Concorde's Last Passenger flights...............
HenryGarten
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The last passenger flights of Concorde landed at Heathrow ten years ago today. How the years have flown. (unintended pun 
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Were you a Concorde fan? Did you ever fly in it? Were you there to see the final flights arrive at Heathrow?
What are your memories of Concorde?
)Were you a Concorde fan? Did you ever fly in it? Were you there to see the final flights arrive at Heathrow?
What are your memories of Concorde?
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An Aunt of mine did the last flight to France ... after all the expence of fitting the plans out with cavlar to stop any more wing intrusion by a foreign object we have now gone with new super massive planes and slow speeds.
Do you remember the rusian copy the concordskie ... Im feeling old and like a history teacher with no mates right now
I remember Concordski well. If memory serves me right it first flew on Christmas Eve 1968 (New Year's Eve apparently) . Well in those days the Russians had to be first.
Then Concordski had a spectacular crash at Paris Air Show in 1973. It was never quite the same after that.
My almost 4 year old is fascinated by planes, much as I was at that age. He often asks to see the video of the final landing on YouTube. Has me in tears every time!
On a side note, I was hugely jealous of a work colleague, who won a flight on Concorde!
It was fantastic wasn't it? One of those moments in history when it was great to be there. I was just outside Heathrow.
Crikey - when was that - 1978?
My career in the aviation industry has seen me fly in many types of aircraft, from large commercial transport/passenger aircraft through to fast jets, yet I never got anywhere near a Concorde flight. I would have swapped half of all the aircraft I have flown in for a transatlantic Concorde flight. Or a chance to go up in a Lancaster or Spitfire.
It was absolutely a project of it's time. Not only the total lack of concern over resources during it's development, but the sheer will to achieve. That is completely and totally lacking today in any European country. It was a phenomenal feat of engineering, and a thing of sheer beauty, but in reality it cost the country a huge amount of money that could have been far more wisely spent. The commercial case was always very fragile, and once the sonic boom implications were realised and the oil crisis exploded, it melted away like an icecube in the desert.
Few people realise how close it came to not being built. Roy Jenkins writes in his autobiography of how, after the endlessly tortuous meetings with the French and the final decision to go ahead, he confided to his French counterpart "I can only tell you now - we were praying that you would pull out, as we desperately wanted to but had to save face". The Frenchman said "it was exactly the same on our side". It only existed through stubborn national pride.
Very sad to see it's last flight, but not so sad as the Air France crash, which was far more to do with maintenance than the plane's design.
The closest I've been was getting thoroughly spoilt while waiting for a flight in the Concorde Room at Heathrow this past July. I don't know how I'm going to go back to steerage next time.
There was a pre-production model at Duxford in 1991. Not sure if it is still there.
Early to mid 1990's...Special offer with BA for those in the Travel Industry, it was based on Stand By for that sort of price, so paying passengers got priority. They did some really good deals all over the World (the product no longer exists now), did Australia for £249.00 which went to Alice Springs, Uluru, Melbourne & Sydney. Also a weeks All Inclusive in Jamaica for £199.00.
I was there a month ago, and there is a Concorde. You are allowed inside, and it is very small, with fairly cramped seats.
It landed at Filton?
Having worked near there, I didn't know the runway was that big?
Yes i flew in it on a charter to Amsterdam i remember just how small it was inside with plush loos it was very sleek with small windows.
Smooth take off and landing and going supersonic.
Its a great pity they could not of kept a couple flying in fact its a scandal truly a great engineering feat and the world only supersonic passenger aircraft.
Going to hear Tony Benn on Monday night the ex government minister who pushed it through.
A magnificent plane for sure
It was expensive to fly supersonic to the US but a short charter flight was just about affordable if you could get on one.
Glad i did.:)
Flying at supersonic speed was a restriction in the use of Concord. That will always apply?