Concorde at Filton gets locked up
 

Today is the seven year anniversary of the very last flight of Concorde 216. On the same day, we find out that the Concorde currently sitting at Filton won't be opened up to the public again. So sad. :ugh:

Very sad news indeed.

Maybe I'm reading something different but it says its not opening to the public in its current position and a site needs to be found elsewhere around Bristol.
I believe most other Concordes are still open to the public.

A very sad state of affairs indeed. What a shame.

Philton....?

G-BOAF at Filton has been taken into a hangar for some remedial work. As far as I understnd, she will not re-open to visitors at Filton. A new, permanent site for her is allegedly being sought where she will re-open.

The Concorde at Heathrow might go to the South Bank (it's one of many rumours). But that one has no interior (it went to Brooklands for G-BBDG) so won't be open to the public.

Others are open to to the public - none more so than ours at Manchester where you even get to sit in the P1 seat on tours!

Manchester Airport : Concorde & Nimrod Tours

We've got a Nimrod MR2 as well, and a Trident 3b, Avro RJX, and the front end of a DC10 - 30.

What about the other Concorde at Filton? Is it still there?

There is no other Concorde at Filton.

Current location of UK Concordes:

There were 3 UK prototypes; one at Yeovilton, one at Duxford, one at Brooklands.

There were 7 UK production Concordes as operated by BA; one still at Heathrow, one at Filton, one at Manchester, one at East Fortune, one in New York, one in Seattle, one in Barbados.

There was also a fatigue and temperature cycle test rig bare partial airframe at (I think) Farnborough. Bits of that are at Brooklands.

I think there was another frame at Filton that was robbed for parts but was originally involved in the certification process. I went to see G-BOAF 5 years ago and can post some pics if anyone is interested.

In the future I'd like to not just see the aircraft under cover but the Bristol Aero Collection under the same roof, at the moment you need to travel to Kemble to see it. They have a fantastic range of exhibits that really need a bit more space to be appreciated properly.

Pics from Kemble already online, Bristol Aero Collection - a set on Flickr

What happened to the "scale model?"

(Do they still do this - make full scale mock-ups of projected airliners?)

http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/8981/scale.jpg

re Shaggy Sheep: There was also a fatigue and temperature cycle test rig bare partial airframe at (I think) Farnborough.

The only Concorde I ever got in was the heat cycle test fuselage at (definitely) Farnborough. I think it was in 1961 when I was visiting the Institute of Aviation Medicine.

Laurence

I think you'll find that the other Concorde at Filton that Tempsford is on about is the production prototype G-BBDG, which was for many years stored at Filton in a specially built hanger just by 501 site. This aircraft was also used for Spares for BA's fleet.
This aircraft was moved and is now the one on display at Brooklands in Surrey.

Also at Brooklands is the simulator from Filton and G-CONC the large model from the LHR rounderbout. Both restored.
mmitch.

BA used to come and pinch bits off the other Concorde at FZO. I saw it a few years ago. Thanks for the update on where it is now WG.

L.gary, it must have been post '61. The Concorde project didn't start until 1962. The flight of the first prototype was '69.

G-BBDG used to be at Filton. She was the last pre-production prototype and was almost to production standard. She even flew in BA colours but only for test - never in service. She was a spares source for the BA fleet and at end of Conc ops in 2003 was little more than a shell.

As stated above, at end of Conc ops she was shipped to Brooklands where, using the much of the interior from G-BOAB at Heathrow, she was restored for public tours.

G-BBDG as displayed at Brooklands..

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_1BXJmcdgZEw/RV...0/DSC_4046.JPG

IIRC The heat cycle test rig was built at Hurn in 1969 or 1970(my first year as apprentice there) and then taken to Farnborough.

The Airframe was taken by sea and road from Filton and used part of the un-opened M3 motorway. I think it was taken to Southampton by sea.

I remember something that looked like a large part of an old and dirty Concorde being sat next to the road at Filton in the mid 1980s (probably 1985 or 1986). I don't think it had any lettering on it, and it may have been just an old fibreglass model. I was only a teenager at the time. Any thoughts?

It was more than likely G-BBDG the same aircraft seen in the above picture at Brooklands.

Wikipedia has an excellent page detailing the entire history of G-BBDG which is actually the name of the wiki page.

The history of this particular aircraft corresponds with your story.

As nobody has mentioned Aerospace Bristol, they had a Concord as their centre piece, have they closed or have they just lost the main exhibit. Can anyone fill in the detail.