Bring it back

[Chas]

On the 17th of June 1974, In Boston Massachusetts, USA. Air France eager to promote Concorde made a dramatic demonstration. At 08:22 (Eastern Standard Time) an Air France Concorde departed from Boston's Logan airport and set course for Paris. The departure was timed to coincide with the departure of an Air France 747 from Paris Orly airport that was bound for Boston.

At the point when both aircraft passed, with the Concorde flying at twice the altitude of the 747, the 747 had travelled 620 miles whilst the Concorde had travelled 2,400 miles.

Concorde landed at Paris Orly airport and spent 68 minutes on the ground before departing again for Boston. Concorde landed at Boston 11 minutes ahead of the 747 arriving at Boston!

Two trips in the time the 747 could make one, amazing!

 

[Michael Montgomery]

Certainly was a amazing era of flying saddened to never of flown Concord but maybe one day a new version will bless us with that experience.

 

[clivehorridge]

On the 17th of June 1974, In Boston Massachusetts, USA. Air France eager to promote Concorde made a dramatic demonstration. At 08:22 (Eastern Standard Time) an Air France Concorde departed from Boston's Logan airport and set course for Paris. The departure was timed to coincide with the departure of an Air France 747 from Paris Orly airport that was bound for Boston.

At the point when both aircraft passed, with the Concorde flying at twice the altitude of the 747, the 747 had travelled 620 miles whilst the Concorde had travelled 2,400 miles.

Concorde landed at Paris Orly airport and spent 68 minutes on the ground before departing again for Boston. Concorde landed at Boston 11 minutes ahead of the 747 arriving at Boston!

Two trips in the time the 747 could make one, amazing!

View attachment 126187

Bring it back? It should never have gone out of service IMO. The development costs would have been recouped a 1000 times or more if they'd kept production up and modified later versions.

I don't think there was any shortage of customers, but I'll stand corrected. There were always business men and celebrities willing to pay.

Wonderful machine.

 

[Towpack]

Went to Paris on a 1 week school trip in early 1970 and we saw Concorde sat on the tarmac at Orly Airport, obviously undergoing trials. We just stood there gawping through the chicken wire fence, it was like nothing we'd ever seen before! What a machine

 

[clivehorridge]

We were traveling as a family from Birmingham to the IOW one summer (annual vigil to my grandparents) in my fathers old Morris PV and there were no motorways in those days. Even A roads were single carriageway and it was a long journey. Anyway, we stopped in a field near Farnborough for a cup of tea. Of course, we were way out in the country and it was very peaceful.

I were but a lad.

Suddenly there was a very mysterious flash in the sky, I don't know what caused it to this day, but the bang that followed it was something unnaturally loud and of the like that none of us had heard before.

Thunder has nothing on this sound, it was eerie. We never saw Concorde that day. It passed over us at such a speed, I'll never know what speed it was doing, but it was too quick for the eye.

Awe inspiring, when regular cars in those days were barely doing 60 mph, and what was the common jet liner in those days? Those bloody Comets... to Benidorm

 

[Chas]

Bring it back? It should never have gone out of service IMO. The development costs would have been recouped a 1000 times or more if they'd kept production up and modified later versions.

I don't think there was any shortage of customers, but I'll stand corrected. There were always business men and celebrities willing to pay.

Wonderful machine.

I've just read an article, http://www.concorde-spirit-tours.com/concorde.htm which, unless I have read it wrong, puts the retirement squarely in Air Frances court for financial reasons, there had been two AF crashes which cost them many millions in compensation and Concorde was losing money, so bye bye.

 

[StarCruiser]

I believe they were scrapped very quickly after they were grounded. Truly sad. Concorde was from an era of technological advance that reached for the stars and was marked by surmounting seemingly insurmountable feats. Engineering to be proud of. The sad truth is it wasn't a financial success, it was hugely noisy and not up to today's stringent efficiency and environmental regulations.
But who cares? Concorde was a beautiful, amazing piece of engineering the like of which the world will likely never see again.

Farewell old friend.

 

[fbnss]

one sat over at eastside all the years i worked at heathrow, sat in the rain doing nothing. Dunno if its still there, left there about 7 years ago now.

 

[joinerman]

Been on the one in Duxford Museum, like a cigar tube & very claustrophobic.

 

[StarCruiser]

Yes, when you see it against even one if the smaller passenger jets it really does look tiny.

 

[StarCruiser]

4 Rolls Royce Olympus engines. The same power as HMS Ark Royal.

 

[Chas]

one sat over at eastside all the years i worked at heathrow, sat in the rain doing nothing. Dunno if its still there, left there about 7 years ago now.

There used to be a Concorde or maybe it was a replica in the centre of the roundabout on the entrance road to the airport just before the tunnel under the runways, but it was swapped for some other airlines aircraft that probably paid Heathrow masses for the advertising value.

 

[flint]

I can remember the sonic boom tests over London (I think they used Lightnings), as part of the Concorde project in the 60s to see how people would react, quite a crack, it didn't go down too well. Concorde was a beautiful sight, but very loud and quite often went over our house in S. London quite low. When we moved to Wales in the 80s, every evening at the same time, there was a rumble, which I was told came from Concorde coming in over the Atlantic before going subsonic. At one time, I believe it held the record as the most fuel inefficient form of travel ever devised, but was a brilliant piece of design and engineering.

 

[fbnss]

but it was swapped for some other airlines aircraft that probably paid Heathrow masses for the advertising value.

It was a model replaced by an A380, can't remember if it was emirates or singapore.
The one over by hatton cross was a real one, sitting outside the hangar. Just looked on google maps and its not there anymore.

 

[StarCruiser]

97000 horsepower pushing that cigar tube along.

 

[StarCruiser]

I used to hear it come in and go out as a kid in South East London.

 

[fbnss]

Makes my camera work look amazing!

 

[StarCruiser]

Image stabilisation has come on a long way since then I guess…

 

[fbnss]

Guess which currently popular airline I used to work for?

 

[Chas]

Been on the one in Duxford Museum, like a cigar tube & very claustrophobic.

Yes they are claustrophobic, I got on board one but I can't remember where that was. just like a skinny tube train.
I bought my mother, who was a fanatical Concorde fan, a flight in one didn't actually go to any destination, it was just an hour and a half joy flight. £300 but it was worth it just to see her face when she was describing it.