Concorde experiences anyone?
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From: UK and Italy
Some of it is taken from Aesop and is completely inaccurate especially with the Staines accident and CRM introduction into BA, it didn’t start for another decade, which is a theme in the loss of AF Concorde. If BA had CRM to the standard he alludes to how come his predecessor suddenly disappeared off the scene from running the Concorde fleet.
But the book is a good read especially with the Gonesse accident although he reveals the step in the runway which contributes or is the cause of the accident but imho doesn’t fully explain why.
But the book is a good read especially with the Gonesse accident although he reveals the step in the runway which contributes or is the cause of the accident but imho doesn’t fully explain why.
This is why I write under a pen-name. I guess the author didn't have that option.
If just a pax like myself can see the glaring errors, goodness knows what professional pilots make of it.
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From: Walthamstow
That's my (PPL) take on it anyway!
Interesting (but not that surprising) that the BEA refused to believe that scenario despite multiple "professional" witnesses telling investigators that the fire started before Concorde reached the metal strip which had fallen off the previous Continental departure.
Anyway I thought it was a great listen. The author is an excellent narrator.
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From: uk
I count myself as very lucky to have been aboard a sales demo flight in Concorde from Abu Dhabi to a point halfway to India and return, supersonic most of the way, and on the return flying about 300m from and level with the outbound condensation trail. Guests were invited up to the flight deck for a few minutes each and saw what M2 really looks like. I still have my certificate, signed by Brian Trubshaw, that all guests were given. It records a max speed of M2.05, max altitude 57,500 ft, supersonic 46 minutes, total 1 hour 16 minutes, 29th August 1974.
A little over a decade later, I was doubly lucky to blag a jump-seat ride in Concorde all the way on a flight from/to Exeter, north to Bristol Channel, west to the transatlantic acceleration point, round the Scilly Isles, back along the English Channel, slow down and land. The FO was flying the whole trip (for currency, that's why BA did all those regional visits) and as we came down the glideslope I could see that we were going to touch down halfway along the runway, go off the far end down into the village at Clyst Honiton, and die in a huge fireball. I was rigid with terror, but managed not to whimper out loud. Then, while we were still very high the main wheels touched down precisely on the markers, followed by the nosewheel. Another memorable moment was joining the westbound track to the acceleration point behind the scheduled Concorde service to the USA. As it reached the point the Captain said "watch this" just as the nose went up, 4 sheets of flame erupted from the engines, and the aircraft climbed away like a rocket. "I've never seen that", said the Captain, "Amazing".
A little over a decade later, I was doubly lucky to blag a jump-seat ride in Concorde all the way on a flight from/to Exeter, north to Bristol Channel, west to the transatlantic acceleration point, round the Scilly Isles, back along the English Channel, slow down and land. The FO was flying the whole trip (for currency, that's why BA did all those regional visits) and as we came down the glideslope I could see that we were going to touch down halfway along the runway, go off the far end down into the village at Clyst Honiton, and die in a huge fireball. I was rigid with terror, but managed not to whimper out loud. Then, while we were still very high the main wheels touched down precisely on the markers, followed by the nosewheel. Another memorable moment was joining the westbound track to the acceleration point behind the scheduled Concorde service to the USA. As it reached the point the Captain said "watch this" just as the nose went up, 4 sheets of flame erupted from the engines, and the aircraft climbed away like a rocket. "I've never seen that", said the Captain, "Amazing".
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From: N . Daarset
Ast , Concorde on the NCL flts .. When the B. Airtours B732 blew a burner can at MAN 22/8/85 , the whole 44 BA and 9 B.Airtours a/c were grounded . Leaving a massive capacity hole in Short Hauls programme . Tridents which had been retired were hurriedlly brought back along with pilots on gardening leave awaiting other type courses , given very short base checks on the a/c in Beauvais ..... Simulator had been scrapped as no more Trident checks planned [ retirement 31/12/85 ] .
Still left us short of capacity , so the standby Concorde used on NCL instead of a S-111 , bit better really as 100 seats against the S-111's 99 .
On the last rotation I managed a staff ticket to NCL with a cockpit visit , Skipper held her at .97M , '' a 3 temp change will have us busting 1.0M , 'n I'll get a rocket , never mind a Bang '' .
A/C full on way back so requested a jump seat .. '' we've a ground eng, and dispatcher up here , but do walk round with F/E , and we'll see '' .
Ended up standing in cockpit , but after take off level off 500 ' , course reversal to fly past the airport , accelerate with afterburner , was laying on my back against the fuse/cb panel with 30degrees + pitch on a zoom climb to FL230 . Never to be forgotten .
rgds condor .
Still left us short of capacity , so the standby Concorde used on NCL instead of a S-111 , bit better really as 100 seats against the S-111's 99 .
On the last rotation I managed a staff ticket to NCL with a cockpit visit , Skipper held her at .97M , '' a 3 temp change will have us busting 1.0M , 'n I'll get a rocket , never mind a Bang '' .
A/C full on way back so requested a jump seat .. '' we've a ground eng, and dispatcher up here , but do walk round with F/E , and we'll see '' .
Ended up standing in cockpit , but after take off level off 500 ' , course reversal to fly past the airport , accelerate with afterburner , was laying on my back against the fuse/cb panel with 30degrees + pitch on a zoom climb to FL230 . Never to be forgotten .
rgds condor .
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From: BRFC, Dilmun Club, Riffa Golf Course
Dakar - Frog Air Concorde 1982
I fondly remember our little jaunts to the end of the runway at Dakar airport to stand there with the local boys and watch the Air France weekly Concorde flight to Rio taxi for takeoff, then blast us a good 100M. The Senegalese security guards wouldn’t do a thing, just sat there and watch us kids get blown down like matchsticks at the end of the runway. Ahhh the fun days when kids could be kids. I think I still have scars on my elbows and forearms from the rocks kicked up. Fond memories indeed….
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From: Scotland
Flew LHR to NY in June 2003. It was a lifetime dream of mine and I phoned BA to book just after it returned to service - for some reason there was lots of availability on flights for Friday 13th. I was assigned seat 4C and didn’t feel the need to change that. As a 40+ year old male I was determined to act as an adult and this worked until the aircraft arrived on stand. I immediately regressed into a small boy with my face and camera pressed against the window. Food, drink and conversation were all first class and I continues in “small boy mode” after landing by queuing at the cockpit door to get a certificate signed. The certificate was mounted and still hangs in my home
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From: UK and Italy
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From: Australia
One for the train spotters. I've just stumbled across a website which purports to show which Concorde performed which flight (for BA).
Heritage Concorde - Find my flight
I had occasionally wondered which Concorde/s I flew on, as they each have slightly different histories. I was on G-BOAD outbound (now at Intrepid Museum, New York) and G-BOAG inbound (now at Museum of Flight, Seattle).
They both hold records:
G-BOAD: On 7 February 1996, this modern engineering marvel enjoyed a moment of record-breaking history. For that day, Captain Leslie Scott, Senior First Officer Tim Orchard and Senior Engineering Officer Rick Eades flew British Airways Concorde G-BOAD between New York City, USA, and London, UK, in a world-beating time of 2 hr 52 min 59 sec. The plane covered the 6,035 km (3,750 miles) at an astonishing average speed of 2,010 km/h (1,250 mph)
and East-West - October 8th 2003: With the retirement of Concorde confirmed, G-BOAD takes part in the Farewell Tour programme with a visit to Boston and at the same time sets the current East to West Atlantic crossing record with a time of 3 hours 5 minutes and 34 seconds. The aircraft was piloted by Chief Concorde Pilot Captain Mike Bannister.
G-BOAG: November 5th 2003 - Final flight is from JFK across northern Canada to Seattle. Having been given special permission to fly supersonic over land, G-BOAG sets a new record for the East to West crossing of North America.
G-BOAG is also the subject of this photo taken by Adrian Meredith from a Tornado, struggling to keep up.
Heritage Concorde - Find my flight
I had occasionally wondered which Concorde/s I flew on, as they each have slightly different histories. I was on G-BOAD outbound (now at Intrepid Museum, New York) and G-BOAG inbound (now at Museum of Flight, Seattle).
They both hold records:
G-BOAD: On 7 February 1996, this modern engineering marvel enjoyed a moment of record-breaking history. For that day, Captain Leslie Scott, Senior First Officer Tim Orchard and Senior Engineering Officer Rick Eades flew British Airways Concorde G-BOAD between New York City, USA, and London, UK, in a world-beating time of 2 hr 52 min 59 sec. The plane covered the 6,035 km (3,750 miles) at an astonishing average speed of 2,010 km/h (1,250 mph)
and East-West - October 8th 2003: With the retirement of Concorde confirmed, G-BOAD takes part in the Farewell Tour programme with a visit to Boston and at the same time sets the current East to West Atlantic crossing record with a time of 3 hours 5 minutes and 34 seconds. The aircraft was piloted by Chief Concorde Pilot Captain Mike Bannister.
G-BOAG: November 5th 2003 - Final flight is from JFK across northern Canada to Seattle. Having been given special permission to fly supersonic over land, G-BOAG sets a new record for the East to West crossing of North America.
G-BOAG is also the subject of this photo taken by Adrian Meredith from a Tornado, struggling to keep up.
Last edited by artee; 31st March 2025 at 01:49.
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From: Cyprus
Absolutely incredible and beautiful flying machine that so many of us are still inspired to write about.Just a Trident FO at LHR but used to seeing Concord slipping in & out & around at close quarters. Right place, right time comes to mind as we taxiid around right behind the beaut. Told to line up and wait "after departing Concord" gave us the best three seats in the world of plane spotters. As she roared off and the entire world appeared to tremble we tripot drivers just sat there, kinda humbled.
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From: Oxon
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From: se england
Lasting memory of Concorde was driving on the Stanwell Moor Road ( the one between the reservoirs on the SW corner of LHR ) and just coming up to the airport entry roundabout when the beast hurtles past of of 27L noise a massive hail of what looked like dust sucked up into the tip vortices and spiralling away behind it, burners going full blast - gone in a couple of seconds but a memory for ever .m other one was watching the last ever flight from JFK descending over Camberley where I then lived headed for Ockham. I had my air band ready to hear it get given a last short cut from Heathrow Approach with suitable farewell wishes followed by the same from LHR Director and Heathrow Tower.
It wasnt a very great idea really despite the glamour but what it did do was sporn Airbus Industrie which was an amazingly good and succesful one
It wasnt a very great idea really despite the glamour but what it did do was sporn Airbus Industrie which was an amazingly good and succesful one
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From: Scotland
I recall being on a BA 737 shuttle from Heathrow to Edinburgh. The captain was Christopher Orlebar and as luck would have it, we were number two behind Concorde to take off. Captain Orlebar gave us a running commentary of what was going on on the flight deck of Concorde and included information on the speeds, the fuel burn and expected flight time. Information only of interest to those of us on the right hand side who could see what was going on!
Last edited by wub; 31st March 2025 at 13:25.
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From: Beyond the Blue Horizon
Wub
However when you are that close you can feel and hear the sound as they moved off. I was only that close once, and that was a night take off from LHR and we were nr 2 and I was on the correct side of the A/C which I was on for the view, so got to feel and hear her, and see the after burner's light up after she started to roll, and that is as close as I came to flying in one. Very dramatic !!
Cheers
Mr Mac
However when you are that close you can feel and hear the sound as they moved off. I was only that close once, and that was a night take off from LHR and we were nr 2 and I was on the correct side of the A/C which I was on for the view, so got to feel and hear her, and see the after burner's light up after she started to roll, and that is as close as I came to flying in one. Very dramatic !!
Cheers
Mr Mac
Joined: May 2002
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From: Scotland
Mr Mac, yes I was on the right hand side and saw and felt the whole thing, it was daylight. Dramatic enough without the running commentary by an ex-Concorde pilot. Christopher Orlebar loved to talk and on that same flight to Edinburgh gave us the rundown on what was going on, including telling us that we were flying as high as a 737 could go.....
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From: Austria
On my first visits to LHR, when the Concordes were in their final years of operation, some substantial time was usually spent doing the laps at Lambourne or other clearance limits before being cleared further on. 15 minutes used to be considered minor delay.
Were the Concordes subject to the same, or did they receive preferential treatment from ATC?
Were the Concordes subject to the same, or did they receive preferential treatment from ATC?
Paxing All Over The World
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From: Hertfordshire, UK.
As I recall, they were allowed to go straight off to the West as they did not waste any time! They had their own departure corridor, due to their rapid climb.
As to approach, I have no idea! But, as their low speed handling was not ideal, I think they did not hold for long. Also, there were only 3(?) flights a day in each direction, they did not hold up proceedings.
As to approach, I have no idea! But, as their low speed handling was not ideal, I think they did not hold for long. Also, there were only 3(?) flights a day in each direction, they did not hold up proceedings.
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From: Welsh Marches
We used to live in a place called Old Windsor which was directly below one of the Heathrow flightpaths and got used to Concorde flying over taking off and landing. Funny thing was if you were outside in the garden it was just the norm to stop talking when one went over - firstly to admire the aircraft and secondly because you just couldn't speak anyway.
Always loved the plane and my other half bought me one of the "Experience Flights" out over the Bay of Biscay for my 50th birthday. Unfortunately because of the crash I never got to go on it. After the crash Concorde flew for a few years before the decision was made to withdraw her from service and BA offered various packages for flights to the States before the plane was finally withdrawn from service. I treated myself to one of these packages - Concorde to New York and 747 return, price was £2198.70 - still have the invoice. Date for the Concorde leg on the BA letter was 28th April 2003, which is backed up by the "properties" on my photos, but can't find any details on the website listed above.
The whole experience was unforgettable from the dedicated Concorde lounge, the take off and later the onboard dining experience, still brings a smile to my face just thinking about it. I then had to spend 3 or 4 days in New York before I could get the 747 back to London which was a slight let down as I was on my own and had previously visited and seen most of the sights although I did take one of the helicopter rides around the Statue of Liberty which was a first..
One other memory, much to my absolute amazement I found a piece of glass in the main course, was about 1cm by 1/2cm, fortunately didn't bite into it but was a bit of a shock. I showed it to one of the stewardesses, who was obviously vey apologetic (although I did wonder whether they thought I was just trying it on?). When I left the plane they gave me a bottle of Champagne for the trouble.
Some photos
Always loved the plane and my other half bought me one of the "Experience Flights" out over the Bay of Biscay for my 50th birthday. Unfortunately because of the crash I never got to go on it. After the crash Concorde flew for a few years before the decision was made to withdraw her from service and BA offered various packages for flights to the States before the plane was finally withdrawn from service. I treated myself to one of these packages - Concorde to New York and 747 return, price was £2198.70 - still have the invoice. Date for the Concorde leg on the BA letter was 28th April 2003, which is backed up by the "properties" on my photos, but can't find any details on the website listed above.
The whole experience was unforgettable from the dedicated Concorde lounge, the take off and later the onboard dining experience, still brings a smile to my face just thinking about it. I then had to spend 3 or 4 days in New York before I could get the 747 back to London which was a slight let down as I was on my own and had previously visited and seen most of the sights although I did take one of the helicopter rides around the Statue of Liberty which was a first..
One other memory, much to my absolute amazement I found a piece of glass in the main course, was about 1cm by 1/2cm, fortunately didn't bite into it but was a bit of a shock. I showed it to one of the stewardesses, who was obviously vey apologetic (although I did wonder whether they thought I was just trying it on?). When I left the plane they gave me a bottle of Champagne for the trouble.
Some photos