Ever fly on Concorde ?
Discussion
JuniorD said:
That would have been one of the £200 courier flight jobs, out to NY on Concorde and back club class.
In which dept did/does your dad work?
In which dept did/does your dad work?
Yep sounds about right price wise.
Avionic engineering in south wales however he works at Heathrow a fair bit on non engineering stuff. Guessing you work for BA or did.
My wife and I only flew on it once. In 1988 from Miami to London via Washington DC, at least I had two take offs and landings. BA188, and I had seat 2A (still have my boarding pass). Also have the Concorde complimentary notebook, in there my wife noted some info from the display on the bulkhead:
54,500ft, temp -60c, 1360 mph.
Lovely memories.
54,500ft, temp -60c, 1360 mph.
Lovely memories.
I entered a competition in late 2003, the gist being "why should you be one of the last passengers to fly Concorde". Mrs called me up at work saying there was an answerphone message at home from a lady at BA, asking if we'd got the letter... Next day, it arrived, saying we were to get to LHR the Friday after next to be flown out to JFK on a 747 (in Club), then back on BA002 on Sunday morning.
It was a lifetime highlight, tbh. The pilot was egging up big-time - "Ladies & Gentlemen, welcome to BA002 supersonic service to London..." - he talked up the use of "reheat" during takeoff (hence why it was so loud and rattly, the wing shape meaning they had a much higher takeoff speed than normal), and when he talked about the flight plan, they would be flying at MACH 0.8 at (whatever) thousand feet, would apply for permission to go supersonic, then apply reheat and accelerate to MACH 2... (think, Smashie & Nicie / Bachman Turner Overdrive)
Memories:
- cramped and there was no IFE so a lot of people just snoozed (one guy opposite us didn't eat or drink anything, and slept the whole way)
- I spilled a full glass of champagne in my lap as soon as it had been put down; Pol Roger, Cuvee Sir Winston Churchill, which I realised when we got home was £100 a bottle. I pressed the bell, and the flight attendant came over and said "Oh dear! First things first - I'll get you another glass" (actually, I just wanted to mop up the champers soaking my crotch...)
- At MACH 1, people were lining up to take pictures of the speed display... camera up (before camera phones
) FLASH, walk away. I thought, they'll be so disappointed when they check out those photos and realise they can't even see the display for all the reflection
- Inside of the windows were hot to the touch after an hour at MACH 2...
- All the safety cards etc were photocopies - they'd already been nicked...
- At the end, we queued to take a look in the cockpit and get a photo with the captain. Guy immediately in front of us asked if he could have the flight plan... which they handed over with delight.
It was a lifetime highlight, tbh. The pilot was egging up big-time - "Ladies & Gentlemen, welcome to BA002 supersonic service to London..." - he talked up the use of "reheat" during takeoff (hence why it was so loud and rattly, the wing shape meaning they had a much higher takeoff speed than normal), and when he talked about the flight plan, they would be flying at MACH 0.8 at (whatever) thousand feet, would apply for permission to go supersonic, then apply reheat and accelerate to MACH 2... (think, Smashie & Nicie / Bachman Turner Overdrive)
Memories:
- cramped and there was no IFE so a lot of people just snoozed (one guy opposite us didn't eat or drink anything, and slept the whole way)
- I spilled a full glass of champagne in my lap as soon as it had been put down; Pol Roger, Cuvee Sir Winston Churchill, which I realised when we got home was £100 a bottle. I pressed the bell, and the flight attendant came over and said "Oh dear! First things first - I'll get you another glass" (actually, I just wanted to mop up the champers soaking my crotch...)
- At MACH 1, people were lining up to take pictures of the speed display... camera up (before camera phones
) FLASH, walk away. I thought, they'll be so disappointed when they check out those photos and realise they can't even see the display for all the reflection- Inside of the windows were hot to the touch after an hour at MACH 2...
- All the safety cards etc were photocopies - they'd already been nicked...
- At the end, we queued to take a look in the cockpit and get a photo with the captain. Guy immediately in front of us asked if he could have the flight plan... which they handed over with delight.
Edited by ewand on Friday 20th December 22:21
I worked under the Heathrow flightpath in Hersham 1998-99. You could set your clock by Concorde..I have always been a massive fan - this thread has been great, reading the stories of people actually flying on it 
I remember seeing it up close as a kid when we were going on holiday from Manchester Airport, my Dad was just staring out of the window at it, awestruck. That must have been early 90's. I was also lucky enough to be stuck on the M25 on more than one occasion when it went overhead.
I marvel at the facts and figures and desperately wish I could have thought to have taken one of the Biscay charter flights but I was a bit too young to really realise just how incredible it was back then and only really took proper notice of it after the crash. I suppose also I would not have had the slightest inclination that it would one day be retired and retired far too early.
I did manage to get a go on the simulator at Brooklands which I can thoroughly recommend. My mum bought me and my dad tickets for Christmas about 4 or 5 years ago and we spent a day there and received a talk from Mike Banister and then he took us into the simulator. It was absolutely fantastic and Mike was brilliant, recalling all of the facts and telling what it was like to see the sun rising in the east on the late evening flights from LHR. My dad is a keen flyer, has his PPL and it was just a brilliant day for us both.
One of my favourite pics of me and the t'old boy
|https://thumbsnap.com/M9l4TkdI[/url]
Apologies if this is considered slightly off topic but a year or so before the trip to Brooklands I snapped up a Concorde Wheel when I saw it come up for sale. It was complete with tyre and certificate of authentication from BA.
It was in a bit of a sorry state when I got it and I the wife was not overly impressed when a Concorde Wheel turned up in the garden
Complete with tyre it was too big to do anything with (just over 4ft diameter) so my intention was to have the rim as a coffee table but trying to get the tyre off was easier said than done! I could see that it was a split rim and naively took out all the bolts expecting it to splint in two.......not a chance. I then took it to a place that did tyres for HGV's, they couldn't budge the two halves. Then I took it to an agricultural specialist who deal in tyres for tractors and combines etc......they had no joy either!!
I eventually found a place near Gatwick who knew what they were doing! They refurbish wheels for 737's and were delighted when I took it to them.
They were super helpful and had it apart in minutes. It was very different to the 737 wheels.
They refurbished it for me and I was very pleased with the result, it now takes pride of place in my study. I still have the tyre in the basement, not sure what to do with it. It is the revised Michelin, post crash with the reinforcements.
As displayed at Brooklands:
![](https://thumbsnap.com/sc/EYwmtQaK.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="https://thumbsnap.com/M9l4TkdI" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]https://thumbsnap.com/sc/M9l4TkdI.jpg)
This is worth a watch, still makes the hairs on my neck stand on end even though I have watched it 100's of times!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9bVFkDhGPE&li...
I remember seeing it up close as a kid when we were going on holiday from Manchester Airport, my Dad was just staring out of the window at it, awestruck. That must have been early 90's. I was also lucky enough to be stuck on the M25 on more than one occasion when it went overhead.
I marvel at the facts and figures and desperately wish I could have thought to have taken one of the Biscay charter flights but I was a bit too young to really realise just how incredible it was back then and only really took proper notice of it after the crash. I suppose also I would not have had the slightest inclination that it would one day be retired and retired far too early.
I did manage to get a go on the simulator at Brooklands which I can thoroughly recommend. My mum bought me and my dad tickets for Christmas about 4 or 5 years ago and we spent a day there and received a talk from Mike Banister and then he took us into the simulator. It was absolutely fantastic and Mike was brilliant, recalling all of the facts and telling what it was like to see the sun rising in the east on the late evening flights from LHR. My dad is a keen flyer, has his PPL and it was just a brilliant day for us both.
One of my favourite pics of me and the t'old boy
|https://thumbsnap.com/M9l4TkdI[/url]Apologies if this is considered slightly off topic but a year or so before the trip to Brooklands I snapped up a Concorde Wheel when I saw it come up for sale. It was complete with tyre and certificate of authentication from BA.
It was in a bit of a sorry state when I got it and I the wife was not overly impressed when a Concorde Wheel turned up in the garden
Complete with tyre it was too big to do anything with (just over 4ft diameter) so my intention was to have the rim as a coffee table but trying to get the tyre off was easier said than done! I could see that it was a split rim and naively took out all the bolts expecting it to splint in two.......not a chance. I then took it to a place that did tyres for HGV's, they couldn't budge the two halves. Then I took it to an agricultural specialist who deal in tyres for tractors and combines etc......they had no joy either!!
I eventually found a place near Gatwick who knew what they were doing! They refurbish wheels for 737's and were delighted when I took it to them.
They were super helpful and had it apart in minutes. It was very different to the 737 wheels.
They refurbished it for me and I was very pleased with the result, it now takes pride of place in my study. I still have the tyre in the basement, not sure what to do with it. It is the revised Michelin, post crash with the reinforcements.
As displayed at Brooklands:
This is worth a watch, still makes the hairs on my neck stand on end even though I have watched it 100's of times!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9bVFkDhGPE&li...
Ten years ago I worked with a guy who was an
apprentice in instrument engineering at Filton. The British prototype Concorde was testing daily on the runway with the taxiing getting progressively faster. He and another apprentice worked on alternate days taking readings. The day it accidentally became airborne was one of his oppo's days. He believes it was the first time it flew. The testers took steps to ensure it didn't happen again. Disgruntled he was.
apprentice in instrument engineering at Filton. The British prototype Concorde was testing daily on the runway with the taxiing getting progressively faster. He and another apprentice worked on alternate days taking readings. The day it accidentally became airborne was one of his oppo's days. He believes it was the first time it flew. The testers took steps to ensure it didn't happen again. Disgruntled he was.
Concorde in Seattle
I flew on G-BOAG ("Alpha Golf"), which is now at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, ironically associated mostly with Boeing. Concorde never went to Seattle during serivce, or even, AFAIK, on early promo tours etc. I was in Seattle the day of the last flight of AG, which had been flown a few days previously from LHR-JFK with a cast of BA crew (it was in November 2003, after the last commercial flights). The final flight was to retire the plane to the museum - and the local plane spotters were pissing themselves with excitement.
The roads all the way around the airport were lined with sightseers (even mid-afternoon on a weekday), and speculation was that the pilot would do a couple of loops around to give everyone a sight and sound. No such luck for them - the plane had been given permission by the Canadian govt to fly supersonic over the Tundra - JFK-SEA was a little under 4 hours, with over 1.5 hours flown supersonic. So the final approach was direct and they smacked it onto the runway without any messing about.
I flew on G-BOAG ("Alpha Golf"), which is now at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, ironically associated mostly with Boeing. Concorde never went to Seattle during serivce, or even, AFAIK, on early promo tours etc. I was in Seattle the day of the last flight of AG, which had been flown a few days previously from LHR-JFK with a cast of BA crew (it was in November 2003, after the last commercial flights). The final flight was to retire the plane to the museum - and the local plane spotters were pissing themselves with excitement.
The roads all the way around the airport were lined with sightseers (even mid-afternoon on a weekday), and speculation was that the pilot would do a couple of loops around to give everyone a sight and sound. No such luck for them - the plane had been given permission by the Canadian govt to fly supersonic over the Tundra - JFK-SEA was a little under 4 hours, with over 1.5 hours flown supersonic. So the final approach was direct and they smacked it onto the runway without any messing about.
I flew once - LHR to JFK - it was when I worked for UBS as you might imagine UBS folks would fly loads and there was some sort of deal where one leg of a round trip would get an upgrade to Concorde. If I recall correctly it was post Air France accident and when they were pushing the service.
My abiding memory is not the service or the acceleration (all brilliant) or even arriving in New York before I’d left London (as it were) but the stewardess looking out of the window and exclaiming “Oh, look we’re overtaking an ordinary plane!” as we streaked past a jumbo like it was standing still.
My abiding memory is not the service or the acceleration (all brilliant) or even arriving in New York before I’d left London (as it were) but the stewardess looking out of the window and exclaiming “Oh, look we’re overtaking an ordinary plane!” as we streaked past a jumbo like it was standing still.
ewand said:
A wonderful story and I don't mind admitting that, even all these years later this photo brings a tear to my eye for the thought of things lost as much as the fact that I had the option to buy a seat on one of the final flights (rtn to NYC one way on Concorde the other in a Jumbo) but decided that the end of flight for such a wonderful machine could only ever be temporary so chose not to purchase.Right at the top of my list of regrets is that one, thanks to all on this thread for allowing me to live vicariously.
The pprune thread mentioned here is a great way to lose some time as well, as are the YT videos!
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