Roll call, who has flown Concorde?
Discussion
Sure have.
It was 30 years ago though.
Family holiday to the States. We went out LHR-Washington on Concorde and came back from New York to Southampton on the QE2.
An amazing experience, made all the better by the fact that my sister and I won 2 out of 3 games of bingo on the QE2 one night, and cleared about £1200! Huge money to a 12 year old lad like me, back in 1978!
The other great thing was being on deck of the QE2, coming into Southampton, to hear an American woman telling her husband this...
"Harry, Harry! Get a picture of that will you. Our first genuine English castle"
It was the Needles lighthouse.
But Concorde...superb.
It was 30 years ago though.
Family holiday to the States. We went out LHR-Washington on Concorde and came back from New York to Southampton on the QE2.
An amazing experience, made all the better by the fact that my sister and I won 2 out of 3 games of bingo on the QE2 one night, and cleared about £1200! Huge money to a 12 year old lad like me, back in 1978!
The other great thing was being on deck of the QE2, coming into Southampton, to hear an American woman telling her husband this...
"Harry, Harry! Get a picture of that will you. Our first genuine English castle"
It was the Needles lighthouse.
But Concorde...superb.
I had the one trip from JFK to LHR. Awesome performance, and odd to be home the same evening you set off. On arrival at LHR, the gate was not ready so we hung around for a while. So 2 1/2 hours to cross the Pond and half an hour to get out of Terminal 4.
The future is behind us. No more Concorde and remember Apollo?
We will see nothing like these again in our lifetimes.
(Because of miniturisation! )
Today's generation think that a tiny mobile phone is hi-tech. They know nothing... Nothing.
The future is behind us. No more Concorde and remember Apollo?
We will see nothing like these again in our lifetimes.
(Because of miniturisation! )
Today's generation think that a tiny mobile phone is hi-tech. They know nothing... Nothing.
I didn't realise that there was any real "rivalry" between Brooklands and Farnborough. Both are importtant locations from the early days of aviation in Britain.
By the 1920s, Brooklands had really become a "company" airfield in that it was mainly a test centre for products of the Vickers company. They had extensive factory and test facilities there - and these faorm the core of the aviation content of the present museum.
By the 1930s, Farnborough had become the official aviation research establishment for the entire British aviation industry and therefore probably had more of an overall impact on aviation from that point onwards.
Having said that, the boffins at Farnborough often got things spectacularly wrong and the chaps at Vickers (Barnes Wallis amongst them) were often way ahead of where the pure research guys were.
By the 1920s, Brooklands had really become a "company" airfield in that it was mainly a test centre for products of the Vickers company. They had extensive factory and test facilities there - and these faorm the core of the aviation content of the present museum.
By the 1930s, Farnborough had become the official aviation research establishment for the entire British aviation industry and therefore probably had more of an overall impact on aviation from that point onwards.
Having said that, the boffins at Farnborough often got things spectacularly wrong and the chaps at Vickers (Barnes Wallis amongst them) were often way ahead of where the pure research guys were.
lazyitus said:
My big Sis flew on it a few times. Being cabin crew and all that, pride of place in her house is a framed picture of her standing 'on' the wing with the first officer and a few hostesses. 
Theres a lot of ex Concorde cabin crew out there. Although it was a prestige job, BA used to rotate them after a couple of years to keep the faces fresh for the returning customers.Edited by lazyitus on Thursday 28th August 12:20
Chainguy said:
lazyitus said:
My big Sis flew on it a few times. Being cabin crew and all that, pride of place in her house is a framed picture of her standing 'on' the wing with the first officer and a few hostesses.
Theres a lot of ex Concorde cabin crew out there. Although it was a prestige job, BA used to rotate them after a couple of years to keep the faces fresh for the returning customers.Edited by lazyitus on Thursday 28th August 12:20
One comment she made was that it was like sitting inside a bullet when it took off. How she'd know this, I don't know but I think I got the idea.
Eric Mc said:
I didn't realise that there was any real "rivalry" between Brooklands and Farnborough. Both are importtant locations from the early days of aviation in Britain.
By the 1920s, Brooklands had really become a "company" airfield in that it was mainly a test centre for products of the Vickers company. They had extensive factory and test facilities there - and these faorm the core of the aviation content of the present museum.
By the 1930s, Farnborough had become the official aviation research establishment for the entire British aviation industry and therefore probably had more of an overall impact on aviation from that point onwards.
Having said that, the boffins at Farnborough often got things spectacularly wrong and the chaps at Vickers (Barnes Wallis amongst them) were often way ahead of where the pure research guys were.
Like I said the Farnborough or bust myth.By the 1920s, Brooklands had really become a "company" airfield in that it was mainly a test centre for products of the Vickers company. They had extensive factory and test facilities there - and these faorm the core of the aviation content of the present museum.
By the 1930s, Farnborough had become the official aviation research establishment for the entire British aviation industry and therefore probably had more of an overall impact on aviation from that point onwards.
Having said that, the boffins at Farnborough often got things spectacularly wrong and the chaps at Vickers (Barnes Wallis amongst them) were often way ahead of where the pure research guys were.
It was cobblers then, its been cobblers since and its still cobblers now as any messybeast employee, past, present or one of the many inherited/swallowed companies, will attest to.
DJC said:
Eric Mc said:
I didn't realise that there was any real "rivalry" between Brooklands and Farnborough. Both are importtant locations from the early days of aviation in Britain.
By the 1920s, Brooklands had really become a "company" airfield in that it was mainly a test centre for products of the Vickers company. They had extensive factory and test facilities there - and these faorm the core of the aviation content of the present museum.
By the 1930s, Farnborough had become the official aviation research establishment for the entire British aviation industry and therefore probably had more of an overall impact on aviation from that point onwards.
Having said that, the boffins at Farnborough often got things spectacularly wrong and the chaps at Vickers (Barnes Wallis amongst them) were often way ahead of where the pure research guys were.
Like I said the Farnborough or bust myth.By the 1920s, Brooklands had really become a "company" airfield in that it was mainly a test centre for products of the Vickers company. They had extensive factory and test facilities there - and these faorm the core of the aviation content of the present museum.
By the 1930s, Farnborough had become the official aviation research establishment for the entire British aviation industry and therefore probably had more of an overall impact on aviation from that point onwards.
Having said that, the boffins at Farnborough often got things spectacularly wrong and the chaps at Vickers (Barnes Wallis amongst them) were often way ahead of where the pure research guys were.
It was cobblers then, its been cobblers since and its still cobblers now as any messybeast employee, past, present or one of the many inherited/swallowed companies, will attest to.
Justayellowbadge said:
DJC said:
Eric Mc said:
I didn't realise that there was any real "rivalry" between Brooklands and Farnborough. Both are importtant locations from the early days of aviation in Britain.
By the 1920s, Brooklands had really become a "company" airfield in that it was mainly a test centre for products of the Vickers company. They had extensive factory and test facilities there - and these faorm the core of the aviation content of the present museum.
By the 1930s, Farnborough had become the official aviation research establishment for the entire British aviation industry and therefore probably had more of an overall impact on aviation from that point onwards.
Having said that, the boffins at Farnborough often got things spectacularly wrong and the chaps at Vickers (Barnes Wallis amongst them) were often way ahead of where the pure research guys were.
Like I said the Farnborough or bust myth.By the 1920s, Brooklands had really become a "company" airfield in that it was mainly a test centre for products of the Vickers company. They had extensive factory and test facilities there - and these faorm the core of the aviation content of the present museum.
By the 1930s, Farnborough had become the official aviation research establishment for the entire British aviation industry and therefore probably had more of an overall impact on aviation from that point onwards.
Having said that, the boffins at Farnborough often got things spectacularly wrong and the chaps at Vickers (Barnes Wallis amongst them) were often way ahead of where the pure research guys were.
It was cobblers then, its been cobblers since and its still cobblers now as any messybeast employee, past, present or one of the many inherited/swallowed companies, will attest to.
stuart-b said:
Reading Wikipedia...
Flew it once, LHR to Barbados. Absolutely awesome. Taxied to hold point, then some instrumentation didn't work (IIRC the monitor thing that told the passengers how fast they were going). Because of the time spent at holding point (about 5 mins) then had to taxi back to refuel. During the flight visited the cockpit - the pilot calmly told us that to make Barbados in the one trip they have to manually override the fuel cutouts to get every last bit of fuel from the tanks to the engines. Was this true or a wind up?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.
wikipedia said:
Due to a relatively high average takeoff speed of 250 mph (400 km/h), Concorde needed good brakes. Concorde used an anti-lock braking system, which stop the wheels from locking when fully applied, allowing greater deceleration and control during braking, particularly in wet conditions. The brakes were carbon-based and could bring Concorde, weighing up to 185 tons (188 tonnes) and travelling at 190 mph (305 km/h), to a stop from an aborted takeoff within one mile (1600 m). This braking manoeuvre brought the brakes to temperatures of 300 °C to 500 °C, requiring several hours for cooling.
Wow, serious brakes back in the 60's and 70's then!Three things I remember the most:
1. The glass in the toilet was frosted. Why? Who the hell was looking at 70000 feet!?
2. The sky was black through the windows due to the altitude. Seriously seriously cool.
3. The bulkheads moving and the little slidey plates in the floor to accommodate the aircraft expanding.
Such a phenomenon. So undramatic at Mach 2. So priviliged to have flown on it.
Justayellowbadge said:
TSR-2 was developed at Brooklands, wasn't it? Shame they don't have one now.
I recall seeing the cockpit/nose section of a TSR-2 behind one of the sheds last time i visited (3-4 years ago).The RAF museum has a more or less complete TSR-2 airframe as the centrepiece in the "Test Flight" hall at Cosford. No idea if the bits they had at Brooklands went into that one or not.
Back on topic: No. Very disappointed I never got to get a trip on Concorde before she was retired. BA occasionaly used to have a special standby concession where staff could go one way to or from JFK on her with the other leg subsonic, for about £400 IIRC. As soon as it became public news that retirement was imminent, the concession was withdrawn. Flown with plenty of colleagues who did a stint on the fleet and eventually got fed up of only ever going to Kennedy...
Yep - glad I did it too. Not particularly spectacular (once you're up it is very like any other plane) but the pilot gave an almost military briefing on the take off procedure. It was the view out of the window (the darkness of the sky, the curvature of the earth) and the stats on the bulkhead dislay (Mach 2, 60,000ft) that set it apart. You don't get to see the shape from inside either. But I'd fly it again with my kids ina heartbeat if it were operating again
Yep, Mrs CVP and I did JFK to LHR when we knew they were going out of service. At that time it cost us 1/2 our total savings but it simply had to be done. One of the pictures that goes round on the little picture frame on my desk is inside the main cabin showing the readout at Mach 2 and 50,000ft, a superb trip that I will never forget.
I used to work near Heathrow and the roar & blast of noise as Concorde took off each day was superb. What a machine
Chris
I used to work near Heathrow and the roar & blast of noise as Concorde took off each day was superb. What a machine
Chris
I hate flying, and I mean really hate flying - someone once told me that a Jumbo weighs over 700 tons on take off, sorry but as far as I'm concerned 700 tons does not fly.
My first flight was on some charter thing that the interior decor looked like a 40 year old coach.
This first flight was out of Gatwick the return flight was out of Venice.
Venice airport in those days, early 80's, was more like a bus station, so, remember my only experience of a plane taking off is from Gatwick, we take off from this bus station and are only just in the air and it goes quiet and even in my slightly Mr T (think A team) state I thought s
t it's stalled.
The only thing I liked about that trip was the acceleration on take off from Venice - think handbrake, on full throttle, let hand brake off - I liked that bit.
And I never did get my head around the floor I'm sitting/standing on is pointed upwards - when are we going to stop going up ?
So to repeat I don't do flying.
Back to the OP question - when Concorde was flying I told the above to someone who was a steward or some such on Concorde.
He told me I'd love Concorde, apparently, when the plane wasn't full the pilots could use a 'bit' more fuel on take off and when they did you were pinned to your seat by the g forces.
That would make me want to fly!
I was offered the opportunity to experience it but wrong time and place, I still regret that missed opportunity.
Like most on here I regret that Concorde is not flying anymore.
My first flight was on some charter thing that the interior decor looked like a 40 year old coach.
This first flight was out of Gatwick the return flight was out of Venice.
Venice airport in those days, early 80's, was more like a bus station, so, remember my only experience of a plane taking off is from Gatwick, we take off from this bus station and are only just in the air and it goes quiet and even in my slightly Mr T (think A team) state I thought s
t it's stalled. The only thing I liked about that trip was the acceleration on take off from Venice - think handbrake, on full throttle, let hand brake off - I liked that bit.
And I never did get my head around the floor I'm sitting/standing on is pointed upwards - when are we going to stop going up ?
So to repeat I don't do flying.
Back to the OP question - when Concorde was flying I told the above to someone who was a steward or some such on Concorde.
He told me I'd love Concorde, apparently, when the plane wasn't full the pilots could use a 'bit' more fuel on take off and when they did you were pinned to your seat by the g forces.
That would make me want to fly!
I was offered the opportunity to experience it but wrong time and place, I still regret that missed opportunity.
Like most on here I regret that Concorde is not flying anymore.
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