Roll call, who has flown Concorde?
Discussion
stuart-b said:
Reading Wikipedia...
My Dad was one of the Operation's managers for BA back in the day in charge of long haul flights including Concorde. He flew on her a couple of times, the git.
I only managed the one flight.
wikipedia said:
Due to jet engines being highly inefficient at low speeds, Concorde burned two tonnes of fuel taxiing to the runway.[17] To conserve fuel only the two outer engines were run after landing. The thrust from two engines was sufficient for taxiing to the ramp due to low aircraft weight upon landing at its destination. A Concorde once ran out of fuel taxiing to the terminal after a flight; the pilot was dismissed
Erm... I don'tthink he was actually. In fact If my memory is correct he was actually commended for bringing the plane in text book despite the critical fuel state (That was already known about in the very late stages of the flight). Be very interested in exact details you have on the story as I havent heard of the one wikipedia states?My Dad was one of the Operation's managers for BA back in the day in charge of long haul flights including Concorde. He flew on her a couple of times, the git.
I only managed the one flight.
Justayellowbadge said:
NDA said:
There's a Concorde at Brooklands of course.....
Been on that one.
Then again if you listen to the "experts" they seem happy to perpetuate the "Farnborough or bust" myth.
DJC said:
Justayellowbadge said:
NDA said:
There's a Concorde at Brooklands of course.....
Been on that one.
Then again if you listen to the "experts" they seem happy to perpetuate the "Farnborough or bust" myth.
sa_20v said:
Sadly something I never got round to, but have been on the one at Duxford when I was much younger - does that count? 
Just thinking aloud, I bet I'd pay upwards of £20k for a ride now - such a shame BA killed it.
BA didn't kill it. Air France did. The deal always was that when one flag carrier retired their aircraft, then the other had to as well within a pre set time frame. That was written in stone from the time the aircraft were delivered. It was further backed up by the fact that all engineering spares support would be curtailed upon winding the fleet down. Which rather makes a mockery of Mr beardy wierdy Bransons cheap publicity stunt of offering to run Concorde. He knew he couldn't. But hey, publicity - no matter how cheap - has always been his thing.Just thinking aloud, I bet I'd pay upwards of £20k for a ride now - such a shame BA killed it.
The minute Air France pulled the plug, she was doomed. Sad, as she was both making money and (the British ones at least) were in excellent mechanical condition.
Chainguy said:
sa_20v said:
Sadly something I never got round to, but have been on the one at Duxford when I was much younger - does that count?
Just thinking aloud, I bet I'd pay upwards of £20k for a ride now - such a shame BA killed it.
BA didn't kill it. Air France did. The deal always was that when one flag carrier retired their aircraft, then the other had to as well within a pre set time frame. That was written in stone from the time the aircraft were delivered. It was further backed up by the fact that all engineering spares support would be curtailed upon winding the fleet down. Which rather makes a mockery of Mr beardy wierdy Bransons cheap publicity stunt of offering to run Concorde. He knew he couldn't. But hey, publicity - no matter how cheap - has always been his thing.Just thinking aloud, I bet I'd pay upwards of £20k for a ride now - such a shame BA killed it.
The minute Air France pulled the plug, she was doomed. Sad, as she was both making money and (the British ones at least) were in excellent mechanical condition.
In short, the deal was, when struck back in the 1970's, was that the other flag carrier had to retire the aircraft within a set time of the other withdrawing the fleet.
It was a non negotiable clause.
As for the BA fleet, the were in fantastic shap when retired. The last set of deep NDE checks showed airframes which were the equivalent in fatigue of a 4 year old 737.
As for the one that crashed, that was caused by both some debris on the runway left by an American jet, and poor maintenance by the French ground crew;they never refitted a stabiliser bar the night before the fatal take off, so the aircraft was unstable when under acceleration. The crash investigation team likened it to a supermarket trolley, the way the wheels wobbled.
Adios old girl. You're missed. Badly.
It was a non negotiable clause.
As for the BA fleet, the were in fantastic shap when retired. The last set of deep NDE checks showed airframes which were the equivalent in fatigue of a 4 year old 737.
As for the one that crashed, that was caused by both some debris on the runway left by an American jet, and poor maintenance by the French ground crew;they never refitted a stabiliser bar the night before the fatal take off, so the aircraft was unstable when under acceleration. The crash investigation team likened it to a supermarket trolley, the way the wheels wobbled.
Adios old girl. You're missed. Badly.
Edited by Chainguy on Thursday 28th August 12:03
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