Concorde
The world's first supersonic transport (SST) to enter commercial passenger service
was the (British Aircraft Corporation/French Aeropatiale) Concorde. Twenty Concordes
were built between 1966 and 1980 including two prototypes and two pre-production models
built to further refine and test the aircraft design. Fourteen Concordes were equally
purchased by British Airways and Air France.
Concorde was an idea of the 50s, a reality in the 70's and with dignity was consigned
to history in 2003. Passenger revenues had decreased as maintenance costs increased and
this formula had only one inevitable ending, a prudent business decision to take the
Corcorde from the skies. The retirement of the Concorde was the end of a fantastic era
in world aviation.
The Concorde was an aircraft that was a triumph of innovation and now has an
unparalleled place in history. The Concorde was the world's only supersonic scheduled
passenger airliner. It was the epitome of elegance in flight and the envy of the world.
It had carried over two million passengers but won billions of hearts. The skies have
lost a great spectacle and we are left with nearly three decades where it captured our
imagination.
British Airways
#204 G.BOAC (Retired from service to Manchester Airport, Manchester)
#206 G.BOAA (Retired from service to East Fortune Airfield, Scotland.)
#208 G.BOAB (Retired from service to Heathrow Airport, London)
#210 G.BOAD (Retired from service to Intrepid Museum, New York)
#212 G.BOAE (Retired from service to Granley Adams Airport, Barbados)
#214 G.BOAG (Retired from service to Museum of Flight, Seattle)
#216 G.BOAF (Retired from service to Filton Airport, Bristol)
Air France
#203 F.BTSC (Crashed on July 25, 2000)
#205 F.BVFA (Retired from service to the National Air & Space Museum, Washington DC)
#207 F.BVFB (Retired from service to Sinsheim Auto & Technik Museum, Germany)
#209 F.BVFC (Retired from service to the Airbus Factory at Toulouse, France.)
#211 F.BVFD (Withdrawn from service, stored & used for spare parts)
#213 F.BTSD (Retired from service to Le Bourget Air and Space Museum, Paris)
#215 F.BVFF (Withdrawn from service and stored at Charles DeGaulle Airport, Paris)
The 1st Air France Concorde flew on March 2, 1969 piloted by Andre Turcat and
Jaques Guignard. Similarly, the 1st British Airways Concorde flew on April 9, 1969
piloted by Brian Trubshaw and John Cochrane.
On October 19, 1976 Concorde F-BTSC with captains Jean Franchi and Gilbert Defer
departed Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris on the start of a sales tour around-the-world but not
technically round-the-world. The tour would cover 30,922 miles visiting Bahrain, Singapore, Manila,
Hong Kong, Djakarta, Seoul and London before returning to Paris. It would log 22.06 hours of
supersonic flight over 31.54 hours airborne. This was quite a statement for supersonic flight for
an aircraft that made its maiden flight on January 31, 1975. Sadly, this Concorde ended its flying
career when it crashed on take-off from Charles De Gaulle Airport, Paris on July 25, 2000 with the
loss of everyone on board. In its life, it made 3,978 landings while flying 11,989 airborne hours.
Departed Paris 10/19/76
Bahrain 10/19/76
Reunion 10/20/76
Singapore 11/03/76
Manila, Philippines 11/05/76
Hong Kong 11/05/76
Manila, Philippines 11/06/76
Singapore 11/06/76
Hong Kong 11/08/76
Djakarta, Indonesia 11/08/76
Singapore 11/09/76
Seoul, Korea 11/11/76
Singapore 11/11/76
Bahrain 11/11/76
London, England 11/11/76
Arrived Paris 11/11/76
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