Concorde

[rh100]

Did anybody notice that the extra playing the French First officer (in the right hand seat) was also one of the techs kicking the tyres, pre-flight, a couple of minutes later? And that the golfer going for the longest putt was also one of the air traffic controllers

<pedant> Re-using extras and repeating scenes to pad things out, made the whole production look pretty shoddy</pedant>

But don't the pilots or officers do the check themselves anyway? I could be wrong

You want to see the air disaster documentaries, they don't even tear apart real planes

 

[bauldbairn]

Typical of 1960's British engineering, Concorde was a complete disaster. We got it wrong with Concorde, Boeing struck gold with the 747.

Unfortunately true, it was a commercial disaster. Things could have been so different if the "Comet" hadn't had it's fatal design flaw and we didn't lose our initial lead in jet passenger transport to the U.S.
I don't know whether the engineers/designers/businessmen were so determined to be at the forefront of the next "big thing(supersonic passenger transport)" they fogot all about commercial viability.

Don't get me started about the state of British engineering - our pride and joy and something we built our name on. Why can the U.S. , Germany, Scandanavia and Japan make money from it yet we fail to. We consistantly come up with the best innovations - Wind/Wave power generation etc, then give it away. I've worked in Engineering for more than 24 years and witnessed it's demise close hand.

 

[brockers]

But don't the pilots or officers do the check themselves anyway? I could be wrong

Yes they do, but in this case he was playing a tech. I know that cos I was on the shoot at Brooklands!

 

[plainlazy]

Had a tour of Concord when i was about 13 years old ( must have been 1980 ) and remember it being alot smaller than i imagined.
Had another memorable encounter with it when i was on the way to Wembley to watch England play with my Dad. We where stuck in traffic on the M25 when Concord took off from Heathrow, we where right at the end of the run way and it passed over our heads. Much more exciting than the match.

 

[Arch]

I was a passenger in a van on the M25 by Heathrow, in a traffic jam, one evening just before she was finally grounded. Looked out and there she was, flying off, in a golden sky, literally into the sunset. Made me quite sad.

As a kid, we used to go and sit in the car near Stoughton airfeld, where the Leicester airshow was. (you could then, there were cars on the verge all round the airfield - later they cracked down on the parking and people getting 'freebies'). Concorde came a few years running - just a low pass of course, she didn't land, but that and the Red Arrows, and the Battle of Britain flight where the things we were all waiting for.

Seeing her on that programme last night, flanked by the Arrows, low over the Mall for the Jubilee... What a sight!

And how wonderful, that the French test pilot let his co-pilot take her over Mach 1 the first time.

I have a book about Concorde, and apparently, in his later years Brian Trubshaw would pop into a neighbours house and fly Concorde on FlightSim...

 

[bauldbairn]

Seeing her on that programme last night, flanked by the Arrows, low over the Mall for the Jubilee... What a sight!

Like these!!!! B)

 

[TheDoctor]

Typical of 1960's British engineering, Concorde was a complete disaster. Built to satisfy the egos of politicians and massively over budget when it was finished it lost a fortune over the course of it's life. Had not BA and Air France been given the planes free of charge they would not have touched them with a bargepole. Like the Mini, it is feted as a design icon but again like the car it was built as a commercial proposition and both faile miserably. We got it wrong with Concorde, Boeing struck gold with the 747.

Well, I wouldn't say that. The 747 was designed so it could easily be converted into a cargo plane - that's why the cockpit is on top. Boeing thought they'd get a few years passenger service out of it until the Boeing SST came on stream.
The USA, by the way, spent more on developing their SST than was spent on Concorde. Only trouble was, they had nothing to show for it.

 

[just jim]

I heard there is an airworthy Concorde on stand-by to whisk high ranking officials and the royal family out of London in an emergency. I did I did!

 

[ChrisKH]

Like these!!!! B)



[attachment=50:1590778.jpg] [attachment=51:concorde2.jpg] [attachment=52:Concorde%20and%20the%20Red%20Arrows%20from%20Brentford.jpg] [attachment=53:concorde20.jpg] [attachment=54mageCP2521%20Concorde%20Red%20Arrows.jpg]

Awesome - reminds me when Concorde went past at the Southend Airshow.

 

[marinbearvalley]

My Dad flew on Concorde en-route to a cruise on the QE2.

Both are now decommissioned... I wonder if it was his fault ???

Him and me both then. I feel very privileged to have done both along with seeing a Space Shuttle launch up close - only two more of those left now

Incidentally, there has been very credible IMO recent discussions that one Concorde may still fly again, although only for show. Not sure if the London Olympics are still under discussion with the Red Arrows.

 

[summerdays]

As a child I remember being on Dorney Common when the Space Shuttle flew past piggy-backed onto something else ... no idea what age I was.

 

[marinbearvalley]

As a child I remember being on Dorney Common when the Space Shuttle flew past piggy-backed onto something else ... no idea what age I was.

Yes, flew over our school too, in the Midlands, on the back of a 747. Was it 1983?

 

[summerdays]

Yes, flew over our school too, in the Midlands, on the back of a 747. Was it 1983?

Could have been that sort of year ... but I remember my Dad taking me to the common to watch it so it was probably a weekend.

 

[marinbearvalley]

Could have been that sort of year ... but I remember my Dad taking me to the common to watch it so it was probably a weekend.

Just found a report that it was over my home town Thursday July 7th 1983. I remember we went out to the school playing fields specially to watch. It was in Europe for a couple of months though including a Paris Air Show. Some people don't believe me when I say I saw the space shuttle fly over me on the back of a 747

 

[summerdays]

Just found a report that it was over my home town Thursday July 7th 1983. I remember we went out to the school playing fields specially to watch. It was in Europe for a couple of months though including a Paris Air Show. Some people don't believe me when I say I saw the space shuttle fly over me on the back of a 747

OK you made me go and look it up - and I found :

The shuttle, piggybacking on a modified Boeing 747, flies over Windsor Castle and Slough ................................On 5 June 1983, shuttle Enterprise touched down at Stansted

from this page:
http://londonist.com/2010/03/the_day_the_space_shuttle_came_to_l.php?gallery0Pic=2
and on looking up the date its a Sunday.