Seeking Concorde engineering/operational expertise for

[dcarmich]

Long-time listener, first-time caller...

Personally, I'm not an aviation expert myself, but have always been a 'transport fan' of all modes (this site's commentary on the AF447 accident was some of the best I've ever seen.)

Currently, I'm writing a story (sort of a 'future that might have been') where an upgraded Concorde that is still in active service is a central part, and I'd be interested in making contacts with ex-BA/AF Concorde Engineering/management personnel to make sure my depiction of technical and operational procedures is accurate.

Would there be anyone on this board who had 'deep' experience with Concorde at either operator?

Thanks in advance!

[john_tullamarine]

Doug, I suspect that you've come to a reasonable place.

Numerous Concorde pilots, engineers and maintenance personnel.

Plus the Chief Aerodynamicist

... for starters ...

[dcarmich]

Thank you. :-)

My first few questions:

1) If the Concorde fleet had kept flying after 2003, what modifications or enhancements would be added to them to both keep them in line with modern safety standards and increase crew efficiency/maintainability?

Would it be 'bolting-on' a flight management computer to the existing analog instrumentation, or (long-term) refitting with a fully-digital avionics package similar to the current A3x0 (where x >= 2)?

1a) If #2 was done (full digital refit assuming budget was available), would there still be a need for a flight engineer, or would a lot of the F/E's functions be handled by the FMC/ECAM (assuming it was properly programmed? ... only looked at an A3x0 manual briefly, hope I got the acronym right :rolleyes:)

2) Who would be doing most of the work for this? Obviously, the R&D would be done at Airbus, but would the actual installation be done by Airbus or BA/AF Concorde Engineering?

3) About how long would such a program be? (I'm guessing in the 10-15 year+ range, including R&D/ground testing/flight testing.)

[bucket_and_spade]

There is an aviation/car museum here in leafy Surrey (UK) called Brooklands - they have a Concorde and it's maintained by ex-BA engineers. If you track down their website they might be able to help or point you in the right direction. They're all enthusiasts (obviously)!

[E_S_P]

By far the best insider info is to be found here ....

http://www.pprune.org/tech-log/423988-concorde-question.html

:ok: