Concorde

[rlandsbury]

Hi all,

First post on here. A collegue of mine who lives near Heathrow reported seeing a concorde taxiing under its own power at Heathrow yesterday.

Does anyone know anything about this? Why it was there? What it was doing etc?

Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks

[VC10man]

He ought to go to Specsavers.
Or perhaps they are getting Oscar Bravo ready for the Platinum Jubilee.

[ManofMan]

Whatever he had been smoking I will take two.

[vctenderness]

It was taking Lord Lucan to Atlantis race track as he is due to ride Shergar. Also on board was Elvis and several very honest politicians.

I understand on its return it will be landing at Boris Island!

[edi_local]

There is a Concorde parked permanently at LHR, on a remote stand, near the perimeter fence, pretty much opposite Hatton Cross tube station.

It was moved there not long ago, as it used to sit somewhere else, but it's not moved under it's own power for a very very long time. They did, apparently, repaint this aircraft though, which is a nice touch as she was getting a bit rusty and dirty just sitting there. Quite what they will do with her is not yet known, even though she's not flown now for nearly 10 years!

I think at one point they wanted to put one of the aircraft inside T5 as a display...or at least take the Concorde model which sat on the roundabout at the entrance to T1,2,3 and use that in T5....However neither plan came to fruition and now a giant EK A380 sits on the roundabout and I have no idea where the Concorde model went!

[SpringHeeledJack]

I think that the Concorde model ended up at Brooklands, unless my eyes need a visit to Specsavers

[Jhieminga]

[Evanelpus]

Hi all,

First post on here. A collegue of mine who lives near Heathrow reported seeing a concorde taxiing under its own power at Heathrow yesterday.

Does anyone know anything about this? Why it was there? What it was doing etc?

Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks

Great first post. I think your 'mate' has set you up big time.

However, if you want a seat on it's first flight, please send me a PM with your bank details and I'll remove the ticket cost asap.

[Lukeafb1]

The Concorde at LHR is G-BOAB (if I recall correctly). It sat for some time up till last year, near the E2 Staff Car Park near Hatton Cross tube station. As to whether it was taxiing under its own power, I don't know.

[tristar 500]

G-BOAB moving under it`s own power would be a miracle as it has not had any engines in for most if not all of the last 10 years!!

[Skipness One Echo]

They recently moved G-BOAB from Hatton Cross, it was sitting outside the Cathedral Hangar on Sat 16-Feb looking for all the world as if it were holding short of 27L. I assume your friend may have seen her towing.

They did, apparently, repaint this aircraft though, which is a nice touch as she was getting a bit rusty and dirty just sitting there.

Not sure if she has been painted since she was grounded, and it really shows unfortunately. UNLESS it's been done since Sep last year when I had a close look at the open day.

[edi_local]

The Concorde has moved closer to Hatton Cross station, it is now slightly more visible when driving from E2 car park towards the station, but you have to look quickly.

I think it has been repainted. I saw G-BOAB last about 3 days ago and drive by down that road on pretty much a weekly basis and she was looking brighter...perhaps it had rained heavily though or she had simply had a good clean.

[avionic type]

As it is an empty shell [apart from aload of Inflight magazines worth more than the aircraft by now] I bet B.A. wish they could send it to the recycling plant without an outcry from "lets get it flying again" brigade , there must be a whole permanent sitting commitee deciding where to move it to after an allotted time in these days of lack of parking bays for the rest of the fleets. Perhaps they are using it to train the wash gang or simulated Deicing training

[Phileas Fogg]

It ain't ever going to fly again, about the only Concorde capable of flight again is one of the two parked up in Toulouse.

It was a lovely idea to park G-BOAB as an exhibit in T5 and indeed it should be parked and preserved someplace at LHR ... but as for flight ... forget it.

CDG have an excellent display of the beast with lights, as if on re-heat, in the engine outlets ..,. Typically British, or BA anyway, "Oh no, we couldn't possibly do anything like that"

[Evanelpus]

BA don't have a particulary good record for tradition with retired aircraft.

The BA exhibits at Cosford and the LHR Trident spring immediately to mind. Concorde will probably rot in the same place for years before the scrap man gets called in, god, I hope I'm wrong though.

[avionic type]

A late ex B.A.team leader of the Vanguard /Merchantman at Brooklands was moaning to a senior manager of Britsh Airways about the state of the aircraft at Cosford before they were broken up and he agreed that Cosford was not the best choice to display them as all the expertise technically was at Heathrow and they could only send a gang of apprentices up there about once a year to maintain them when they needed a larger amount of T.L.C.to keep them up to scratch and in the end they rotted and became dangerous then I believe the R.A.F wanted the space

Why keep BOAB at Heathrow? there are plenty of exhibits round the country to visit and see inside not a snatched look driving past.

My shelter awaits.

[SQnovice]

I don't know what your all on about, I'm sure I saw it taxiing for a 27L departure in VS livery as well with beardy Branson sat in 1A on a JFK run!

Taxi for SQnovice.....................