Can't say I know much about aircraft engineering but from what I heard, read & saw at the time, the main obstacle to airworthiness was the lack of protection for the engines et c. from foreign object damage.Would anyone here (you can't possibly know less than I do) guess at what would be needed to beef the protection up to an acceptable level? Would such engineering be feasible or easy to fund?I suspect most people would love to see it flying again :( .I also suspect the very vocal tiny minority would stop it happening except for display :( .

As far as I am aware, all the work that was necessary to beef up the BA Concordes was in fact done to them when they were grounded right after the Air France one crashed (kevlar lining on fuel tanks, that sort of thing).That armoring of the fuel tanks was in fact quite problematic from what I recall, since it had to be put inside the tanks and was threatening to reduce their fuel capacity to a level where a transatlantic flight might have been a bit marginal on fuel, but they managed to suss it out, although as it turned out it was a lot of money spent for little reason, since as we know, it got grounded anyway.Al

Thank you Al for those remarks. They pretty much sum up my feelings towards a very special aircraft. I was driving back from Liverpool in 2003 listening to the Test match on Radio5 Live and Concorde passed over the ground inbound to Heathrow. Many in the ground applauded as it passed overhead. Fantastic!Would it happen to any other civilian passenger aircraft anywhere in the world? Not a snowball's chance in hell!

As unlikely as it is that it will take to the skies, I suspect you don't understand very much about how the average person in Britain feels toward Concorde if you think they would object to it flying again. Every time I ever saw that creation fly over Stockport on its way into Manchester, people of all ages used to stop in the street, looking and pointing admiringly up towards the thing. Many on the street where I used to live would come out of their houses to watch it until it disappeared from sight (really). Short of the Spitfire and Lancaster, there isn't another aircraft in the world that gets that kind of reaction from the average person. As far as I can surmise, it's pretty much universally loved by most Brits, even those that don't know one end of an aeroplane from the other.Al

I suggest you find out how much the "average person" is prepared to pay voluntarily to see Concorde flying again. They can, after all, send their donations to the group trying to get Concorde airborne. Personally I wouldn't pay an penny. It the current economic climate I suspect many others wouldn't either!

Maybe not, but I was replying to the point you made about people not wanting to see it return owing to the noise and seeking to prevent it because of that, and not to the notion of funding it.A

I suggest you find out how much the "average person" is prepared to pay voluntarily to see Concorde flying again. They can, after all, send their donations to the group trying to get Concorde airborne. Personally I wouldn't pay an penny. It the current economic climate I suspect many others wouldn't either!

You might be surprised.......

There is in no way that even the FAA will carry out its Airworthiness Certificate due to the lack of support from the (ex) manufacturer. Returning the aircraft into an airworthy condition would be highly unlikely due to the same problem. Not even British Airways. Not even Air France.The Concorde will remain to fly though.....in the FS world, that is! :)

There is in no way that even the FAA will carry out its Airworthiness Certificate due to the lack of support from the (ex) manufacturer. Returning the aircraft into an airworthy condition would be highly unlikely due to the same problem. Not even British Airways. Not even Air France.The Concorde will remain to fly though.....in the FS world, that is! :)

As a point of information, is there an equivalent of the UK 'Permit to Fly' in the USA?

IMHO... Leave them where they sit, in aviation museums or wherever they may be. To quote a line from an old movie:"Jim, the Enterprise is 20 years old... we feel her day is over."Alan :(

Then again, the HMS Victory was over 40 years old when she fought her finest battle. :( Al

IMHO... Leave them where they sit, in aviation museums or wherever they may be. To quote a line from an old movie:"Jim, the Enterprise is 20 years old... we feel her day is over."Alan :(

So using the same analogy those who are married to wives older than 40 should encourage them not to parade in public because "you're not what you were luv!"Beware incoming SideWinder!! :(

Beware incoming SideWinder!! :(

And there's another one; the Sidewinder originally dates from 1953. Of course it has been upgraded a few times, but it is still basically 57 years old.Al

IMHO... Leave them where they sit, in aviation museums....

....or rotting away on an old barge by the Hudson River :(

....or rotting away on an old barge by the Hudson River :(

If that is happening then it's nothing short of a disgrace. Manchester Airport have built a hanger around Alpha Charlie to protect her from the elements. Likewise with the Concorde loaned to Barbados.If this is affordable in the UK and Barbados then it certainly is in the US.