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Concorde (Merged)

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Old 19th Oct 2006, 13:00
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BTW, Basil does not support the air race festival at Perth or any other ad placed by his nom de web
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Old 19th Oct 2006, 13:00
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There was something recently regarding Alpha Delta in NYC. It is deteriorating faster than evisaged. And, its hardly surprising considering where it has been moored. They are looking for a new location for it apparently and a location inside JFK airport was suggested.
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Old 19th Oct 2006, 13:02
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Has the ba board destroyed something dear to me?

Not just to me, but to many. Concorde.

And the historic collection at Cosford.

But it it the Dirty Tricks and price-rigging affairs that I will never forgive. I don't care whether no-one at ba reads my posts - at least I know that I will never be a ba customer.
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Old 19th Oct 2006, 13:08
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AC at manch is in superb condition. True, it would be better if she was under cover (though the photographers would disagree), and that is planned.

There is a full time engineer looking after her, but of course every time it rains (and it is Manchester!) you get those black streaks beneath the windows - nothing you can do about that. She regularly has all access hatches removed to ensure no damp is gathering, and there is heating and a de-humidifier on board all the time.

AC, along with the other BA Concordes, was de-commissioned on site by BA. This involved draining all fluids and removing batteries. Part of the engine start mechanism was removed, but nothing else was touched. Apart from that and the electronic cockpit door lock, which was removed for security reasons, AC is complete. BA still own all the Concordes, and will not allow electrical power to be applied to any of the systems due life-expired wiring. We have fitted out own cockpit and cabin lights in AC for the tours.

Quite why AF are being praised here i don't know. They were the first to ground the aircraft, and that grounding was a major factor in BA having to do the same.

Come on a technical tour (in-depth tech tour recommended for entusiasts, classic tour OK for a quicker peek) around AC at Manchester - we'd love to see you and it is a fantastic experience for anyone who has even a passing interest in this fabulous aeroplane. It's the only Concorde anywhere that you can enter the cockpit. You can even sit in the P1 seat!

SSD
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Old 19th Oct 2006, 14:48
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Concorde - BA holds its head high

Dope, If you really believe there was any chance of either maintaining Concorde operations or restarting them (even for display purposes) then you have no knowledge in the area. The manufacturer withdrew support, the aircraft was ageing extremely quickly and the suppliers of spares have long since decommisioned their facilities and resources.
It was a fantastic machine - it had a brilliant innings. I was privileged to fly it several times, each time breathtaking experiences. But, it has gone, for ever. Things do and people do, sad fact of life but inevitable. Time to move on.
BEagle, BA ind its dedicated employees invested extraordinary amounts of time and energy in Concorde operations for nearly 30 years. They deserve nothing but credit. Sadly, you seem unlikely to provide any.
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Old 19th Oct 2006, 15:15
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Time to move on.
Sadly though it now takes 8 hours to cross the pond....but thats progress I guess

When I were a kid, it only used to take 3 an' a 'alf

SSD, i'm glad to hear that she is in good hands. BTW does the tour fee go into maintaining her?
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Old 19th Oct 2006, 16:26
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Porky (presumably you are that Porky B?), you will note that I, along with a certain Sir RB, have always held that the Concorde fleet was the only good thing about ba.

It was good to have 'AF at Brize when the flying recommenced.

But the dispersal and decommissioning of the aircraft after premature retirement, in some cases to some quite unsuitable locations, was conducted with indecent haste. It was as though ba couldn't wait to see the back of them - and it stank.

I side with John Hutch' over the death of Concorde.

Last edited by BEagle; 19th Oct 2006 at 18:52.
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Old 19th Oct 2006, 17:14
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Angry Concorde

Porky Speed PIg,

You missed the point, in as much as if a Concorde ever flies again , It will be in French Colours because BA couldnt give a damn about our heritage and are very short sighted---

Board Meeting
"Can we make any money from Heritage ? er no!- well bin it then ------ now pass me that nice brochure on 787 Dreamliner - how many should we order? that said, anybody fancy having a look at the A380?????"-- ( in 2015 or thereabouts)

Last edited by dope05; 20th Oct 2006 at 16:51.
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Old 19th Oct 2006, 17:42
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Even made the BBC 6 o' clock News. That might rattle a few decanters.
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Old 19th Oct 2006, 17:52
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I have just seen a prog on FV Digital about the Air France Concorde, in its pristine appearance together with the marvellous and obvious signs of the hard work the engineers are clearly putting into it. It is a truly a sight to see.

Everything works! They demonstrated that the shields still work and the Flight Deck looks fabulous.

What a shame that the vandals at BA had no passion. Or any consideration for those who wanted some gesture from the management to preserve one of them. It cost them close on £16m to get 'AF' back flying after the crash in France. That would have been the aircraft to save.

Eddington will always be remembered as the man who killed Concorde. Draining the hydraulics and cutting the wiring was pure spite IMHO.
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Old 19th Oct 2006, 18:57
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Concorde

At the end of the day, as long as it rises to the skies I dont care whose colours it displays------ well done you frenchies
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Old 19th Oct 2006, 19:29
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Originally Posted by PPRuNe Pop
Draining the hydraulics and cutting the wiring was pure spite IMHO.
No spite involved IMHO.

All fluids were drained as part of the decommissioning - so they wouldn't start to leak as seals detereated over the years, presumably.

No wires were cut, or any other damage inflicted.

SSD
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Old 19th Oct 2006, 21:17
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Since BA did the de-commissioning ( and still own the aircraft) perhaps they should be required to report what that involved. We don't want anyone to be accused of subsequent vandalism.
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Old 19th Oct 2006, 21:27
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Perhaps a FOI disclosure request for the relevant maintenance work orders?
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Old 20th Oct 2006, 14:12
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BA and Concorde

Dope and Beagle and co, I know I will never convince you but it will not stop me trying. Let's try another tack - one of the BA Pension Schemes has a deficit of £2.1Bn. I (and many others) know where we would rather BA invested its money. Let's say hypothetically it would take £10M to return to flight (how much has been spent on the Vulcan so far, a much simpler aeroplane?), thats about the same amount of money as paying for 400 people for a year or 40 for 10 years. Would these people willingly give up their jobs so that aviation enthusiasts could indulge themselves?
Its gone - get over it - use your energies to campaign for a successor!
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Old 20th Oct 2006, 14:34
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Are the bright red lights down the exhausts going to be retained when it gets back into the air? Nah, didn't think so.

It would be great to see a Concorde (AF or BA) back in the air and I wouldn't give a stuff if Ghadaffi funded the project. However, I'm a realist and my gut tells me no way....whereas my heart says YES!!!

Let's hope it happens
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Old 20th Oct 2006, 15:10
  #37 (permalink)  
 
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Originally Posted by Mig15
"Life Expied Wiring"
What's that all about then?
In all my years I've never come across that!
AFAIK, Wiring is classed as "On-Condition" and is repaired / replaced when deemed necessary by inspection.

I guess it means that as it's no longer going to be inspected (by a suitably qualified person), or replaced if found to be defective, then it can't be used.

SSD
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Old 20th Oct 2006, 15:26
  #38 (permalink)  
 
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Porky, the mismanagement of your pension fund is hardly relevant in this context.

I don't believe that ba could ever put Concorde back into the air. I do not think, however, that they tried very hard to stop it being withdrawn from service. But they ensured that no-one else ever could, apart from the French, who have rather more passion about such things than the waterworld suits who run ba. I have often been told that to have an interest in aeroplanes is the kiss of death for any wannabee ba manager.

The 'time to move on' mantra trotted out (sorry) by ba over Concorde's retirement was an attempt to try to deflect attention from the fact that ba had killed off its only USP. Now they have nothing to offer; they lack the charisma of Virgin Atlantic and are now Just Another Airline.

The royal blue livery and golden 'speedbird' of BOAC and the scarlet of BEA were once the premiere symbols of British civil aviation. Not any more.
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Old 20th Oct 2006, 16:08
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Concorde

Porky SpeedPig,

What I am annoyed about is that the French ( With possible tacit support from the President) have been making sure that they could one day get one back into the air. Not that they will BUT could. What does BA do---- sod all

Not even the "World's Favourite Airline " anymore - I think that accolade now resides in Dublin with MOL and the FR squadron

Oh, by the way, I have contributed to try and get XH558 off the ground and it looks like they might MIGHT just succeed !! Actually got to sit in the cockpit when I took our JP5a down to Bruntingthorpe. http://www.tvoc.co.uk/

Mr Porky Speedpig ! HAVE YOU CONTRIBUTED TO THE FUND ?????

Ok--- going off topic --------------------------but worth a mention!

Noddy Holder ( AKA Dope05 )

Last edited by dope05; 20th Oct 2006 at 18:08.
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Old 20th Oct 2006, 16:24
  #40 (permalink)  
 
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As much as I would love to see Concorde grace the skies again, I'm not sure I'd like to see the only one flying painted in Air France colours. Not only were they instrumental in its demise but it would give the airline a prestige that it does NOT deserve!


If BA does not want any further involvement with Concorde then they should offer them for sale at a reasonable price, after all they were paid for by the tax-payer.
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