Along with two other PPRuNers, Flying Lawyer and PPRuNe Dispatcher, I had the very great pleasure of being in, on and around 'AF' recently. I say in because not only did we get aboard - we had our heads inside the gi-normous fuel tanks, the very large gear bays, with their new armoured wiring, the intakes with their huge ramps, and other places that no-one would normally get an opportunity to see.
It was another PPRuNer, and one of it's Captains, who showed us around this magnificent aeroplane, whose magnificence is not appreciated until you see the real beauty of the engineering close up. His 'love' of this machine shone throughout. We spent several hours with 'AF' being given a most lucid description of Concorde and it's many features - most of it on the flight deck where we hopefully got to understand a few of the instruments associated with supersonic flight. Certainly, it is a flight deck so much different from those I was used to.
But my abiding memory will be seeing 'AF' sitting in the hangar, almost begging the guys to finish their brilliant work. So that she can get back to showing everyone who looks up, and who doesn't, showing and proving beyond any doubt just what Great Britain's designers achieved when they designed Concorde. The BEST of all the world's airliners.
When Concorde gets back to flying for a living, I will hear her at around 1715hrs as she prepares to join for finals overhead my home - as she did every day when landing on the westerly.
I'd love to see the faces of the guys who worked so hard to get her ready for today's flight. Boxes of Kleenex everywhere I wouldn't wonder.
We PPRuNers were privleged that day and couldn't thank our host enough - still can't. But today sees 'AF' take to the skies again - a really great day for BA and all concerned in getting her ready.
Just had a thought! 'AF is taking some of our fingerprints with her! They can't have wiped them all off. They were everywhere!