Concorde to the sky?
 

If you think that the Vulcan flying is good - look at this !

CONCORDE FANS HOPE FOR LEGISLATIVE SUPPORT
British fans of the Concorde are not giving up in the fight to restore one of the elegant birds to airworthy condition, and they are focusing on the London Olympics of 2012 as an event that deserves to be commemorated with a Concorde fly-by. Last week, they won some support in the British House of Commons when a bill was introduced that would promote the maintenance and preservation of "certain vehicles of cultural value." The legislation, if it passes, would authorize the restoration of a Concorde to airworthy condition for use on ceremonial occasions. Britain's Save Concorde Group is encouraged by support for new legislation.

"maintenance and preservation" is a lot different to "restoration to airworthy condition".

Not a chance of Concorde flying again!

Does this mean I'll have to buy another hat so i can eat that one as well as the one I'll eat when the Vulcan flies in 2 months time?

Maybe we can lobby Parliament to approve legislation to get the Titanic raised and get that seaworthy again, in time for the 2012 olympics?

Dreamers.......:ugh:

XH558 won't be flying in 2 months time "Chuffer", but I'd save that hat and the sarcastic comments for a little later, where you can enjoy eating them both at your leisure.

Chimp.......:ugh:

I've been an aircraft lover all my life, as is my wife. I worked with Concorde for 30+ years and shed a few tears when we saw the last take off. I can also remember Vulcans and recall the sound and the sheer beauty of the machines. But, I no longer agree with spending millions in restoring these aircraft to airworthiness. Supposing they did fly again, how much more is needed to retain them in airworthy condition and fly them regularly? The miond boggles.

God forbid but maybe one day, those who want to keep filling bottomless pits with cash might have relatives with incurable diseases.... then they might think again where their monies would be better spent.

The Concord could still be flying now if Branson had his way.

Strange thing is, that BA and AF and along with the builder, were given the the A/C in the first place, yet they were entrusted with the ultimate desision to take them out of the air IIRC.

Branson had no intention of operating Concorde -he knew it was impossible - so simply took a shed load of free publicity and goodwill without risking, let alone spending, a penny (something he is very, very good at).

Wow, very good at swallowing PR-issued fiction, aren't you?

If that were the case AF and BA could have told RB to "put your money where your mouth is" IE., called his bluff. They didn't, so if what you are implying is correct, they missed a Golden opportunity to shut him up.
Think you will find BA and AF would rather have burnt the Concords rather than let RB get his hands on them.
Don't believe all you read and hear.

I am absolutely amazed at the number of people who actually beleive that!

Good marketing guy, the bearded one. :rolleyes:

After a few weeks of talking about saving Concorde when BA announced the a/c's retirement, Branson went quiet....why?......because his people did the research and found out the costs!

The aircraft are Museum exhibits now and modified suitably to allow visitor access, If you had one flying that would deprive the public getting on board.

The aircraft are being preserved for the long term, not to showboat sloowwwlllyyy around airshows for 5-10 years.

Spot on Gordon,i could not agree more.:rolleyes:

Surely the exact point of the HLF is to preserve our heritage.

We pay taxes and make donations to specific charities to look after those who have medical problems. The truth is that the gopherment waste our taxes on self preservation, ineffective policies and one generation of no-hopers begeting the next, therefore they cannot finance a decent NHS.

While I suspect this is true, I'm with doubleu-anker in wanderig why BA missed the oppertunity to call Branson's bluff, with all the dammage having to back down would cause to him.

To all of us who will probably never know the whole truth, I suggest the file be closed under the heading 'Politics kills engineering triumph'.

As to XH558, I hope there is a better chance.:sad:

Instead of putting the two noisy fourjets back in the sky how about a wishlist of getting some other historical aircraft back in the sky for a fraction of the cost?

Suggestions?

My wishlist:

All realistic projects methinks?

Hi FW

In a perfect world I think the answer would be "all of the above".:\

He'd have had the Concordes painted in Virgin colours, then 'discovered' that the manufacturer couldn't be persuaded to support further Concorde flight, so he'd say 'I tried but it just wasn't possible'. He'd have still been a hero in the eyes of the public for 'having a go' to keep the birds flying, and the Concordes would have gone to the museums in Virgin colours!

BA weren't about to let that happen!

Hi SSD

The honest truth is that I do not have the evidence to confirm or contradict what you say.

Bottom line - as far as I am concerned, loss of the Vulcan or the Concord is sad.

SSD

If all the sceptics and profits of doom had their way, they would say to the proposal of building a supersonic airliner, "it can't be done". Well it was done and someone pulled the plug and now the A/C that were serviceable (not on the drawing board) have been grounded. Are you trying to tell me "it can't be done" with reference to putting the thing back into the air? I think it can be done.

Ever heard of the story "The murder of the TSR2"? Might pay you to have a read of it, then you will find it was a Labour government that presided over that fiasco also.

Now, I know old T. Bliar gets blamed for a lot of things these days - BUT the ending of Concorde services!!!???

Fascinating thread...

Assumimg for a moment that messrs Gates, Branson, Sugar, Brunei, Lottery, Dragons and Brown got together to help pay to to get Concorde back in the air...

In there a UK airfield it could operate from as a permanent base? (thinking performance, hangarage,environment, nimby etc etc ...)