14th Oct 2013, 23:34
permalink Post: 1723
PJ2 reminds us of the way the airframes of other a/c queuing for take-off would resonate as Concorde departed. Whether it was the responsibility of SNECMA or Rolls Royce (or even Bristol Siddeley?
), the reheat was certain to set off a random sprinkling of car alarms on the airfield, which used to make my day when lucky enough to be returning to the car park around midday at LHR.
Even without reheat, however, the engine had a distinctly military sound - quite unlike other civil turbojets I can remember. The sound of it in the descent at about 4000ft over my house at 5 pm daily was unmistakeable. On the approach, if you weren't expecting it, it could be quite unnerving. One night in the late 1970s, during a long car journey, I stopped for a call of nature at a well-known public house near Hatton Cross (about a mile from touchdown on LHR 27L). It was pitch dark, and I decided that the hedge at the side of the car park would be a suitable venue. Never having heard Concorde on the approach before, I became increasingly nervous as the sound, initially unidentified, got progressively louder. And then the landing lights were switched on...
), the reheat was certain to set off a random sprinkling of car alarms on the airfield, which used to make my day when lucky enough to be returning to the car park around midday at LHR.
Even without reheat, however, the engine had a distinctly military sound - quite unlike other civil turbojets I can remember. The sound of it in the descent at about 4000ft over my house at 5 pm daily was unmistakeable. On the approach, if you weren't expecting it, it could be quite unnerving. One night in the late 1970s, during a long car journey, I stopped for a call of nature at a well-known public house near Hatton Cross (about a mile from touchdown on LHR 27L). It was pitch dark, and I decided that the hedge at the side of the car park would be a suitable venue. Never having heard Concorde on the approach before, I became increasingly nervous as the sound, initially unidentified, got progressively louder. And then the landing lights were switched on...
18th Oct 2013, 05:16
permalink Post: 1729
Many years ago, I'd flown into Heathrow (after a horrible flight - a 6+ hour delay after pushback at JFK due to weather). I was in line to pick up my rental car when suddenly there was this horrendous noise - a "can't hear yourself think" noise. The strange part was no one else even seemed to notice
. I turned and looked outside, and there was a Concord on it's takeoff run in full afterburner
. It was the only time I was able to see a Concord moving under it's own power
.
No idea what tail number it is, but there is a Concord at the Seattle Museum of Flight. First time I walked inside I was stunned at how small it was. The windows are tiny, and the seats would not appear out-of-place in economy on todays international flights. The cockpit is blocked off with clear Plexiglas, but looked decidedly primitive by todays (or even 1980's) standards. No doubt the cabin service was top notch, and there is definitely a luxury in making a six hour flight in two hours. But it's also not hard to understand why it wasn't a commercial success
.
But I sure wish I'd had the opportunity to fly on one
. I turned and looked outside, and there was a Concord on it's takeoff run in full afterburner
. It was the only time I was able to see a Concord moving under it's own power
.
No idea what tail number it is, but there is a Concord at the Seattle Museum of Flight. First time I walked inside I was stunned at how small it was. The windows are tiny, and the seats would not appear out-of-place in economy on todays international flights. The cockpit is blocked off with clear Plexiglas, but looked decidedly primitive by todays (or even 1980's) standards. No doubt the cabin service was top notch, and there is definitely a luxury in making a six hour flight in two hours. But it's also not hard to understand why it wasn't a commercial success
.
But I sure wish I'd had the opportunity to fly on one
18th Oct 2013, 06:01
permalink Post: 1730
G-BOAG lives in Seattle now. And so you know it's Concorde with an " e". Very important.
I flew on G-BOAG, BA 2 JFK- LHR, 6 months before the program was shut down in 2003. The experience is hard to describe and only a Concorde fan would appreciate it anyway.
I flew on G-BOAG, BA 2 JFK- LHR, 6 months before the program was shut down in 2003. The experience is hard to describe and only a Concorde fan would appreciate it anyway.
29th Nov 2013, 00:45
permalink Post: 1758
My only reminiscence is trying to persuade my parents that they could not hear Concorde go supersonic when living in Bournemouth,
Dowot.
Well the following may be of interest to you.
When working with the guys at Alderney the boom from Concorde rattled the windows. On enquiring I was told that the AF Concorde usually ignored the noise restrictions and opened the throttles early so it was a regular event and to hell with the complaints.
I was at Heathrow and a guy I worked with said he heard the boom in the Bracknel area. This was confirmed as the AF Concorde and the boom was bouncing off the clouds hence him hearing it at Bracknell.
Dowot.
Well the following may be of interest to you.
When working with the guys at Alderney the boom from Concorde rattled the windows. On enquiring I was told that the AF Concorde usually ignored the noise restrictions and opened the throttles early so it was a regular event and to hell with the complaints.
I was at Heathrow and a guy I worked with said he heard the boom in the Bracknel area. This was confirmed as the AF Concorde and the boom was bouncing off the clouds hence him hearing it at Bracknell.
15th Jun 2015, 21:44
permalink Post: 1898
@ BN2A
I'm sure the real experts will "adjust" my understanding - but I believe Concorde, loaded for the transatlantic "Sierra" routes, could hit about 5000 fpm peak VS when climbing at 400 KIAS between ~10,000 and ~28,000 feet (wherever 400 KIAS = M 0.99). Leaving a coastal airport (New York, Barbados, Dakar), she would quickly be clear of land and could more or less transition directly through Mach 1 as soon as she reached 28-30,000 feet.
Those 4 Olympus engines could maintain Mach 2 with no afterburner at 50,000+ feet, so they had tons of excess power down low. Again my understanding is that they stayed at 100% dry thrust from brake release until TOD (except for subsonic cruise segments), with the AB added for takeoff, and when accelerating from Mach 0.96 through Mach 1.7.
Mach 2.00 was reached in about 30 minutes @ ~51,300 feet, depending on atmospherics - a relatively long slow slog compared to the initial climb and acceleration.
From inland airports such PDG or Heathrow, there was a "pause" for level subsonic cruise (M 0.94-0.96) in the high 20s until clear of the coastline by 20 miles (over La Manche or the mouth of the Bristol Channel.)
@ leb001 - greenhouse visor, BA livery, and short tail - probably G-AXDN (aircraft 101). Although I'll defer to the experts, as always.
I'm sure the real experts will "adjust" my understanding - but I believe Concorde, loaded for the transatlantic "Sierra" routes, could hit about 5000 fpm peak VS when climbing at 400 KIAS between ~10,000 and ~28,000 feet (wherever 400 KIAS = M 0.99). Leaving a coastal airport (New York, Barbados, Dakar), she would quickly be clear of land and could more or less transition directly through Mach 1 as soon as she reached 28-30,000 feet.
Those 4 Olympus engines could maintain Mach 2 with no afterburner at 50,000+ feet, so they had tons of excess power down low. Again my understanding is that they stayed at 100% dry thrust from brake release until TOD (except for subsonic cruise segments), with the AB added for takeoff, and when accelerating from Mach 0.96 through Mach 1.7.
Mach 2.00 was reached in about 30 minutes @ ~51,300 feet, depending on atmospherics - a relatively long slow slog compared to the initial climb and acceleration.
From inland airports such PDG or Heathrow, there was a "pause" for level subsonic cruise (M 0.94-0.96) in the high 20s until clear of the coastline by 20 miles (over La Manche or the mouth of the Bristol Channel.)
@ leb001 - greenhouse visor, BA livery, and short tail - probably G-AXDN (aircraft 101). Although I'll defer to the experts, as always.
6th Jan 2016, 10:20
permalink Post: 1915
Concorde Eastbound Routes
Having just bought a new computer I have dug out my FS2004 PSS Concorde simulator and thought I'd give it a go now that I have more spare time. However, I realise now that all of the tutorial videos and books I have read about Concorde flights tended to detail westbound flights. I'm just curious about what eastbound routings were into Heathrow where and where the decel point was. Could anyone help or know of any sources of information on the eastbound routes please?
7th Jan 2016, 18:42
permalink Post: 1917
@tomahawk_PA38
Here's a chart of AF Concorde routings: Concorde route
Given that BA and AF used the same "Sierra November/Sierra Oscar" EB oceanic routes, and Paris and London are about the same longitude, the decel point was likely nearly identical as well.
Handwritten note is a bit small, but I believe it amounts to "50nm east of BISKI."
Waypoints change, however, and BISKI no longer exists - the closest approximation to the actual decel point that I see on a current chart looks like it would be MOSIS. Mouth of the English Channel, just west of the Scilly-Ushant line.
Deceleration clear of land then takes you directly up the center of the channel to SSW of Southhampton (roughly, ORTAC), and then hang a subsonic left to Heathrow.
But I'd also love to hear if someone has more authoritative info.
Here's a chart of AF Concorde routings: Concorde route
Given that BA and AF used the same "Sierra November/Sierra Oscar" EB oceanic routes, and Paris and London are about the same longitude, the decel point was likely nearly identical as well.
Handwritten note is a bit small, but I believe it amounts to "50nm east of BISKI."
Waypoints change, however, and BISKI no longer exists - the closest approximation to the actual decel point that I see on a current chart looks like it would be MOSIS. Mouth of the English Channel, just west of the Scilly-Ushant line.
Deceleration clear of land then takes you directly up the center of the channel to SSW of Southhampton (roughly, ORTAC), and then hang a subsonic left to Heathrow.
But I'd also love to hear if someone has more authoritative info.
7th Jan 2016, 20:35
permalink Post: 1919
Concorde eastbound
@tomahawk, pattern is full
You really need an input from a BA pilot, but my memory is that the approach to LHR was up the Bristol Channel not the English Channel.
Original decel point was moved back about 100 n.ml to avoid secondary boom effects over West Couhtry. This put it somewhere south of the southern tip of Ireland
You really need an input from a BA pilot, but my memory is that the approach to LHR was up the Bristol Channel not the English Channel.
Original decel point was moved back about 100 n.ml to avoid secondary boom effects over West Couhtry. This put it somewhere south of the southern tip of Ireland
8th Jan 2016, 18:53
permalink Post: 1922
Yup, I lived in Bristol in the 80's. On a nice summer's day with the wind in the right direction if we were out in the garden we could hear a faint "buboom" followed by the sight of Concorde overhead on the way in to Heathrow.
11th Jan 2016, 23:25
permalink Post: 1926
FraserConcordeFan
... How exactly would you get the INS into memory mode so you could input the two digit code to activate the route section...
Concorde did have a facility to input a flight plan route segment into the INS and this facility was used on most flights. To explain this very briefly , let\x92s take a typical LHR-JFK flight as an example:
\x95 Press the amber REMOTE button on each INS CDU
\x95 Load the first waypoint (#1), usually Woodley, manually into an INS
\x95 Key WAYPOINT CHANGE and enter and insert \x930 to 1\x94 on each CDU.
\x95 Select DSTRK/STS and HOLD
\x95 Key WAYPOINT CHANGE
\x95 Key the DME catalogue number (from the flight log, usually 90 on a LHR-JFK sector) and insert
\x95 Key WAYPOINT CHANGE
\x95 Key the Route Segment number (from the flight log, usually 10 on a LHR-JFK sector) and insert
\x95 Cancel HOLD
Then the usual checking routine of:
\x95 Checking the lats and longs of the loaded waypoint lats with those given on the flight log
\x95 Checking the INS distances between waypoints with those given on the flight log
\x95 Checking the lats, longs and frequencies of the DMEs against the database guide
Return the displays back to WAYPOINT, cancel REMOTE, select AUTO and check the INS alignment.
Remember, with only nine waypoints available in the INS, this procedure would have to be repeated in flight, sometimes more than once. Takes much longer to write about than it did to do!
tomahawk pa38
... I'm just curious about what eastbound routings were into Heathrow...
The usual Eastbound routing on a JFK-LHR flight would be via track SN to 15\xb0W then on SL3 to BARIX to MATIM to PITEM to NIGIT and then OCK.
... and where the decel point was....
Let me just check we are talking about the same thing! The Decel Point was the point at the end of the cruise/climb, where we first throttled back and started to decelerate from M2.00 and then descend from, say, around FL 560.
The decel point was calculated in order that we would be just under M1.00 at the designated Speed Control Point , and so the Decel Point was obviously further back than the Speed Control Point.
The usual route was up the Bristol Channel, a bit to the South of our outbound route, crossing the Devon coast just to the North of Barnstaple, routing to a waypoint called MATIM, which is around 51\xb0N 004\xb0W.
In winter, on a JFK-LHR flight via SL3, the Speed Control Point was 110nm before MATIM , and we were required to be subsonic at this point. Typically, we would be just under M1.00, and around FL410, when we crossed the speed control point, having started down from FL 560 around 105nm earlier.
The decel point was of no real relevance to those living on and around the coast of Devon and Somerset, but the Speed Control Point was. The position and time at which we decelerated through M1.00 and became subsonic were always recorded on the flight log, along with the altitude and spot wind, in case of any future claims of boom damage due to a misjudged decel.
Best Regards to all
Bellerophon
Dedicated to the memory of Andr\xe9 \xc9douard Turcat (1921 -2016)
... How exactly would you get the INS into memory mode so you could input the two digit code to activate the route section...
Concorde did have a facility to input a flight plan route segment into the INS and this facility was used on most flights. To explain this very briefly , let\x92s take a typical LHR-JFK flight as an example:
\x95 Press the amber REMOTE button on each INS CDU
\x95 Load the first waypoint (#1), usually Woodley, manually into an INS
\x95 Key WAYPOINT CHANGE and enter and insert \x930 to 1\x94 on each CDU.
\x95 Select DSTRK/STS and HOLD
\x95 Key WAYPOINT CHANGE
\x95 Key the DME catalogue number (from the flight log, usually 90 on a LHR-JFK sector) and insert
\x95 Key WAYPOINT CHANGE
\x95 Key the Route Segment number (from the flight log, usually 10 on a LHR-JFK sector) and insert
\x95 Cancel HOLD
Then the usual checking routine of:
\x95 Checking the lats and longs of the loaded waypoint lats with those given on the flight log
\x95 Checking the INS distances between waypoints with those given on the flight log
\x95 Checking the lats, longs and frequencies of the DMEs against the database guide
Return the displays back to WAYPOINT, cancel REMOTE, select AUTO and check the INS alignment.
Remember, with only nine waypoints available in the INS, this procedure would have to be repeated in flight, sometimes more than once. Takes much longer to write about than it did to do!
tomahawk pa38
... I'm just curious about what eastbound routings were into Heathrow...
The usual Eastbound routing on a JFK-LHR flight would be via track SN to 15\xb0W then on SL3 to BARIX to MATIM to PITEM to NIGIT and then OCK.
... and where the decel point was....
Let me just check we are talking about the same thing! The Decel Point was the point at the end of the cruise/climb, where we first throttled back and started to decelerate from M2.00 and then descend from, say, around FL 560.
The decel point was calculated in order that we would be just under M1.00 at the designated Speed Control Point , and so the Decel Point was obviously further back than the Speed Control Point.
The usual route was up the Bristol Channel, a bit to the South of our outbound route, crossing the Devon coast just to the North of Barnstaple, routing to a waypoint called MATIM, which is around 51\xb0N 004\xb0W.
In winter, on a JFK-LHR flight via SL3, the Speed Control Point was 110nm before MATIM , and we were required to be subsonic at this point. Typically, we would be just under M1.00, and around FL410, when we crossed the speed control point, having started down from FL 560 around 105nm earlier.
The decel point was of no real relevance to those living on and around the coast of Devon and Somerset, but the Speed Control Point was. The position and time at which we decelerated through M1.00 and became subsonic were always recorded on the flight log, along with the altitude and spot wind, in case of any future claims of boom damage due to a misjudged decel.
Best Regards to all
Bellerophon
Dedicated to the memory of Andr\xe9 \xc9douard Turcat (1921 -2016)
29th Mar 2016, 16:06
permalink Post: 1937
Hands on
As so many have already said: what a wonderful thread. Please please keep it going.
Given the high quality of expertise and experience here, please accept my apologies for any ill informed inaccuracies. I never flew in Concorde, but I did 'fly' her thanks to the late John Cook.
In the late 1970s I was in the RAF section of the school CCF with his son Richard (tragically later killed in the Mull of Kintyre accident) and John (one of the first BA Concorde pilots) arranged for a minibus load of us to go to Filton on what I wish I'd realised at the time was an exceptionally privileged visit. Passage of time blurs the memory, but it still sticks in my mind as an extraordinary day.
The first 'Concorde' we saw was the full scale marketing mock up, essentially the left side of an external Concorde attached to a hanger wall, with a full interior cabin. I still remember being surprised how small it was - the windows especially - and the mix of different seats and trims inside, presumably to show options to potential buyers.
Next stop was the simulator and - in the analogue days of the 70's - the enormous, detailed 3D model of Heathrow and what looked like the surrounding 10 miles, mounted vertically on a wall. A huge gantry on rails ran back and forth, up and down, so a camera with tiny periscope lens could take off, fly around and land as per the simulated flight, with the resulting pictures projected for the pilots in the sim. The size of the thing - and the attention to detail of the model - was incredible. Off to one side was a large rectangular shallow dish painted light blue. It's sides were raised - like a saucer - and edged with fluffed cotton wool. We were told that once the flight in the sim reached a certain height, it would 'go into cloud' (fade to white) while the camera trundled across to the blue dish. The flight would then 'emerge' from the 'cloud' and the camera went round and round in circles, giving a very plausible impression of high altitude flight until it was time to reverse the procedure and descend, back to 'Heathrow'.
Incredibly, they let us fly the sim, two at a time up front, for a few minutes each. It was simply too much to take in and was over far, far, far too soon. But I can claim a (very poor) approach to Heathrow before the instructors called us off - apparently a crash landing didn't do the camera any favours as the lens would plough into the model. I can see why they were nervous.
(Is this the sim cockpit - without the model I presume - that is now at Brooklands, by the way?)
Final stop was a gantry overlooking one of the hangers where a solitary Concorde nestled amongst (what fuzzy memory recalls as) three VC10s being converted to tankers for the RAF. The Concorde seemed tiny by comparison, but also startling in that it was still largely in green primer, access panels were open and inspection hatches missing and vulnerable areas were covered in what looked like flattened cardboard boxes for protection. Presumably this was one of the 'unsold' numbers before BA took it on (?). Nose down, it looked very sad.
We weren't. I suspect we were insufferable for weeks afterwards.
What I'd give for a time machine to revisit that afternoon...
Given the high quality of expertise and experience here, please accept my apologies for any ill informed inaccuracies. I never flew in Concorde, but I did 'fly' her thanks to the late John Cook.
In the late 1970s I was in the RAF section of the school CCF with his son Richard (tragically later killed in the Mull of Kintyre accident) and John (one of the first BA Concorde pilots) arranged for a minibus load of us to go to Filton on what I wish I'd realised at the time was an exceptionally privileged visit. Passage of time blurs the memory, but it still sticks in my mind as an extraordinary day.
The first 'Concorde' we saw was the full scale marketing mock up, essentially the left side of an external Concorde attached to a hanger wall, with a full interior cabin. I still remember being surprised how small it was - the windows especially - and the mix of different seats and trims inside, presumably to show options to potential buyers.
Next stop was the simulator and - in the analogue days of the 70's - the enormous, detailed 3D model of Heathrow and what looked like the surrounding 10 miles, mounted vertically on a wall. A huge gantry on rails ran back and forth, up and down, so a camera with tiny periscope lens could take off, fly around and land as per the simulated flight, with the resulting pictures projected for the pilots in the sim. The size of the thing - and the attention to detail of the model - was incredible. Off to one side was a large rectangular shallow dish painted light blue. It's sides were raised - like a saucer - and edged with fluffed cotton wool. We were told that once the flight in the sim reached a certain height, it would 'go into cloud' (fade to white) while the camera trundled across to the blue dish. The flight would then 'emerge' from the 'cloud' and the camera went round and round in circles, giving a very plausible impression of high altitude flight until it was time to reverse the procedure and descend, back to 'Heathrow'.
Incredibly, they let us fly the sim, two at a time up front, for a few minutes each. It was simply too much to take in and was over far, far, far too soon. But I can claim a (very poor) approach to Heathrow before the instructors called us off - apparently a crash landing didn't do the camera any favours as the lens would plough into the model. I can see why they were nervous.
(Is this the sim cockpit - without the model I presume - that is now at Brooklands, by the way?)
Final stop was a gantry overlooking one of the hangers where a solitary Concorde nestled amongst (what fuzzy memory recalls as) three VC10s being converted to tankers for the RAF. The Concorde seemed tiny by comparison, but also startling in that it was still largely in green primer, access panels were open and inspection hatches missing and vulnerable areas were covered in what looked like flattened cardboard boxes for protection. Presumably this was one of the 'unsold' numbers before BA took it on (?). Nose down, it looked very sad.
We weren't. I suspect we were insufferable for weeks afterwards.
What I'd give for a time machine to revisit that afternoon...
Last edited by Don'ttouchthat!; 29th Mar 2016 at 16:18 .
20th May 2016, 04:01
permalink Post: 1942
Is this the best thread on the Internet?
98 Pages - have read them all. Absolutely unique given the tailspin that a lot of threads (not just on this site) find themselves in - this thread is a credit to those who have made it so captivating.
I lived in the UK for 10 years and was lucky enough to (well my wife did) win a return for 2 to NY on Concorde. Courtesy of the Evening Standard. This was June 1997. We sat in 3A/B and as an avid aviation follower (my dad flew in the RNZAF) spent way longer than my welcome in the cockpit when it was our turn. Purely because unlike a lot of other people who pointed and wowed - I spoke to the F/E and the skipper (Mike Bannister) about the flying aspect and marvelled at the engineering and the systems.
My dad broke the sound barrier in 1963 in an F-105 in Thailand somewhere whilst on manoeuvres with the USAF and as a wee chap always remember the mach meter at 1.06. So I asked Capt Bannister if he would take a picture of this for me from the same aspect - and he did. I proudly showed my dad.
So on the way back from NY on boarding I asked the Chief Purser if there was any chance of sitting in the cockpit for landing - a fairly stern no was the answer. No problem - 3 hours of caviar, mango, fillet steak and Krug ensued.
Then lo and behold - about 25 minutes from landing, the purser found me and said (verbatim) - "are you the young chap whose dad broke the sound barrier? Capt Bannister would like to know if you would like to sit on the jump seat for landing." I levitated to the cockpit.
Was strapped in, given headphones - told not to talk unless spoken to (nicely of course). Mike Bannister did say to me that I was one of the few people (of 100) to actually pay any interest to the flight systems aspect - which was why he asked if I was keen to join them for landing.
Oh the good old days!!
At the time we lived in Brockham and as a bonus it transpired that Bill Clinton and Air Force One was in the circuit and as it was explained to me - there was an exclusion zone whilst Air Force 1 was on finals? So we had to do 2 laps of the Ockham circuit. Which as fate would have it was almost directly over my house.
In all a surreal experience - just over 24 hours LHR - JFK - LHR return - didn't sleep a wink.
So not really a contribution to the thread - but a memory of a whirlwind, never to be repeated 24 hours. I think I was unbelievably lucky.
About the only thing I recall about Concorde (by way of a question) that I can't recall seeing here was when Concorde visited Auckland in the late 70's? Was the damage to either the rudder or a stabiliser? Surely at Mach 2.0 the vibrations/difference in control would be marked? From memory the flight crew was interviewed and I'm sure they said they didn't notice anything? Comments?
I lived in the UK for 10 years and was lucky enough to (well my wife did) win a return for 2 to NY on Concorde. Courtesy of the Evening Standard. This was June 1997. We sat in 3A/B and as an avid aviation follower (my dad flew in the RNZAF) spent way longer than my welcome in the cockpit when it was our turn. Purely because unlike a lot of other people who pointed and wowed - I spoke to the F/E and the skipper (Mike Bannister) about the flying aspect and marvelled at the engineering and the systems.
My dad broke the sound barrier in 1963 in an F-105 in Thailand somewhere whilst on manoeuvres with the USAF and as a wee chap always remember the mach meter at 1.06. So I asked Capt Bannister if he would take a picture of this for me from the same aspect - and he did. I proudly showed my dad.
So on the way back from NY on boarding I asked the Chief Purser if there was any chance of sitting in the cockpit for landing - a fairly stern no was the answer. No problem - 3 hours of caviar, mango, fillet steak and Krug ensued.
Then lo and behold - about 25 minutes from landing, the purser found me and said (verbatim) - "are you the young chap whose dad broke the sound barrier? Capt Bannister would like to know if you would like to sit on the jump seat for landing." I levitated to the cockpit.
Was strapped in, given headphones - told not to talk unless spoken to (nicely of course). Mike Bannister did say to me that I was one of the few people (of 100) to actually pay any interest to the flight systems aspect - which was why he asked if I was keen to join them for landing.
Oh the good old days!!
At the time we lived in Brockham and as a bonus it transpired that Bill Clinton and Air Force One was in the circuit and as it was explained to me - there was an exclusion zone whilst Air Force 1 was on finals? So we had to do 2 laps of the Ockham circuit. Which as fate would have it was almost directly over my house.
In all a surreal experience - just over 24 hours LHR - JFK - LHR return - didn't sleep a wink.
So not really a contribution to the thread - but a memory of a whirlwind, never to be repeated 24 hours. I think I was unbelievably lucky.
About the only thing I recall about Concorde (by way of a question) that I can't recall seeing here was when Concorde visited Auckland in the late 70's? Was the damage to either the rudder or a stabiliser? Surely at Mach 2.0 the vibrations/difference in control would be marked? From memory the flight crew was interviewed and I'm sure they said they didn't notice anything? Comments?
18th Jul 2016, 06:52
permalink Post: 1946
Roger. Great first post!. I too have been lucky enough to 'flight-deck' Concorde as a passenger, tho' not for the landing. {Did that as a pax in a Trident, amongst others!] I still have the video that I took!. Like you, I was interested in the flying of it, and asked questions, but didn't have the same luck as you with the jump seat.
I recently flew Heathrow to Kuala Lumpur in an A.380, and whilst driving from Croydon to Heathrow, went along the road at the side of BA Engineering, and there, looking beautiful in the sun, was 'my' Concorde, G-BOAB. Happy memories!. There was, I believe, the occasional rudder skin loss on a couple of Concordes, and vibration was experienced if I remember correctly.
I recently flew Heathrow to Kuala Lumpur in an A.380, and whilst driving from Croydon to Heathrow, went along the road at the side of BA Engineering, and there, looking beautiful in the sun, was 'my' Concorde, G-BOAB. Happy memories!. There was, I believe, the occasional rudder skin loss on a couple of Concordes, and vibration was experienced if I remember correctly.