the concord

[Guest]

i was just thinking, did anyone in the forum ever flew on this plane, if so how was the experience . in my personal view there is no other commercial plane like that, it looks a ship ready for interplanetary travel.

[shredder]

Once, when AF had a promotion that let one fly on the Concord one way for booking a return trip (JFK-CDG) in full business class fare. Cramped and noisy. Full of pensioners and assorted others who seem to be in a rush, real or imagined. I was not in a rush but simply trying to get from A to B. One positive takeaway from the trip was the realisation that having one's luggage monogrammed or otherwise marked can be a clever and useful thing when dozens of similar luggage pieces come rolling out on the carousel.

[chelsea]

Yes, I flew in her.

I loved the experience and remember two things in particular.

The first was the wonderful colour of the sky at 60,000 feet. It was a glorious blue.

The second was the carpet. The fuselage increased in length by some 12 inches at Mach 2 due to the heat. On the ground the carpet was crumpled, at Mach 2 it was flat.


Yes it was small but I still miss watching Concorde come into Heathrow. In my view, it was an engineering feat and a classic design.

Chelsea

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[Guest]

i can only imagine, walking towards a plane like that, just waiting to be boarded. i sincerely don't like commercial planes, it's a scary experience. and all the people, worst than a bus.
i can't believe i will never board a subsonic plane, i think those were better times, i can't believe there was Concords on the late 60's.

[Costi]

SUPERsonic you must have meant. I agree it was an extraordinary thing, even more so for those years (which were, however, the years of space travel!), but even in those days it was an EXTRA-ordinary experience: ordinary commercial planes were not better than those in which we fly today.

[marcelo]

I have never flown in the Concorde, but it does not mean I did not have my own share, quite modest indeed, of the “experience”. As I child, I used to live in a part of Rio de Janeiro which, though not really in the vicinity of the international airport, was just beneath the route of airplanes coming from Europe, at a point where they would slow down and prepare to land. Concorde would fly by on Saturdays, at about two PM, as far as I recollect. She was really impressive, her size and the way she roared past. Knowing in advance the airplane was on her way, everyone would stop to wait and observe that amazing supersonic airliner.

[nicksally]

I had the good fortune to fly BA Concorde twice, LHR-JFK-LHR.
Apart from the speed, getting across the pond in about three and a half hours, which by the way is not so good eastbound as you cannot sleep when you get home, the real pleasure was the quality of the wines served. Pol Roger Cuve Winston Churchill 1986 was spectacular, as was the Corton Charlemagne 1991.
In addition, famous faces were a feature, and in off duty moments masks would slip!
A pity the era passed.

[Guest]

if you watch this video it's amazing how fast it takes off. and the way it lands, it looks like a big bird.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvsljTeH ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P32qKWE6 ... re=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_uW5sLug_0&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qid2s89O ... re=related


it even more incredible. they had one accident in 20 years. and the report says it was another plane's fault. a metal in the landing strip blew a tire on the concord igniting a fire.
with other planes you are lucky if you and on the river.

[Cufflink79]

Never had a chance to fly the Concord, but I have read up on it and watched numerous programs about it over the years.

It was a great way to get from New York to London or Paris in 3 or 4 hours vs. 12 to 13 hours. From what I've heard though from people who've flown them, said the cabin felt a bit cramped and claustrophobic.

However, the benefits of getting somewhere in a hurry were one of the perks of the jet. In the remake of the movie Sabrina in 1995 when Linus Larrabee played by Harrison Ford decides to go after Sabrina who's already left for Paris, gets there before she does by taking a Concord so he can surprise her.

Best Regards,

Cufflink79

[shredder]

vs. 12 to 13 hours.

I think that might be a slight exaggeration since you could fly to Honolulu, Dubai or Tokyo (from NY) in that time, given bog standard jet aeroplane...