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Author Topic: Last Concorde Flight Dick Vaughan Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1032 From: Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK Registered: Jul 2000 posted 10-25-2003 05:10 AM                        I am extremely fortunate to have flown on Concorde, if only subsonically ,back in June 2000. My better half bought me a flight from London Heathrow to my local airport Leeds Bradford as a combined late xmas /Fathers day present. British Airways used to run these short familiarisation flights to /from regional UK airports on summer weekends when the fleet wasn't as busy on transatlantic schedules. I think the ticket price was around £300 ,$500US. For somewhere between £880-£1000 you could get a short supersonic flight out in a loop from LBA to LHR,still way out of my price league. Some interesting facts about my flight was that the cruising altitude between London and LBA was only about 24,000ft substantially less than the scheduled British Midland 737 flights on the same route. the flight time of about 48 minutes was also about the same as the 737. The most memorable moments included the roar of the 4 Olympus engines going into reheat just before the pilots released the brakes and then the sudden silence as they cut off after a rapid climb out from Heathrow. The sudden silence made some of the more nervous passengers scream out despite the pilot telling them what would happen in the preflight briefing Just goes to prove that most people don't really listen whatever you tell them. I will really miss this fantastic aircraft and hope that at least one is kept flying to show future generations what the British and French aerospace companies were able to achieve.  |  IP: Logged Stephen Furley Film God Posts: 3059 From: Coulsdon, Croydon, England Registered: May 2002 posted 10-25-2003 06:34 AM                     Dick, I should be able to get from London to Bradford in about ten minutes; maybe I could pop up in my lunch hour! Sad to see it go, but I think it was bound to happen soon.  |  IP: Logged Paul Mayer Oh get out of it Melvin, before it pulls you under! Posts: 3836 From: Albuquerque, NM Registered: Feb 2000 posted 10-25-2003 09:04 PM                        To answer Lance's question, 60,000' was about the max for Concorde cruising altitude. On warm days (more than ISA+5degC) the max altitude would be lower.  |  IP: Logged Leo Enticknap Film God Posts: 7474 From: Loma Linda, CA Registered: Jul 2000 posted 10-27-2003 02:30 AM                        Dick: BMI have obviously gone upmarket since I last flew from LBA to LHR - they usually use cold and cramped Fokker 100s. On one occasion the passenger in front of me in the queue asked which of three parked aircraft we were supposed to board: 'That big blue Fokker at the end', was the airport official's reply, delivered in an Ian Paisley-like Northern Irish accent. She nearly got the wrong idea! One thing which the report that started this thread didn't mention was that Richard Branson's Virgin group offered to buy the remaining Concordes from BA and keep them running. BA has refused, saying that it will give them to museums instead. Another politically motivated decision, I think. I don't think Rod Eddington liked the idea of Virgin - which isn't saddled with BA's huge level of debt and isn't trying to compete with the budget airlines for short distance routes - rubbing BA's nose in it by running the Concordes as a loss-leading publicity vehicle.  |  IP: Logged Dick Vaughan Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1032 From: Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK Registered: Jul 2000 posted 10-27-2003 12:03 PM                        Leo Back in '98-2000 BMI used 737's on the LBA-LHR route and occasionally since then Airbus 321. Haven't flown that route in a while using the train unfortunately for London trips nowadays.  |  IP: Logged Darren Briggs Master Film Handler Posts: 371 From: York, UK Registered: Dec 2001 posted 10-27-2003 04:28 PM                        Here's a bit of good news regards the last concorde flights, All the landings of the last three comercial flights ariving at Heathrow were captured in 5 perf 70mm. Using the Mitchell camera and lenses that shot 2001. The footage is to be used for the ultimate picture quality bench mark in film and D-cinema tests. Ill let you know what it looks like when i get to see it in the near future, and hope to screen it here at City Screen in York (U.K) next year during some 70mm event. Sound was also recorded on the day. Darren  |  IP: Logged John Pytlak Film God Posts: 9987 From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922 Registered: Jan 2000 posted 10-28-2003 11:06 AM                        Darren Briggs wrote: quote: All the landings of the last three comercial flights ariving at Heathrow were captured in 5 perf 70mm. Using the Mitchell camera and lenses that shot 2001. Minor correction: 65mm film would have been used in the camera: http://www.kodak.com/US/plugins/acrobat/en/motion/catalog/colorNeg.pdf 70mm is still used for the prints: http://www.kodak.com/US/plugins/acrobat/en/motion/catalog/colorPrint.pdf  |  IP: Logged Will Kutler Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1506 From: Tucson, AZ, USA Registered: Feb 2001 posted 10-28-2003 01:35 PM                     I am suprised that none of our FT English friends have mentioned the Concorde on display at Duxford Air Museum, which is part of the famous Imperial War Museum. I need to drag my pics out, but if memory serves me correctly, this was the first Concorde built and is loaded down with all types of test equipment. Duxford is one great museum. It is an authentic WWII RAF Base that has been preserved as a musuem. Just about everything has been restored to flying condition. A must see for anyone visiting England. Compatable museums in the US are the "Planes of Fame" museum in Chino/Ontario California, as well as the Commerative(Confederate) Air Force. Back to the Concorde: I have some decent pics of this plane and its cockpit. Also, a few years ago, there was a highly publicized chartered Concorde flight, with the Concorde comming to Tucson International Airport. I have pics from this.  |  IP: Logged Stephen Furley Film God Posts: 3059 From: Coulsdon, Croydon, England Registered: May 2002 posted 10-28-2003 01:52 PM                     I have never been to Duxford, it's not the easiest of places to get to, but there is a cinema on the site, the Astra. As far as I know it no longer gives public shows, but is still fully equipped, and is looked after by the Projected Picture Trust, who previously operated it when it was open to the public as part of the museum.  |  IP: Logged Dick Vaughan Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1032 From: Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK Registered: Jul 2000 posted 10-28-2003 02:18 PM                        Will the first prototype Concorde 001 was assembled in France. The first British assembled aircraft Concorde 002 registered G-BSST is now housed at the Fleet Air Arm Museum in Yeovilton ,Somerset. http://www.fleetairarm.com This aircraft is actually part of the Science Museum's collection(our parent museum) but when it was retired from testing in 1978 we lacked a suitable airfield of our own so it was flown to Yeovilton whre it is displayed alongside other aircraft used in the devlopment of high speed flight. The aircraft at Duxford is a a pre-production model Concorde 01 G-AXDN. For a detailed history of Concordes testing and service history take a look at http://www.concordesst.com  |  IP: Logged John Pytlak Film God Posts: 9987 From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922 Registered: Jan 2000 posted 10-28-2003 03:29 PM                        Concorde came to Rochester NY carrying the 1995 European Ryder Cup golf team: http://sport.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,4496228-110989,00.html http://www.democratandchronicle.com/sports/pga/story15.shtml http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/longterm/memories/1995/95golf2.htm And Boston for the 1999 Ryder Cup match: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/airline/message/27379?source=1  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 10-28-2003 06:33 PM                        I saw the Concorde land at JFK airport in NYC about ten years ago. It was the only time that I saw the aircraft in flight and it was quite impressive. At the time, I was waiting to board a TWA L-1011, another great aircraft (and airline) which is no longer flown by the major passenger airlines It's rather sad that there has been so little progress in commercial aviation in the last thirty or so years. The only real improvements seem to have been in economy and noise reduction, not in aircraft size or speed.  |  IP: Logged Dick Vaughan Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1032 From: Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK Registered: Jul 2000 posted 10-29-2003 02:02 AM                        Two of the retired British Airways aircraft are supposed to be heading to the States for preservation so there will be a final chance to see one fly on the ferry flights. One is due to go to the Seattle Museum of Flight http://www.museumofflight.org ,the other to the Intrepid carrier museum in NYC http://www.intrepidmuseum.org An Air France example has already been donated to NASM's new facilty at Dulles http://www.metwashairports.com/authority/pr/pr061203.htm  |  IP: Logged Chris Markiewicz Expert Film Handler Posts: 209 From: Glenaviegh, County Tipperary, Ireland Registered: Aug 2002 posted 10-30-2003 02:25 PM                     A few years ago, some of the chartered round-the-world flights made stops in Kona. Lots of folks parked along the highway above the airport to watch the landings and takeoffs. I was fortunate enough to see one of the takeoff runs. It looked like it was going almost straight up!  |  IP: Logged

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