Concorde aircraft histories

Concorde
British Airways Concorde in 1986
Role	Supersonic airliner
Manufacturer	BAC (now BAE Systems) Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale, now EADS)
First flight	2 March 1969
Introduction	21 January 1976
Retired	26 November 2003
Status	Retired from service
Primary users	British Airways Air France See Operators below for others
Number built	20 (including 6 non-airline aircraft)[1][2]
Program cost	£ 1.3 billion[3]
Unit cost	£ 23 million in 1977 (£ 128 million in 2016 pounds[4])

Twenty Concorde aircraft were built, six for development and 14 for commercial service.

These were

• Two prototypes
• Two pre-production aircraft
• Two development aircraft
• 14 production aircraft

All but two of these aircraft—a remarkably high percentage for any commercial fleet—are preserved.

Prototypes

G-BSST on display at the Fleet Air Arm Museum.

The two prototype aircraft were used to expand the flight envelope of the aircraft as quickly as possible and prove that the design calculations for supersonic flight were correct.

• F-WTSS (production designation 001) was the first Concorde to fly, on 2 March 1969, and was retired on arrival at the French air museum at Le Bourget Airport on 19 October 1973, having made 397 flights covering 812 hours, of which 255 hours were at supersonic speeds.

• G-BSST (002) first flew on 9 April 1969 from Filton to RAF Fairford. Its last flight was on 4 March 1976 when it flew to the Fleet Air Arm Museum at the Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton, England. It had made 438 flights (836 hours), of which 196 flights were supersonic.

Pre-production aircraft

Both pre-production aircraft were used to further develop the design of the aircraft. Changes to design include different wing plan form, more fuel, different engine standard, different air intake systems etc.

• Concorde G-AXDN (101) first flew on 17 December 1971 from Filton and was retired to Duxford, England), where it landed on 20 August 1977, having made 269 flights (632 hours), of which 168 flights were supersonic.

• Concorde F-WTSA (102) first flew on 10 January 1973 from Toulouse. It was the fourth aircraft and the first to have the dimensions and the shape of the future production aircraft. It was the first to fly to the United States (on 20 September 1973 to Dallas, Texas). For several years the aircraft was painted in British Airways colours on one side and Air France colours on the other. It made 314 flights (656 hours), of which 189 supersonic and was then retired to Orly Airport in Paris on 20 May 1976, where it is on display to the public.

Development aircraft

The production aircraft were different in many ways to the original aircraft necessitating re-examining certain areas to obtain certification. In all there were six "development" aircraft. The two prototypes (001/002), the two pre-production (101/102) and two production aircraft (201/202)

• F-WTSB (201) first flew on 6 December 1973 from Toulouse. Its last flight was on 19 April 1985 from Chateauroux to Toulouse flying a total of 909 hours. It is currently outside the Airbus factory at Toulouse (France).
• G-BBDG (202) first flew on 13 December 1974 from Filton to RAF Fairford. It last flew on 24 December 1981 after a total of 1282 hours. Subsequently it was stored in a hangar on the Filton Airfield and was used as a spare parts source by BA for their Concorde fleet. It was sectioned & moved by road in May/June 2004 to the Brooklands museum site in Weybridge, Surrey, where after restoration it was opened to the public in the summer of 2006^[5]
  • There is an unverified story amongst British Aerospace staff that the last flight of the Filton aircraft was on a contract to the UK Ministry of Defence, to see if a supersonic jet of that size would be radar visible heading over Iceland and down towards the UK from the west; a test of the country's radar defences against the then-new Tupolev Tu-160 'Blackjack' bomber. However, the flight test logs show the final flights of G-BBDG as being test flights related to primary nozzle control (PNC) development work, which was a planned post entry in the service development area.

British production aircraft

British Airways had seven production aircraft in commercial service:

• G-BOAC (204) The flagship of the fleet (because of its BOAC registration) first flew on 27 February 1975 from Filton UK. It made its final flight to Manchester Airport – where a special "glass hangar" has now been built at the viewing park for its display – on 31 October 2003 after flying 22,260 hours.

• G-BOAA (206) first flew on 5 November 1975 from Filton UK. This was the aircraft that flew with the Red Arrows on 2 June 1996 to celebrate 50 years of Heathrow Airport. It last flew on 12 August 2000 as BA002 from New York JFK to London Heathrow after flying 22,768 hours, and it never received the modifications after the Paris crash. For its final journey it was transported to the National Museum of Flight (run by National Museums Scotland), East Fortune, near Edinburgh, over land to the Thames, then by sea to Torness, then over land again to the museum from 8 April to 19 April 2004.

Concorde G-BOAB in storage at London (Heathrow) Airport, following the end of all Concorde flights

• G-BOAB (208) first flew on 18 May 1976 from Filton. Its last flight was a positioning flight on 15 August 2000 as BA002P from New York JFK to London Heathrow after flying 22,296 hours. It remains at Heathrow Airport. It was never modified, and so never flew again after returning home following the Paris crash.

Concorde G-BOAD on 15 May 2003.

• G-BOAD (210) first flew on 25 August 1975 from Filton. Repainted with Singapore Airlines livery on the port side and British Airways livery on the starboard^[6] for a joint service by the two airlines between Bahrain and Singapore International Airport at Paya Lebar for three months in 1977, and from 1979 to 1981. This aircraft also set the fastest Atlantic crossing by any Concorde on 7 February 1996, taking off from New York JFK and landing in London Heathrow 2 hours, 52 minutes, and 59 seconds later.^[7] It departed from Heathrow for the final time on 10 November 2003, and flew to JFK airport in New York, from where it was then transferred (on a barge originally used to move Space shuttle external fuel tanks), to the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum, New York (USA), past the Statue of Liberty and up the Hudson River. Its engines were removed to reduce weight. Its temporary home was on a barge alongside the aircraft carrier Intrepid, pending the proposed creation of a quayside display hall; however, in December 2006, this Concorde was moved to Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, where it was kept in poor conditions.^[8][9] G-BOAD's nose cone was knocked off by a truck at the end in June 2008.^[8][10][11] The damage was repaired and subsequently the aircraft was moved back to Pier 86 in Manhattan (and placed on the pier, rather than on a barge) on 20 October 2008. G-BOAD spent more time in the air than any other Concorde at 23,397 hours. G-BOAD was finally moved to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.

• G-BOAE (212) first flew on 17 March 1977 from Filton. On 1 July 1999 it flew in formation with the Red Arrows to mark the opening of the Scottish Parliament. Its last flight was to Grantley Adams Airport in Bridgetown (Barbados) on 17 November 2003, with 70 members of BA staff on board. The flight, lasting less than 4 hours, reached the maximum certified height of 60,000 ft (18,300 m). It flew a total of 23,376 hours. A new exhibition was constructed to house the aircraft, east of the airport at the old Spencers Plantation.^[12]

Concorde G-BOAG at the Museum of Flight.

• G-BOAG (214) first flew on 21 April 1978 from Filton. The aircraft that flew the final Speedbird 2 service from New York on 24 October, left Heathrow for the final time on 3 November 2003. It spent a day "resting" and refuelling in New York before making its final flight on 5 November 2003 from New York JFK to Boeing Field, Seattle in an unusual supersonic flight (which required special permission) over the uninhabited part of northern Canada, to Seattle, where it is currently displayed at the Museum of Flight, alongside the first 707 that served as Air Force One and the prototype Boeing 747. This Concorde was once used as a source of spares, before being restored using parts from Air France's F-BVFD and has flown 16,239 hours.

• G-BOAF (216) first flew on 20 April 1979 from Filton and was the last Concorde to be built. It made Concorde's final ever flight on Wednesday 26 November 2003. Departing from Heathrow at 11:30 GMT, it made a last, brief, supersonic flight, carrying 100 BA staff, over the Bay of Biscay. It then flew a "lap of honour" above Bristol, passing over Portishead, Clevedon, Weston-super-Mare, Bristol International Airport and Clifton Suspension Bridge, before landing at Filton, soon after 13:00 GMT. It was met by Prince Andrew, who formally accepted its handover. It has flown a total of 18,257 hours. This aircraft was open for public viewing at the Concorde at Filton facility. The aircraft will be the star feature of the proposed Bristol Aviation Heritage Museum.

As part of tenth-anniversary celebrations on 24 December 1985, British Airways photographed G-BOAA, G-BOAC, G-BOAF and G-BOAG formation flying for their publicity material.^[13]

French production aircraft

Air France also had seven production aircraft in commercial service:

• F-BTSC (203) was the Concorde lost in the crash of Air France Flight 4590 on 25 July 2000 killing 113 people. It was featured in the film The Concorde ... Airport '79. It first flew on 31 January 1975 from Toulouse and flew for 11,989 hours.

Concorde F-BVFA on display at Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, USA.

• F-BVFA (205) First flew on 27 October 1975 from Toulouse. In 1988 it flew around the world in a record breaking (at the time) 41 hours 27 minutes. It made its final flight to the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum's new Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Washington Dulles International Airport (USA) on 12 June 2003 and flying 17,824 hours.
• F-BVFB (207) first flew on 6 March 1976 from Toulouse. It was sold for €1 to the Sinsheim Auto & Technik Museum in Germany. It flew to Karlsruhe-Baden–Baden Airpark, in South West Germany on 24 June 2003. After removal of its wings and tail fin, it travelled by barge and road, to join a Tupolev Tu-144 already on exhibit at Sinsheim. It has flown 14,771 hours.
• F-BVFC (209) first flew on 9 July 1976 from Toulouse. It was retired to the Airbus plant at Toulouse (France), where the French aircraft were constructed, on 27 June 2003, joining 201 and ending Air France's relationship with Concorde. The final flight was supersonic, and included a go around at Toulouse. It had flown 14,332 hours. Since January 2015 on display at Aeroscopia museum near Airbus Toulouse factory.
• F-BVFD (211) first flew on 10 February 1977 from Toulouse. It was retired early, in 1982, having flown only 5,814 hours (final flight on 27 May 1982). Badly corroded after being stored outdoors, and damaged through use as a source of spare parts, it was broken up in 1994. It is the only Concorde scrapped before retirement.
• F-BTSD (213) first flew on 26 June 1978 from Toulouse. It was retired to the Air and Space museum at Le Bourget (France) on 14 June 2003, joining 001 after flying 12,974 hours. In 1996, this aircraft carried a promotional paint scheme (blue with logo) for Pepsi. It flew subsonic flights (the plane requires a white livery to fly supersonic, because of the heat) around the Middle East and is estimated to have cost Pepsi $20 Million. (213) also holds the world record for flying around the world in both directions. Westbound in 32 hours 49 minutes and 3 seconds on 12/13 October 1992 and Eastbound in 31 hours 27 minutes and 49 seconds on 15/16 August 1995. It also was the only Concorde to land in Central America and then it set a new time record between Juan Santamaria International Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport.
• F-BVFF (215) first flew on 26 December 1978 from Toulouse. It remains on display at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, being cosmetically reassembled, after the withdrawal of the type was announced mid-way through refurbishment. It last flew on a charter flight to Paris Charles de Gaulle on 11 June 2000 after flying 12,421 hours

All Concorde

Notes

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Concorde aircraft histories.

• Heritage Concorde
• "Concorde SST"
• Save Concorde Group
• British Airways Celebrating Concorde
• "Concorde Jet" fan site
• Technik Museum Sinsheim (in German; has streaming video)
• "Farewell to Concorde" (BBC)
• Guided tour of Concorde in Toulouse
• Aircraft-Info.net - Concorde
• Concorde at East Fortune, Scotland
• Concorde on display at Manchester Airport - UK
• Concorde at Filton
• Brooklands Concorde
• Barbados Concorde Experience