I just went to the Barbados Concorde Experiance

[nascarlemanslmp]

Today I went on a school trip to the Barbados Concorde Experience.
When we entered the hanger I was shocked . It looked so massive.
The plane looked so long.We were shown a video about the plane. (it had a scaled down sonic boom which frightened me) Then our guide told us things about the plane like the 10,000 pounds leather seats. We got to look around the plane. The tires were hard like steel. (filled with liquid nitrogen) We were shown the air intakes. We were then given fake boarding passes then we got to board the plane. We then sat down in the seats and got to watch a 10 minute video. Then we got to see the cockpit (behind a glass door) which had so many different instruments. Then we had to exit and then leave.

P.s. There were two video games in the hanger with split second and wii sports
I wonder why they had those? I'm pretty sure they used to have simulators set up where you were able to fly a Concorde?

 

[G.T.Ace]

Aww, the Concorde, or "France's flying failure".
Beautiful to look at though indeed, she's impressive, but I am glad I never had to travel in it.

 

[35mm]

The Concorde will always be the coolest passenger airliner.

It's a shame that it all ended in such a stupid way.

 

[Sprite]

These are the shots I took of Concord when I got close and personal at Brooklands a couple of years ago. Such an amazing plane, shame it's gone.








My fiancé for size








Me for scale, six foot two and 15stone, I found it to be smaller than I thought it would be.

 

[nascarlemanslmp]

I found it to be huge since it was inside an hanger although I'm 5"6

It was too expensive to maintain. But it was reliable. The only reason the crash happened was because of carelessness.

 

[E28]

Aww, the Concorde, or "France's flying failure".
Beautiful to look at though indeed, she's impressive, but I am glad I never had to travel in it.

France's flying failure?! I've never heard that before...

And the Concorde is a beautiful thing, such a shame there's nothing else like it...

 

[Tom]

This is at Brooklands isn't it? I went there in 2010, just awesome.

 

[nascarlemanslmp]

France's flying failure?! I've never heard that before...

And the Concorde is a beautiful thing, such a shame there's nothing else like it...

It was a accident that happened in the year 2000. Metal was on the runway and it burst the tyres and then the debris flew into the air intake then bursting the fuel tank which caused a fire and to make this worse the plane was at an take off angle. Then the plane made it off of the ground then it crashed into a hotel.
Which killed everyone.

 

[E28]

It was a accident that happened in the year 2000. Metal was on the runway and it burst the tyres and then the debris flew into the air intake then bursting the fuel tank which caused a fire and to make this worse the plane was at an take off angle. Then the plane made it off of the ground then it crashed into a hotel.
Which killed everyone.

That was a great tragedy, and was the start of concordes demise really...

 

[nascarlemanslmp]

That was a great tragedy, and was the start of concordes demise really...

Also the cost to maintain the plane because the parts could not be replaced with any other parts from another plane. Everything from the Concorde was made from scratch.

 

[lbsf1]

About 6 years ago me and my family went to bristol where they have one of the concordes. Apsolutely amazing, one of the most stunning things to me is how the plane grows by 3foot during flight because of the heat generated, its a facisnating piece of machinary.

A couple of days before the last flight into Heathrow in 2003 when I was 7 we went to watch it land, I remember standing in the cold on the side of the road for an hour waiting for it, fascinated by every plane that landed (I wanted (and kinda still do) to be a pilot.) the mechanical aspect of it amazes me. I just remember the sound of it coming to the runway, it looking so sleek and futuristic it was still ahead of its time when retired. My parents got to go to see the last landing from some temporary grandstands by the airport, I have some pictures of that somewhere.

I still wish it was here today, I know that is was becoming non feasible any more but still it was just an awesome piece of kit. My mum got a change to fly on it in the late 70's for free to paris but turned it down for some reason.

However that blemish on its reputation on in the 2000 crash, the metal would have split any planes tyres so not a direct fault of concorde.

 

[nascarlemanslmp]

About 6 years ago me and my family went to bristol where they have one of the concordes. Apsolutely amazing, one of the most stunning things to me is how the plane grows by 3foot during flight because of the heat generated, its a facisnating piece of machinary.

A couple of days before the last flight into Heathrow in 2003 when I was 7 we went to watch it land, I remember standing in the cold on the side of the road for an hour waiting for it, fascinated by every plane that landed (I wanted (and kinda still do) to be a pilot.) the mechanical aspect of it amazes me. I just remember the sound of it coming to the runway, it looking so sleek and futuristic it was still ahead of its time when retired. My parents got to go to see the last landing from some temporary grandstands by the airport, I have some pictures of that somewhere.

I still wish it was here today, I know that is was becoming non feasible any more but still it was just an awesome piece of kit. My mum got a change to fly on it in the late 70's for free to paris but turned it down for some reason.

Interesting. I thought the one here in Barbados was the last one to fly. (That's what the guide told me.)

I wanna use those tyers as a punching bag who's with me?

 

[lbsf1]

Interesting. I thought the one here in Barbados was the last one to fly. (That's what the guide told me.)

I wanna use those tyers as a punching bag who's with me?

I can't remember whether the one at Heathrow was completely the last one, or just the last one in the uk,

EDIT: Just looked it up, the ones I saw were in the last week of active service, after that they still flew for a couple of months but only to get them to the places they were going to stay, hence why the one you have seen might have been the last one to fly, and the one I (my parents) saw was the last on in commercial service.

 

[nascarlemanslmp]

I can't remember whether the one at Heathrow was completely the last one, or just the last one in the uk,

EDIT: Just looked it up, the ones I saw were in the last week of active service, after that they still flew for a couple of months but only to get them to the places they were going to stay, hence why the one you have seen might have been the last one to fly, and the one I (my parents) saw was the last on in commercial service.

Oh that's why.

 

[E28]

However that blemish on its reputation on in the 2000 crash, the metal would have split any planes tyres so not a direct fault of concorde.

True, although in another plane the fuel tank may not have ignited.

And I've seen the one in bristol too. One of the earier ones used for testing I believe.

 

[nascarlemanslmp]

True, although in another plane the fuel tank may not have ignited.

And I've seen the one in bristol too. One of the earier ones used for testing I believe.

It would probably not ignite in another plane because of the positioning of the tyres?

 

[nascarlemanslmp]

These are the shots I took of Concord when I got close and personal at Brooklands a couple of years ago. Such an amazing plane, shame it's gone.

The one I saw had the current British airways livery. Reason is that it was the last one to ever fly.

 

[E28]

It would probably not ignite in another plane because of the positioning of the tyres?

Possibly. I think also the concorde was criticized after the crash for not having enough protection around the fuel tanks.

 

[BobK]

If anybody in the eastern US wants to see a Concorde, there's one at the Smithsonian air museum in Washington DC, and there's one on the pier which the USS Intrepid is tied up to in New York City, here (you'll have to enlarge it a bit). I have photos of both but I don't have a photo-sharing account.

 

[ExigeEvan]

I've been through a Concorde at the British Fleet Air Arm Museum, Yeovil.

It's number 002, a flying prototype but you get a real understanding of just how small the plane was inside.

Concorde would have been far more successful if it's supersonic flight hadn't been crippled by political forces not allowing it to overfly many areas.

 

[G.T.Ace]

Possibly. I think also the concorde was criticized after the crash for not having enough protection around the fuel tanks.

This, plus the tires itself weren't stable enough if I remember correctly.
There were tons of other issues with that machine, it was just a matter of time that it came down. Not to mention that its tech was already pretty old in 2000.

 

[daan]

[pedantic mode]
It is just Concorde.

There is no a or the.
[/pedantic mode]

I don't recall much of my childhood holidays and the like and it has become a family joke that I never remember things. One thing I do remember vividly was being in my Dad's Uncle's house in Reading and rushing out to the back garden to see, and hear, Concorde flying over.

I've seen Concorde at Brooklands and at Duxford. There is one quite near me at East Fortune just outside Edinburgh, and they advertise a "Concorde Experience" but I've not been there yet although I do plan on it at some point.

 

[G.T.Ace]

to see, and hear

The plane wasn't that loud actually, the biggest issue was (if you really want to complain about noise) the sonic boom. I don't even know if I ever heard one from Concorde here, we had tons of noise pollution from military planes in the '90's (sonic booms, the way too loud B-52s and AWACS machines etc.) though. Once you've heard four A-10 passing by in a bit lower altitude, or a B-52, every passenger machine seems quiet.

 

[zedextreme8177]

That must have been an awesome experience!

It's one of my lifetime goals to visit both the Concorde, and the Avro Vulcan. I just hope the cockpits aren't kept behind glass though

 

[ExigeEvan]

The plane wasn't that loud actually, the biggest issue was (if you really want to complain about noise) the sonic boom. I don't even know if I ever heard one from Concorde here, we had tons of noise pollution from military planes in the '90's (sonic booms, the way too loud B-52s and AWACS machines etc.) though. Once you've heard four A-10 passing by in a bit lower altitude, or a B-52, every passenger machine seems quiet.

Certainly not loud at sub-sonic cruise, but at take off with afterburner it certainly was far louder then any hi-bypass turbofans. I've heard an Avro Vulcan taking off twice and that thing is loud, I've also been told with good authority the two aircraft are very similar in that affect.

B-52s and A-10s (which I found surprisingly quite) haven't got a scratch on a F-16 or F-15 with afterburner.

It's one of my lifetime goals to visit both the Concorde, and the Avro Vulcan. I just hope the cockpits aren't kept behind glass though

Check out the flying calendar for XH558, they usually offer tours of the working plane for a donation.