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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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I've been around the old one that used to be at Duxford (don't know if it still is) and that was pretty thrilling ... imagine having £9k back then to afford the fare  |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"It's crazy that it's no longer flying"
As with most things in life...lack of money! Think the pilot said once Air France pulled out it was going to cost BA £100mill just in servicing per year. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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I remember being over at NASA, watching the space shuttle come in and a dad was explaining about the shuttle coming in being supersonic and the sonic boom, the kid was asking if he could be a passenger on a supersonic plane and the dad said "no we don't have one, it's the British who have concorde".. A shame but it was too expensive to maintain and I think the insurance killed it in the end.
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"It's crazy that it's no longer flying
As with most things in life...lack of money! Think the pilot said once Air France pulled out it was going to cost BA £100mill just in servicing per year."
Yes he did ... shocking |
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"I remember being over at NASA, watching the space shuttle come in and a dad was explaining about the shuttle coming in being supersonic and the sonic boom, the kid was asking if he could be a passenger on a supersonic plane and the dad said "no we don't have one, it's the British who have concorde".. A shame but it was too expensive to maintain and I think the insurance killed it in the end.
"
Yup, only the rich and famous could go on this. I’m actually SO glad this has gone.
Unemployed/homeless/starving people.
And what do the entitled/rich moan about... getting somewhere quicker.
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It went over 14 years ago! Everyone knows the story. It's been reported and re-created and dramatized how many times in the last 17 since the crash!
Is that the best that tv channels can show in the run up to Xmas? |
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Boeing had right idea in JUMBO.
Affordable seating to where you wanted to go.
While phil Collins banged his drums about child poverty with gelfof and bono... while these 3 probably/May have had money in tax havens |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"It went over 14 years ago! Everyone knows the story. It's been reported and re-created and dramatized how many times in the last 17 since the crash!
Is that the best that tv channels can show in the run up to Xmas?"
It's better than the reality shit that's spouted daily on other channels |
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Yes I flew on it from New York to Heathrow.
It was just like any other plane, except noisier, smelled of jet fuel, the windows were tiny as was the cabin, and either the seats were cramped if you were used to 1st class, or roomy if you were used to economy. About the same as premium economy is now. The food was the same as 1st class plane food. The landing was faster. And back in the day you could visit the flight deck. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"It's crazy that it's no longer flying
As with most things in life...lack of money! Think the pilot said once Air France pulled out it was going to cost BA £100mill just in servicing per year."
Branson said he could make it work but BA refused |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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I've been on Concorde about 8 weeks ago. Smaller inside than I imagined. It was fantastic actually getting close up to the wheels, walking up the steps, inside the hold, sitting in the seats, the windows were tiny. It was Alpha Echo, stationary obviously at Grantley Adams airport, Barbados. In excellent condition, engine intact and still maintained  |
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"I've been on Concorde about 8 weeks ago. Smaller inside than I imagined. It was fantastic actually getting close up to the wheels, walking up the steps, inside the hold, sitting in the seats, the windows were tiny. It was Alpha Echo, stationary obviously at Grantley Adams airport, Barbados. In excellent condition, engine intact and still maintained "
Maintained as a static exhibit. You couldn't just start it up! |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"I've been on Concorde about 8 weeks ago. Smaller inside than I imagined. It was fantastic actually getting close up to the wheels, walking up the steps, inside the hold, sitting in the seats, the windows were tiny. It was Alpha Echo, stationary obviously at Grantley Adams airport, Barbados. In excellent condition, engine intact and still maintained
Maintained as a static exhibit. You couldn't just start it up! "
Hmm yes quite obviously.
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"Live in Bristol so was lucky enough to see the fair well fly by, there was a static one at Filton for a while, stunning plane and an amazing feat of engineering etc "
It's still there, now inside a brand new hangar! |
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"Branson was just self-publicising. As usual!
how do you know this?"
Because Airbus who are the legacy manufacturer said that they would only supply parts at double to cost as Air France were pulling out, so there was no one else to share the cost. In reality they didn't want to have to make them. It was an old aircraft that they had inherited and didn't fit their modern business plan, and so many parts were being raided from the other planes that BA and AF had.
The market was declining, so how could Branson make it pay with double the parts costs?
He was always in a competition war with BA and this was just a way to wind them up. He was never going to do it. If he had been serious, and BA wouldn't sell him their planes, AF would happily have sold him theirs. Why didn't he buy them?
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"Branson was just self-publicising. As usual!
how do you know this?
Because Airbus who are the legacy manufacturer said that they would only supply parts at double to cost as Air France were pulling out, so there was no one else to share the cost. In reality they didn't want to have to make them. It was an old aircraft that they had inherited and didn't fit their modern business plan, and so many parts were being raided from the other planes that BA and AF had.
The market was declining, so how could Branson make it pay with double the parts costs?
He was always in a competition war with BA and this was just a way to wind them up. He was never going to do it. If he had been serious, and BA wouldn't sell him their planes, AF would happily have sold him theirs. Why didn't he buy them?
"
that didn't really answer the question - but BA would be a far better airline if they were run by Branson over the decades, - they're the worst I've ever flown long haul with.
The public virtually owned that aircraft, not BA, - so I don't see how they had the authority to tell someone who said he could make it work, no. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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It was a beautiful aircraft, a technology breakthrough that couldn't be matched, but also by the time it was built the world had changed the number of people that wanted to move around increased and the price of fuel increased exponentially.
In reality it could only hit top speed over an ocean so there are very few routes it could ever sensibly fly.
Like many advances in technology there are some dead ends, Concord was a spectacular dead end. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"Watching some very interesting programmes in Channel 5 about Concorde.
Still wish I had been able to fly Concorde...
Had anyone had the pleasure? "
nope but their is a Concorde at the museum at Woking on the old brooklands race track |
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"Watching some very interesting programmes in Channel 5 about Concorde.
Still wish I had been able to fly Concorde...
Had anyone had the pleasure? nope but their is a Concorde at the museum at Woking on the old brooklands race track "
And one in Edinburgh, Manchester, Bristol, Germany, New York, Seattle, Barbados, Paris |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"Been in just about every helicopter and by far the most fun is a Chinook of topic sorry OP x"
I've been in a very small helicopter and one larger but not as lArge as a Chinook over Disneyworld some years back...
Don't worry about going off topic I actually love most aircraft |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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I went on Concorde in 1997 to new York.Unfortunately I was only 7 so I didn't fully understand or appreciate how special it was.I still have the pics though to look back on and wish that I fully understood how special that flight was as all I cared about was the holiday x |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"Been in just about every helicopter and by far the most fun is a Chinook of topic sorry OP x
I've been in a very small helicopter and one larger but not as lArge as a Chinook over Disneyworld some years back...
Don't worry about going off topic I actually love most aircraft "
I used to frequently fly in a little Hughes 300 bubble - twas awesome! |
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I was a very lucky girl in 1989 to fly to New York. I was only 8. Do remember some of it. Present from my well-off Uncle. Just wish I was a few years older at the time to remember more.
My Uncle had his VHS camcorder at the time and was invited to sit in the cockpit for take off and landing. Still got the film.
I'm a plane geek. Recently been on hols and flew on the A380. Mind blown! Haha.
Concorde needs to be return. It's like we went backwards in terms of aviation! |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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I used to live under the concord flight path. Such a lovely sound. Saw one land at Heathrow and been on the one at brooklands.
I was surprised how cramped it was, felt a little bit claustrophobic. |
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"It's crazy that it's no longer flying
As with most things in life...lack of money! Think the pilot said once Air France pulled out it was going to cost BA £100mill just in servicing per year."
"The" pilot... he must have been a busy man..! |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"I used to live under the concord flight path. Such a lovely sound. Saw one land at Heathrow and been on the one at brooklands.
I was surprised how cramped it was, felt a little bit claustrophobic. "
I've meant to go but didn't and I always intended to fly on it but never did it was developed at Farnborough airport by BAE but was part of an Anglo French collaboration |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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Am afraid my dream fulfilled Minxyrelly when I went up in a Dakota, always wanted to jump out of one though, being an ex jumper??and agree with above the old wok woman Chinook is a beaut! Concorde was a great idea and supplied a demand, looked beautiful, let's face it, there will always be things out there that only the rich and famous can afford such is life, and if I had a TV I would have watched it happily |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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There is a replacement for Concorde being developed in the US..the country who did most to try and destroy it's commercial viability...what a surprise. It's only taken them 50 years to catch up! Test flights are planned for next year. It will be smaller 55 seats at first and do London to New York in 3.5 hours.
The tech will improve massively but so it should but maybe if it's built in the US it may actually not suffer the restrictions placed on it that we had imposed by the US when it was first launched.
But 50 years on the best that can be done is to clone it.
We innovate and eventually ..others catch up!
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You mean, the start-up company says it expects to do test flights by the end of next year! And be in service by 2025!
If there was a genuine business case, it would be an established manufacturer, not a start-up!
And where are the engines coming from?
55 seats won't be enough to be commercially viable. Concorde wasn't at 100.
And even NASA haven't solved the sonic boom, so a start-up wont, so it will be banned overland again.
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"There is a replacement for Concorde being developed in the US..the country who did most to try and destroy it's commercial viability...what a surprise. It's only taken them 50 years to catch up! Test flights are planned for next year. It will be smaller 55 seats at first and do London to New York in 3.5 hours.
The tech will improve massively but so it should but maybe if it's built in the US it may actually not suffer the restrictions placed on it that we had imposed by the US when it was first launched.
But 50 years on the best that can be done is to clone it.
We innovate and eventually ..others catch up!
"
Will be interesting to see what does actually happen |
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"I remember being over at NASA, watching the space shuttle come in and a dad was explaining about the shuttle coming in being supersonic and the sonic boom, the kid was asking if he could be a passenger on a supersonic plane and the dad said "no we don't have one, it's the British who have concorde".. A shame but it was too expensive to maintain and I think the insurance killed it in the end.
Yup, only the rich and famous could go on this. I’m actually SO glad this has gone.
Unemployed/homeless/starving people.
And what do the entitled/rich moan about... getting somewhere quicker.
"
To be honest you sound bitter and jealous.
It makes no difference to the poor whether Concorde flies or not.
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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I'm not rich or famous !! But had the extreme pleasure of flying in Concorde in the late 90s over bay of biscay from Heathrow to see the Eclipse . Was awesome and well worth the £400 for the 45 min flight. Was sad to see it go. Richard Branson should have been allowed to fly one as he intended and was willing to keep it up to CAA regs whatever the cost |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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Absolutely stunning plane... seems the aircraft industry is the only industry in regression not progression. .
That said flew on a dreamliner back from jfk to lhr in just over 5 hrs the other week so subsonic is slowly getting there lol
As a proud bristolian the new museum of flight avec concord here in our fair city is fitting x |
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You can get on board the static display at the Intrepid Museum in New York.
Its alot smaller than I thought it would be.
But that's a great place to visit if you go to New York. Loads of aircraft on board including the space shuttle which is huge.
Also an SR71 Blackbird. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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In 1991, flew 04.15h Cyprus to London .. got on Concorde to New York landed about 08.30 ... went to a meeting at 10 for an hour and then back to airport and flew to Halifax Nova Scotia via Toronto and got there late afternoon.
All business related - it wouldn’t of been possible without Concord.
They were serving 3 different types of Champagne for breakfast ... but had to abstain  |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"In 1991, flew 04.15h Cyprus to London .. got on Concorde to New York landed about 08.30 ... went to a meeting at 10 for an hour and then back to airport and flew to Halifax Nova Scotia via Toronto and got there late afternoon.
All business related - it wouldn’t of been possible without Concord.
They were serving 3 different types of Champagne for breakfast ... but had to abstain "
Amazing |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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I never flew in it but I've been inside two - a prototype at the Fleet Air Arm museum in Yeovilton and an ex-BA one at the Museum of Flight in Seattle. It's a stunning aircraft, but I don't think I'd have wantes to fly in it. It really wasn't designed for someone my size, there was more legroom in my economy class seat on the 777 to Seattle. |
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Whilst part of the excitement came from it being fast, it also meant that your flight was regrettably short. It was memorable, for the taking off, speed and view of the earth a little further below you than standard planes - but longer duration would have been great, to stretch out the experience. They were too big on pushing the caviar, which I loathe. Gave away a lot of my in flight stuff, like wash bag and pens. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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That punch you felt when the 'afterburners' kicked in to accelerate through the 'sound barrier'
The pressing back in your seat at takeoff.
The pre-departure lounge experience.
Seeing the speed display showing Mach 2.01.
Just a majestic looking, technological marvel of its generation.
I wished I'd 'done' it more than once.
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"Watching some very interesting programmes in Channel 5 about Concorde.
Still wish I had been able to fly Concorde...
Had anyone had the pleasure? "
Yes... 13th may 2002 just before they took the French ones out of service.
Still have my certificate proudly positioned on the lounge wall. |
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"Live in Bristol so was lucky enough to see the fair well fly by, there was a static one at Filton for a while, stunning plane and an amazing feat of engineering etc "
There's a brand new museum at Filton now, with AF in it  |
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"Never interested me concorde the only plane I ever wanted to fly is was a Vulcan amazing airplane "
Vulcan now you are talking the ultimate flying machine .awesome bomber .the very sight of it enough to put the Willy's up anyone
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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For those of you that are interested in any developments regarding Boom (the latest SST project) then look up Ricky Bastin on Facebook... he was also in the documentary and knows his stuff about the beautiful white lady of the skies
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