Concorde - Last flight tomorrow

[Guest Anthony_D]

Tomorrow's the day.I'll be driving south to visit my parents and on the way, I'll be passing on the M25 motorway underneath the final approaches to runways 9L and 9R at Heathrow airport. She's scheduled to land at 4pm - so maybe, just maybe I'll see her in the air for the last ever time! I just hope it's an easterly wind.But here's a question that hasn't been raised in the forums. Shouldn't the last flight be made on December 17th to mark the 100th year of flight? It's only another couple of months away.

[Guest Trevyuk2002]

Unfortunatley all you may see is a fly past if we are lucky enough to get one.....The wind is currently from the North West, so they will approach over London into 27R.Rumours are abound that the final flight inbound from JFK will do a fly-over while the other two concordes land.Last night at the airport at Hatton cross was a very emotional time.Converstation between Heathrow tower and BA001 captain, very emotiveTower to 001"001, now cleared for departure. On behalf of the thousands of fans who have followed the fortunes of Concorde, and on behalf of the thousands who have turned up today to witness your last departure from Heathrow, on behalf of all the airfield personnel, we thank you for giving us so much pleasure.If Concorde were a bird, it would be weeping now.Safe Journey, cleared for take off."001 to tower"Thank you very much and we all here, feel the same."001 to tower"Concorde 001, 3. 2. 1. go" ;(

[Ken Pryor 0]

I just watched the final departure from JFK (on CNN). What a sad, but beautiful sight. I think all planes are cool, but there was always something special about Concorde.KP

[Guest Tom EverittAFG]

BBC 2 and BBC News 24 will have live coverage of the 3 aircraft currently airborne returning to LHR for the last time from 1530 GMT.As Jeremey Clarkson (UK Motor journalist) said when boarding the final flight this morning, Its one small step for a man, one giant leap backwards for mankind.TomAFG.

[Guest AirbusBuff]

What's the big deal? Ahh fagetaboutit!! It's about time that old rust bucket made room for technological prowess. Like the glowing mass called Mir on its' last firey ride into history, so goes the way of the Concorde, only hopefully not firey. It is a good thing and monumental occasion in the history of aviation to finally at last see that aircraft out of the sky, bringing business back to America and Boring's 747. It means more job opportunities and more money for the next generation of technological wonder. Now the race is on to see who will capture the coveted title of first to Mach 3 transport. The vacuum created by the outgoing Concorde will leave penty of opportunity for innovation, creative thinking, imagination, and progress. There may someday be a $1 per seat mile instead of $5 on the concorde or even lower. The concorde was as noisy a polluter of air as it was graceful in flight when I first saw one over my house on Long Island when flying out of JFK eastward toward London. Well the old bird is finally going to retire to some museum or some outdoor display, rotting away while a new breed of SSTs drag her reins all over the sky pushing the barriers of technological limit.Good riddens and good be Concorde -- hope never to see you again!!

[Christopher Low 5,338]

I see no reason why one or two Concordes couldn't have been kept flying. It seems rather sad to be watching those three wonderful planes getting the "water salute" at Heathrow airport, considering that at least five of the planes have apparently a considerable amount of potential flying life left.On a thoughtful note...will we all be trying to raise tens of millions of pounds in the future to restore one Concorde to airworthy status, just as is currently happening with that other great delta winged aircraft...the Avro Vulcan ?Time will tell, but I will never accept that what is currently happening to Concorde is fully justified. The aircraft is loved by far too many people to just let it go so easily. Yes, you can all witter on about costs and maintenance until you go blue in the face, but I would willingly pay a "Concorde tax", simply to keep the plane flying. That's how much I care about it, and I suspect that a great many other British people (together with numerous others around the world) feel the same.What a sad day.Chris Low.

[Guest Tom EverittAFG]

"The vacuum created by the outgoing Concorde will leave plenty of opportunity for innovation, creative thinking, imagination, and progress"Concorde has more innovation, creative thinking, imagination and progress in every part of it, than any Boeing or Airbus will EVER have. This aircraft pushed the 1960's aircraft industry to its limits and beyond, and I firmly believe that without Concorde, the aviation industry today, would be 10, 20 even 30 years behind in technological terms.You can argue all you like about its commercial failings, I would probably agree with you. But you CANNOT argue the fact that Concorde was the biggest single advance in civil aviation technology to this date. Not even the aborted 2001/2002 Sonic Cruiser came close to it. Concorde was designed ahead of its time, built ahead of its time, retired ahead of its time and it will be a VERY long time before she is equalled, let alone bettered.It has put Britain and France at the very top of the aviation tree for nearly 30 years. We should have been there for another 20.Right now, I'm feeling a little less British than I did this morning.TomAFG.

[Guest AirbusBuff]

Chris, I have an appreciation for the way you feel. I suppose if I were honest with myself I would admit I feel a certain bereavement in seeing the end of an era but to be honest with myself is to also admit that technology advances at a steady pace with leaps and bounds.This fact alone requires the Concorde to breath its' last breath now or later when Boeing (Boring LOL not intentional in last post) or some other manufacturer introduces the next generation. Matter of factish, the Tu-144 may be revived as a result of the demise of Concorde and once again the world will behold a 60's era plane rise from the ashes of the boneyard and reclaim supersonic flight.With the Concorde out of service, its' engines could now be removed and put into the Tu-144 which never had descent engines to bein with. I know Boeing and other big whigs revived one and are using it to develop the next generation of SST. With concorde out of the way, the skies at 60,000 feet are finally clear to make way.The imagination can run wild with this but I certainly in no way would favor keeping this antiquated aircrat flying. I look forward to seeing the next generation which I am sure will far exceed the performance of the concorde.

[Guest AirbusBuff]

"Concorde has more innovation, creative thinking, imagination and progress in every part of it, than any Boeing or Airbus will EVER have. This aircraft pushed the 1960's aircraft industry to its limits and beyond, and I firmly believe that without Concorde, the aviation industry today, would be 10, 20 even 30 years behind in technological terms."Take a cylindrical tube, put a delta wing on it, four massive turb jet afterburing (reheat for you British stoics) thrust engines, a nice pointy nose, and voila! Mach 2 with your hair on fire.The Concorde borrowed more technology and innovation from military fighters of the era such as the MiG-21 with its' Delta wing and military jet engine technology than ever before. It simply took a company with enough money to glue the pieces together.I agree the Concorde was a breed apart, ahead of its' time for a transport category aircraft but so was the Tupolev 144 developed at nearly the same time. Mach 2 flight is nothing new and certainly nothing unachieveable by the next generation. Why Mach 2 records are shattered on the white sands of New Mexico with every land speed record. I understand your disappointment in seeing an old cold war relic pulled out of service but it must happen.As transport categories go, there are certainly difficulties to overcome but I would not be surprised to see within the next two years rapid prototyping to fill the void.Supersonic transport is at the verge of an evolutionary change and I look forward to it. Once again, I understand your disappointment. Imagine how those passengers returning to JFK feel now that their flying time is doubled or tripled.

[Guest Tom EverittAFG]

"Take a cylindrical tube, put a delta wing on it, four massive turb jet afterburning (reheat for you British stoics) thrust engines, a nice pointy nose, and voila! Mach 2 with your hair on fire."I'm sure the designers wish it were that easy! Indeed if it were, then there would be 1000's of SSTs and we would be mourning the end of the 747 today. The very fact that the Americans never got past several wooden mock-ups shows just how big a challenge building an SST was back then (technologically and Financially) and the lack of a replacement for Concorde shows how big a challenge it remains."The Concorde borrowed more technology and innovation from military fighters of the era such as the MiG-21 with its' Delta wing and military jet engine technology than ever before"The Jet fighters of the era provided the basics, yes, but Concorde needed more. A Mig 21 was never designed to fly at Mach 2, up at 60'000ft for 3+ hours. A Mig 21 didn't have to carry 100 people in First Class Comfort all the way to New York, or as envisaged back then as far as Tokyo! The basics were there but they had to be taken to the next level and beyond. Concorde was indeed a technological leap, but it was one which hasn't come back to just earth yet. That will only happen when we see that mach meter go past number 2 whilst flying over land in the company of 300+ other passengers.I think your prediction of prototype SSTs appearing in the next 2 years is a little optimistic (Although I really wish otherwise!). As I said before, Boeing couldn't even get the subsonic Sonic Cruiser past the drawing board just a year ago. As for Concorde having to cease flying in order to make way for the next generation of SST, well why? The existence of the 747 doesn't prevent Airbus from building the A380, just as the existence of Concorde doesn't prevent anyone who thinks they have the will, the money, and the economics right building the next SST.As for the TU144, I think the fact that became a museum piece many years before Concorde speaks volumes. A Ford Fiesta with a Ferrari engine is still a Ford Fiesta after all ;)

[Guest Anthony_D]

Hello Again,I received this text message yesterday from one of my friends who works for Airbus at Filton:"17th Nov will be the last ever flight. The last aircraft built at Filton, G-BOAF will come home. I was in Cardiff yesterday to see it"Note the date - exactly one month before the 100th Aniversary of flight. I think November is a typo here but he couldn't reconfirm the date to me.I myself didn't see concorde sadly.

[hanstatdg 0]

Yesterday, Friday 24th October 2003, at about 16:30, I was casually looking out of my window (I live about 14 miles N of Heathrow EGLL) when I spotted a Concord flying over. I knew this was the last flight, and my TV was on showing another 2 Concords about to land at Heathrow. By chance I had my camera handy, with a telephoto lens attached. I quickly pointed it through the window glass and took the attached snap. It's a bit fuzzy, but there will never be another chance to take such a photo.David H

[Guest bjjones]

>Note the date - exactly one month before the 100th Aniversary>of flight. I think November is a typo here but he couldn't>reconfirm the date to me.no Typo i'm afraid;G-BOAA (206)to Scottish National Museum of Flight East FortuneWill be shipped by road and barge in early 2004 and go on display by the Summer G-BOAB (208) will stay at HeathrowG-BOAC (204) has already gone to ManchesterDeparted 10:25 Friday 31st OctArrived 10:50 am Friday 31st Octyou can see what they're planning for it here http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/news/sto...tory=71623.html G-BOAD (210) to Intrepid New YorkDepts Nov 11th TBC G-BOAE (212) is going to Grantley Adams Airport, BarbadosDepts Nov 10th TBC G-BOAF (216) to Airbus UK, Bristol FiltonDepts Nov 17th TBC G-BOAG (214) to Museum of Flight, SeattleDepts 15:00 Monday 3rd NovArrives 15:00 Wed 5th NovThe Type certificate will be withdrawn by Airbus at the end of Novemember so any flights in December are out of the question.

[Guest glide_or_die]

Just saw G-BOAE arc overhead!

[Guest AndrewW]

It was GBOAD for NYBGI is next Monday 17th OAEFilton is 26th OAFhttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/48020.jpg[/font size]