There goes Concorde

delticbob · Post by **delticbob** » 19 Oct 2006, 19:05

Well I don't normally watch the BBC1 6.00pm news but I did tonight

Concorde was on -yes the Queen of the skies flies....but only in the tape library images.

Seems that one of the es Air France Concordes - wasn't quick enough to catch where & whicj one, is kept in a mothballed state of readyness. At least once a week an engineer (female & not at all good looking :shock: ) does a systems check.

Presumably this means the hydraulic systems have not been drain then

The film showed the nose systems getting the once over. A case of what goes uo goes down too.

Compare that with the lamentable efforts BA have gone to to make sure no private company or owner can make one of the British Concordes fly....again.

Makes ya proud to be British doesn't it

(Don't do irony unless it socks & shirts

)

Bob

jonesey2k · Post by **jonesey2k** » 19 Oct 2006, 19:15

The Concorde was the one next to the prototype at Le Bourget.
I should know because Ive been there

Isnt the Concorde that Boeing have in good nick? I think I read somewhere that if ever one was to fly again it would be that one?

TobyV · Post by **TobyV** » 19 Oct 2006, 19:20

BA wont let its aircraft be flown again. They cannot even be powered up or even have their noses drooped except with special permission for cleaning and by mechanical means. In contrast, AF no longer owns its Concordes, so providing theres one in suitable condition and it has the support of manufacturers and the relevant authorities and their are the right people and spare parts available, theres nothing else stopping that one flying, theoretically.

Its still a long shot, but its not impossible [for an ex-AF one].

Post by **Garry Russell** » 19 Oct 2006, 19:33

Hi Toby

It was F-BTSD

Garry

TobyV · Post by **TobyV** » 19 Oct 2006, 19:57

Yeah I know. I think of the 'AF ones it has the best chance. That said I think it was F-BVFC which was kept running at CDG for some while after retirement in relation to ongoing investigations into the 2000 crash, so that ones probably not too bad either.

Ironically, I think the AF ones are in better nick because AF took the cheaper option of letting them go, whereas despite careful preparation and control, some of the BA ones arent in the best places

jonesey2k · Post by **jonesey2k** » 19 Oct 2006, 19:58

You mean like rotting in the sea air? :sad:

rich byrne · Post by **rich byrne** » 19 Oct 2006, 20:17

There's an article in todays Times about it

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2410914.html

select quote: â€œWe always felt the British loved Concorde more than the French so we cannot understand why nothing is being done with the BA Concordes.â€

jonesey2k · Post by **jonesey2k** » 19 Oct 2006, 20:36

Makes me feel sick each time I see a concorde on the ground... dead.
It is wierd to feel so much emotion for a an object?

TobyV · Post by **TobyV** » 19 Oct 2006, 21:34

jonesey2k wrote:Makes me feel sick each time I see a concorde on the ground... dead.
It is wierd to feel so much emotion for a an object?

Its not just any object, its a marvellous technological achievement, that happens to be at least 50% British and an aesthetic masterpiece and for 30 years, stood apart from everything else at the world's major airports.

Coincidentally, as far as emotion goes, it "almost" displays all seven "signs of life" (shamelessly stolen from the GCSE bitesize site - the first thing google returned

)

1. Movement - yup, and very fast too
2. Feeding - consumes large quantities of Avtur
3. Growth - expands during supersonic flight
4. Take in and get rid of gases - no arguments with that!
5. Sensitivity. That is reacting to changes in the environment - intake ramps / AICUs?
6. Reproduction - ok, maybe not, but I'm sure someone will come up with a joke on that one

7. Excretion or getting rid of waste - do carbon dioxide and water count

? If not, how about blue ice?

So its almost a living thing, almost

jonesey2k · Post by **jonesey2k** » 19 Oct 2006, 22:06

I wonder how many people are in the "Mach 2" club?