of them will end up as technical museums.

[edit on 29/9/2005 by Lonestar24]