Farewell To Concorde!!!

[XTR]

A farewell to Concorde and a well done to Jerremy Clarkson!!!

CONCORDE ERA ENDS

The world's only supersonic passenger aircraft has bowed out in style, ending a chapter in supersonic aviation history.


Three Concordes landed at Heathrow airport in rapid succession just after 4pm, watched by cheering crowds.

The final Concorde to land was the celebrity-packed New York flight which touched down on the north runway at 4.05pm.

It was preceded by a Concorde from Edinburgh with competition winners on board, which landed at 4.01pm.

Another jet carrying invited guests who enjoyed a trip from Heathrow out over the Atlantic and back touched down at 4.03pm.

Planespotters armed with stepladders and cameras manned the airport's perimeter fences desperate for a last look at the planes.

Other spectators crammed into a 1,000-seater grandstand.

The Concorde from New York entered British airspace for the last time at 3.15pm, dropping below the speed of sound off the west coast of Ireland.

Among those on board the flight which left JFK airport at 12.30pm were film star Joan Collins, ballerina Darcey Bussell, broadcaster Sir David Frost and Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone.


Also on board were motoring TV pundit Jeremy Clarkson and Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan, who had a bit of a tiff.

Passengers said Mr Clarkson poured Champagne into the lap of Mr Morgan in retaliation for a picture published in the paper earlier this month showing the BBC presenter hugging another woman.

He reportedly told the editor: "That's for my wife."

Speaking ahead of the plane's departure, chief Concorde pilot Captain Bannister, 54, said he would look back with pride as he powered her engines down for the last time.

"I am proud and privileged to be flying the aircraft today. When I power the engines for the last time at Heathrow I shall be thinking of all the people in BA who've kept this plane flying successfully for 27 years," said Capt. Bannister.

Miss Collins said she was honoured, excited and sad to be on the final flight.

"The fact that is going to be phased out is quite tragic," she said.



Supermodel Jodie Kidd joked that it would be "horrendous" spending much longer making the flight in future on a subsonic aircraft.


British Airways chairman Lord Marshall admitted that it marked the end of supersonic commercial flight "for some considerable time".

The final flights bring to an end a supersonic story that began in 1956 when Britain and France began working separately on an aircraft that would fly at twice the speed of sound.

The two countries decided in 1962 to work jointly on the project but, as the original cost ballooned, the "deadline" for the first passenger flight slipped alarmingly.

The first flying test of Concorde was completed successfully in 1969.

But it was not until January 21, 1976 that passenger services began, with BA flying from Heathrow to Bahrain and Air France taking Concorde form Paris to Rio de Janeiro.

The last three Concordes to land today were being taken to join two other BA Concordes at a hangar at Heathrow for a party for BA's Concorde staff.

BA will soon announce what will happen to its seven Concordes.

http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0...865543,00.html

[5cupa]

shame to see this british icon on the scrap heap.

[Skii]

Nice piece of kit, admittedly.

but as a mere peasant I've never had the opportunity to experience it - so I won't miss it that much

[[GSV]Trig]

27 years is bugger all for a comercial aircraft, look at its safety record, yeah great so it killed a load of people in france, look at all the other aircraft that still get green card and then look at the concorde, this stinks of BS to me, everything that the french are involved in always goes to pot, jesus if we hadnt of supported the US in Iraq then they prolly wouldnt of puklled the plug the beret wearing onion stinking frogs leg eating mawfaws!

[5cupa]

[GSV]Trig dont hold back m8 say what you really feel about the French

[Knoxville]

Originally posted by Scupa
[GSV]Trig dont hold back m8 say what you really feel about the French

I think he did

[[GSV]Trig]

No I didnt

[Grolschkid]

Cant understand why they didnt let Richard Branson buy concorde, and have it part of his virgin airlines for the rich. No harm in that. I dont think he is too arsed about how often it gets used, he just wanted to keep it alive.

[shiato storm]

My cousin was the test pilot for Concorde...

hats off to all involved.

[Scooby]

Weird I can't remember any technology being discontinued and not replaced with something faster ???

Can anybody think of anything that has ?

Scooby

[spikegifted]

From an engineering point of view, it was and still is an excellent piece of aeronautic design.

However, I can agree with BA's decision of stopping the flights - it is not economic to keep it going, especially now that AirBus has stopped making parts for it. Additionally, for those who don't live under the flight paths of Heathrow (both take off and landing), this is one very noisy plane...

[Merlin]

i live a couple of miles from east midlands airport and regularly saw concorde go out. it came into EMA twice a year for most of the 90s, and i'll never forget watching those orange glowing afterburners disappear into the sky.

[Merlin]

and congratulations to jeremy clarkson!!

[[GSV]Trig]

Where you at then Merlin, I'm just south of L'boro...

[Swafe]

what the hell?

its fine for 20 odd years, then 1 crash

we hear about crashes in jumbos all the time whats the problem? why did they completely kill all concordes over 1 accident?

[[GSV]Trig]

That was part of my argument as well, everything we get involved with the fench with they balls up in 1 way or another, look at the Eurofighter ffs....

We should of done concorde with the germans, fine so they beat us at football but look at the success of the Tornado...