CONCORDE for VERIFICATION FLIGHT

[genius747]

I heard this morning that tomrrow one of BA's concordes will under go a verification flight of duration 3h 20m and will land back in England at 6pm.
It is also expected to go supersonic during this test flight. A good result will soon mean the Concorde will soon get its C of A back. All results of the verification flight will be made public to the CAA.

[Kerosene Kraut]

Not sure but has any final accident report been released yet? Wonder if they could allow it back into service without final investigation results being known.

[10W]

Statement released by BA this morning.

OPERATIONAL NOTE - CONCORDE TO FLY

Tuesday July 17, 2001: 14.20

"Concorde is scheduled for a verification flight on Tuesday, July 17th, to assess the operational effect of its recent modifications.

Alpha Foxtrot is scheduled to take off from London's Heathrow Airport at approximately 14.20 and land at RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire by 18.00.

The flight will be under the command of British Airways Captain Mike Bannister. The co-pilot will be CAA Chief Test Pilot Jock Reid on behalf of Airbus UK who will be accompanied by a team of engineers. There will be no passengers on board.

The aircraft will depart from British Airways Engineering East base and take off from the southern runway."


Good news, hope it all goes well.

:)

[Golden Monkey]

BBC Story on the same event.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_1441000/1441276.stm

[Mycroft]

Strangely both BBC and ITN lunchtime news referred to the fitting of engine liners

[Diesel8]

With the hopes of not invoking the wrath of OCB:

GODSPEED!

[village flyer]

The test flight of Concorde Alpha Foxtrot, the first to be modified, will take place from Heathrow Airport at 2.20 p.m. tomorrow.

Is this purely for PR? the test flight will be held on the same day as BA's annual shareholders' meeting.

VF

[Ear2ground]

I'm sure that Rod or Sir Colin will be delighted to announce to everyone at the AGM that at 14.20 Concorde is to begin its return to the air, there'll be huge applause and in time honoured tradition the AGM will be wrapped up by 14.19.

[Bellerophon]

Sir Colin? Who he? Lord M I think you mean! :D

[Ear2ground]

Oops,I stand corrected.

[BEagle]

From the owner of one G-B'AF to the owners of another - very best of luck!

I don't know how long Concorde will be at Brize, but it would be rather good if the first thing George Dubya sees when he gets out of Air Force One on Wednesday is the World's only SST!!

"Shee-hit. What in hayell is thayut? Why don' we have any o'they in tha good ole US of A?"

[splonguk]

When on my way back to the staff car park at LHR yesterday evening, I saw BA engineers and ground crew towing AF around Eastside engineering base.

She was being towed from the hangar she had been in round to the usual parking area where the other 4 Concordes are! BA are being extremely careful with her - I counted 15 ground crew walking along with her checking the tarmac and 2 in the tug!!

Good luck to her today (like she needs it)!

[InFinRetirement]

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!

[itchy kitchin]

Best of luck to all involved in getting her back in the air. About time. I will be in Hounslow this afternoon and will be looking(and listening) out for her.
:D

[What_does_this_button_do?]

Wonder how many calls to the tower there will be when she's moving around the airfield "yeah, er, well, we'll hold here and wait for the Concorde to go past".

Happened to me once. Was on a 737 going to Amsterdam from T4 when Concorde was number 3 to land. Captain said that as the queue at the takeoff runway was busy we might as well get some sightseeing in, so we'll hold here before crossing 27L until after she lands.

[ 17 July 2001: Message edited by: What_does_this_button_do? ]

[Wycombe]

Beags,

Don't have your 'AF in my logbook, but do have your 'JP 'JR and 'RG! (one of which was first solo).

Feeling sorry I won't be around the Oxfordshire Airbase over the next few days to witness the going's on.

Just visualising a Vickers Funbus escort, one on each wing as she comes over the Bampton Road - 8 Conways and 4 Olympus - fab!
:cool: :cool:

[What_does_this_button_do?]

Bet the press are gutted. They were told yesterday by BA that it would be a 27L departure. It's going to be a 09R! - a lot of camera crews are going to be in the wrong place! :eek:

[callsign Metman]

Nice to see the Old Bird glide past my Farnborough window at 1421 local.

Go on Capt Bannister..give it some welly!!

:D :D

Good Luck!!


CM

[TK - 421]

Bloody Noisy Aeroplane flew over my house about 35 minutes ago.

Cant wipe the smile off my face :D :D :D

[cnapan]

(Warning: excessively sentimental story!)

"It's only an aeroplane"

The last job my grandfather did before he retired was help to build Concorde. His retirement present was a picture of the aeroplane surrounded by his friends' signatures. Though I was a boy then, I still remember him showing me this picture, his fierce pride shining through wet eyes as he told me all about it.

The disaster last year had a profound effect on me as I realised for the first time just how much of an inspiration Concorde had been to me from those early days.

Yesterday, I heard about Concorde's impending test flight. I dropped everything and with barely minutes to spare, I found a place at the end of the runway at Heathrow. There were thousands of people littering grass verges, petrol stations and viewing platforms. Ah - so it's not just me that feels this way then!

For the first time in my life, I watched Concorde take off. It was simply wonderful. I felt my grandpa by my side once more and we shed a tear together.

One day, perhaps next year or 20 years from now, I'll travel to New York on grandpa's aeroplane. He and I will be together again, and we'll look down out of the window at the aircraft of tomorrow, bouncing around 5 miles below in the turbulence, receding at just over the speed of sound.

[SK]

If anyone missed it, here is the link to the BBC video of the takeoff: http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/1440000/video/_1442488_concorde14_takeoff_heap_vi.ram

Also, the captain's comments after the flight (audio only): http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/cta/events01/uk/concorde/slideshow/concorde.ram

[Chimbu chuckles]

Yeah....most excellent.

Chuck.