But it never made a penny in profit. Brit and French taxpayers footed the bill for the rich! Think about it, the top 1% get it all, everytime! Not to diminish the superiority of the Concorde and the unique design, eons ahead of Boeing and MD and the ilk.
@@zipsteri Not true, BA made substantial profit operating Concorde (Air France struggled though). Whether it ever paid off the development costs is hard to calculate, because of all the spin offs and wages the employees spent in the economy. For example, for every $1 spent on the Apollo programme, NASA worked out that it generated $7 into the US economy. In Concorde's case, it is doubtful that Airbus would have existed were it not for the Concorde programme.
@@zipsteri so we can say the same about spaceship program, nuclear program, even public train transport. Taxpayers always pay for everything. The concorde was meant to be a show and display of technology and advancement of the French enginneering.
France and the UK, sworn enemies over the centuries, suddenly decide to work together and come up with this masterpiece of passenger aircraft engineering that has never been equalled by any other country. Concorde, a fitting name.
As a teenager, I lived in a village next to Filton, Bristol. I use to see Concorde flow low over our roof tops almost daily during trials etc. It was incredible, a thing of beauty.
Breaks my heart, too. I have walked around the inside of the one prototype at Duxford; but, yes, it's not the same as tooling along at Mach 2.0, sipping Moet and ogling Joan Collins in the seat opposite.
@@MuffelamMorgen, it won't fly again. Even with this masterpiece it was planned to make one hundred but they soon learned that supersonic air travel isn't profitable. It's very expensive for a passenger and it is also very expensive to keep it up and running. This is why no replacement of it was planned.
Concorde’s most impressive feat was making the extraordinary seem mundane, flying 120 or so people at twice the speed of sound at heights normally reserved for spy planes which required pilots to wear spacesuits all while sipping champagne should never be underestimated.
Too bad she was shelved after her only accident. It WAS a doozy, however. Most carriers, like American & Air Malaysia are able to keep going. But the legendary TWA wasn't so lucky. Flight 800 was such a fkke-upp they HAD to shut down!
I was a flight test type at Edwards AFB, CA back when the Concorde made a flight to Los Angeles airport. I was flying a T-38 from Edwards to pick up a General and was doing approach to the airport and for the first time in a T-38 IP's life, I was asked by approach if I could increase my approach speed. I complied, but asked what could be behind me. I was informed it was the Concorde. Following my landing and clearing the runway, I requested to stop, so that I could do a turn and view the Concorde. Wow! A truly magnificent bird.
I had the lucky opportunity to fly on this magnificent aircraft in March 2003 for my 40th birthday, I can't believe I came across this video with First Officer Chris Norris, he was the Captain on my flight from LHR to JFK, obviously some years later than this video as he looks very young here. Best experience I have ever had, just wow !!! Thanks for posting this video, Chris Attwood.
It's amazing that once one could fly transatlantic in three hours with Concorde, and this was filmed 30 years ago WOW, such a wonderful plane that has a special place in aviation history.
It was an incredible aircraft. I was extremely lucky to have been working on the ground crew for a promotional Air France Concorde flight in 1988. I was used to working 737s and MD-80s, so when this thing came roaring in it was a sight to see. We had to use our belt loader like an escalator just to be able to reach the port to plug in the ground power unit. The engines were incredibly loud, much more so than any others we'd worked with. It stayed overnight with us and an Air France rep gave us a tour as he rattled off fact after amazing fact - how the aircraft stretches 9 inches at Mach 2, how the windows actually get warm to the touch at supersonic speeds, etc. What a great memory.
Maynard, you are one lucky man... it came to Kenya during the global tour, i wasn't born yet, but my dad took a picture of it at Nairobi international airport, in 1988, picture is somewhere in the house.. my old man told me never had he heard such an engine roar..
@@that_bloke_kiri Don't I know it. When they first told us we'd be handling the ground operations for it I was elated. I brought my parents' video camera that day and recorded it landing, much of the time that it was there and then taking off again the next day. If you do a youtube search for Concorde in Sacramento - 1988 you'll find it. It was recorded on 8mm tape and later transferred to VHS, then digitized many years after that. So it's not good quality, but you can see it and hear those roaring engines as it's taxiing in. What a day that was.
Too bad all RU-vid commentary's aren't more like this one. You're both excited about an amazing thing, one from the United States one from Kenya, it's really good to see thank you both
@@erichayes2890 Well , one of the 18 Concordes crashed in 2000 but the others were retired in 2003, mainly because of financial loss-making and the cramped cabins. Branson tried to buy the British ones. Most of the airlines cancelled their planned orders partly scared off by the Russian 'Concordski' Tupolev Tu-144 crash at the Paris air show.
My Cousin was the 1st woman pilot to fly Concorde, and she did so regularly for 10years until it retired in 2003 where she then went on to fly the boeing 777. She died in 2011 😪 R.I.P Barbara Harmer xxx🙏 B4 the Concorde experience she flew the DC-10 for approx 6yrs and a BAC one-elevens for about 3yrs, and b4 that small commercials. She flew Man Utd to Barcelona for the champions league final against Bayern Munich in 1999 on Concorde, and see thousands of fans wave the English flag to the team for good luck. It took 5mins for Concorde to get to Iceland she is the pilot in the you tube vid sat on the right. The bird was a beauty so was Barbera. The only time I have ever stepped foot in Concorde is at Duxford Air Museum, which I moaned at them as they had NO information there on my Cousin's amazing achievement. The woman is a legend and an inspiration.
Captain Hutchinson is a legend watch his you tube videos or those that have been done about him. This guy is a proper professional old school and very skilled pilot. Also the man is very interesting and absolute proper gentleman knight of the the old realm. One of the good guys
About 30 years ago at Heathrow I was waiting for take off and before our aircraft, the Concorde was taking off. Our whole plane was shaking, pure power, unforgettable
Funnily enough, they were the amongst the lowest paid pilots in BA. It wasn’t a particularly popular fleet to be on because of the limited route structure and lower allowance structure.
I loved this plane. When I lived in NYC, my parent's place was near the end of the runway at Kennedy. I could always tell when the Concorde was coming in by the sound those beautiful Rolls-Royce engines made. So distinctive from anything else flying. I always stopped what I was doing to watch her fly about 400 feet above the house as it lined up for touchdown. Only twice have I ever cried when a plane was retired. One was the F-14 Tomcat, (I was once an aviation electronics tech with VF-142, a Tomcat outfit). The other was this bird.
I was living on the 19th floor of the north shore towers. On the queens Nassau line just off the grand central parkway. I’d hear the very distinctive sound and I’d run to our porch to see it a few miles south the nose lowering. A real thrill.
Cannot possibly stress how impressed I am by those pilots and their machine!! 60's technology? Unbelievable! So sad that I will never have the opportunity to fly on Concorde.
I used to live near Manchester Airport as a kid so was used to hearing all the planes going out. Every now and again you'd hear the unmistakable roar of concorde taking off....we'd all rush out into the back garden to see it go over. It was such a privilege to see it.
The very best of British gentlemen flyers at one with an engineering marvel.....cool, calm, collected, highly professional and oh so polite!...a real treat to watch.
gr l One crash in an almost 40 years unblemished safety record is testament to the engineering of this unique aircraft. But for a small piece of metal ( allegedly ) left on a runway (from a previous takeoff) Concorde would probably still be flying today.
Used to live in west London directly under Heathrow flight path. Never tired of this beautiful engineering masterpiece roaring over. Greatest engineering feat ever seen. Never to be equalled. RI P.
I was lucky enough to fly it from CDG to Kennedy in the early 1980’s. I believe we set the East / West speed record of 4 hours 10 minutes. Mach 2.2 on the cabin digital readout. Male passengers were given a Cuban cigar on boarding and women received a rose. We flew so high I could see the curvature of the earth and where space started. Really really impressive.
I thought it was a little higher like FL600 but at FL630 your blood boils and it was probably limited below it's max ceiling for people to live through an explosive decompression.
"How come the good stuff we cant do anymore is all from the 60s/70s[?]" Because that was when military innovations from WWII were adapted for post-war developments. Superchargers, Turbosuperchargers, direct injection (gasoline), jet engines and even space rockets are descended of that era. In more recent times the cost of still using these developments had become unacceptably high. There was criticism long before the Concorde crash or the "Columbia" destruction. Landing on the Moon has become unnecessary and it would be costly to relive such a program. Rock music? We can still make and listen to Rock music today, don't get that one. :0
Undoubtedly, we could do many of these things more cost effectively today with new technologies unlocking novel engineering options unavailable 40 years ago. Take the SpaceX reusable Falcon rockets, for instance. Between the materials, the computers, and the precision navigation, landing a rocket booster vertically was probably impossible when the Space Shuttle was being developed. But that doesn't mean such activities aren't still bogglingly difficult and expensive. We simply don't have the collective will or need to invest in things like moon landings or supersonic jet transport.
@@philmontejano5971 he certainly is, I thought I recognised him. Out of all the conflicting information regarding Flight 4590, John has often provided the clearest and most concise breakdown of events. He's amazing to listen to as he doesn't hold back on the facts and his passion and experience for this bird is evident. Here he is - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-fqOcYhzWUZY.html
Men regularly walked on the Moon, planes flew at Mach 2, you could ride on a hovercraft from England to France... those were the days! Thank God at least we have Elon Musk! :)
I had the great pleasure of flying in this fabulous aeroplane from JFK to Heathrow in September 1982 and John Hutchinson was the captain. I was invited onto the flightdeck for about fifteen minutes (before the restrictions were on) and it was brilliant.
I lived in Dulwich (south east London) and every day at 5pm Concorde would fly over on her approach to LHR. I would stop whatever I was doing, go out into the garden and wave. I was also lucky to be on the London Eye on her final flight - I got to the very top of the wheel as all three Concordes flew over - people on the South Bank were cheering, crying, drinking champagne... Just magical.....
You'd stop what you were doing in london at that time in the afternoon when concorde was descending. The boom noise and the sheer gracefulness as this plane soared above. Intoxicating.
I love Captain Hutchinson, you can tell he was honoured to fly Concorde and he loved flying her, even defended Concorde after the 2000 crash and retirement, I remember his words, “There was nothing wrong with Concorde”. Also, it’s absolutely badass the way the throttles are just thrown to full power.
Concorde had, as mentioned, full fly by wire, the engines were also managed fully digitally, it was possible to do anything with the throttles at any stage of flight, in total safety, the computers managing the fuel and intakes automatically.
If you haven't already you can watch the interview he gave about the crash. You can feel his frustration while listing the giant pile of crap the crew amassed that led to the accident...
@@NickC510 The crew? THE CREW? Excuse me?!? I would suggest you hold back on dim-witted accusations...or are you implying the crew should have rejected beyond V1?
@@MedicWarrior27 just watch his interview about the crash and come back here with a bit more than talks about rejecting beyond V1. The root of the accident is located well before takeoff roll started.
👍Yes indeed when they fly the world's top aircraft. The very best of crews. There a different class of pilots. We could & should have a new quiter big bird flying in the skies again. Please make it happen. Thx.
Cornish American here. I was visiting my cousins, who lived in Porthpean. One day, we were sitting and talking, and then BOOM! I was frightened. My cousins told me that it was the Concorde.
09:23 - that smiles tells a lot about what it felt like being a Concorde pilot ! I had the chance to see this beautiful bird in le Bourget museum short atfter its last landing in Paris. No other airliner was as sleek and as graceful as this flying marvel.
Once saw this take off at Heathrow. Was at an airport side car rental dropping car off and it came down the runway and took off. The sheer roar of the engines and look off the plane was magnificent. You could feel the physical power and knew you were in the presence of something special. This was around 98 I think.
.....'positive climb' he says......that's an understatement ! The First Officer called 100kts only 20 seconds after releasing the brakes. Wow.....what a ride and great memories !
This video almost makes me teary eyed. What a marvel of human endeavour and accomplishment. I wish wish wish I had an opportunity to fly on this plane. Sigh. Seeing this beauty fly takes me back to a time where things were simpler, better and everything felt more real. What a monster of a plane, few seconds after being airborne its touching 240 knots. Insane!
I flew on one out of Jeddah to London in 1992 - BA promo flight. I remember a lot of people were standing outside the hangars etc watching. The takeoff was phenomenal - much faster than a 767 it absolutely hammered down the runway with real push you into your seat acceleration. Going supersonic you felt the double kick in the back as the inboard and outboard reheats came on - when all 4 went in you really felt the shove in the back.
British Airways Concorde Pilots, truly consummate professionals when it comes to flying one of the hardest (civilian) aircraft types to fly. Its hard to believe that the Concorde first came into service 45 years ago, and that we still have nothing that comes close to replacing it.. It was a dark day in the world of aviation when the Concorde was finally decommissioned.
Agreed. We took a step backwards in technological achievement when we lost Concorde. It must have been great being in the pilots lounge at JFK or Heathrow hearing other pilots talking about the new 747, or 777 or A340. And you're sat there all smug because you flew the queen of the sky. I don't know if you've watched, but the recordings of the last flight from JFK are quite emotional. All the controllers, and the other pilots of aircraft lined up behind, seemed genuinely sad to see her go.
Justin Lee Fortunately today the airfare of the very wealthy is no longer subsidized by taxpayers.. Airlines must now actually support themselves on revenue and turn a profit for investors..
I remember in the 1970's watching concorde on its final approach to manchester airport and as I looked around me everybody had stopped whatever they were doing and were all staring up at the sky, no other airliner had this effect of people. Concorde was, and remains the most beautiful and majestic airliner EVER to grace our skies, I really miss her.
I lived in south London at the time and we were under the approach to landing at heathrow and I never got tired of watching concord coming over . It was an incredible sight .
Wow! it realy is hard working inside the Concorde cockpit, these pilots are the REAL pilots in the business! Much respect for these deticated and highly professional experienced pilots 🙏😎
8:30 to the end..oh my!! What a beautiful bird...I get goosebumps seeing the final approach, nose down, touch down, so effortless, so elegant, so graceful.
I remember watching this as a kid for the first time and being left in awe, I even made a cardboard cockpit of the Concorde with my dad. Hopefully I'll be starting my ppl soon!
Living in south London in the 70's everything stopped when Concorde flew over for its evening arrival at Heathrow. Yes it was loud but what a beautiful sight it was. I have heard that the NASA engineers responsible for the Apollo moon landings said Concorde was a greater engineering challenge. The worlds most staggeringly beautiful aircraft is now a museum piece. How sad.
I was privileged to fly this lovely lady, the Concorde, from NY to Paris in about 1974. As a GA pilot, it was one of the thrills of my life! I'll never forget watching the altimeter on the back of the cockpit bulkhead, go up to about 58,000' and about 1300+ mph, the thing that really astonished me, was how deep purple the sky was at mid-day up that high! I had expected many things but not that! Although I saw clouds below me most of the time, it was only about a 3.5 hour flight and it kept me almost on the edge of my seat the whole way! I got to see the flight deck and was amazed at all those toggle switches! It nearly broke my heart to know she quit flying too early, but, alas, the Airbus wasn't too far away (no comparison!). I had loved the B-747 but nothing was like the Concorde! I can still see those instruments in my mind; a great memory. If I go to Paris again and have time, I'll go see the two Concordes together at the Bourget museum there. You can only see the one at London's Heathrow from the runway, poor bird is there in the elements, seemingly forgotten!
We have her kept safe indoors at Manchester Airport, though she has a flat tyre which is sad. We would have kept her flying if it hadn't been for AirFrance who destroyed all of the moulds so parts could no longer be remade.
@@BernardWilkinson Thanks for keeping the Lovely Lady safe, I'd hate to see any of them go to the bone yard! I bet Toulouse had to have room for the Airbus A-380 parts, so they destroyed the Concorde parts, too bad.
Beautiful aircraft. Used to fly over my father's house at 78 Kings Avenue, Bromley, Kent We'd all go out in the back garden to watch it fly over. So gracefull. Those were the days.
Spectacular!!!!! Such a smoth landing. And the wing swirl is a piece of art!! The professionalism of the pilots and the engineer are to be admired and respected!!! Beautiful video. Cheers!!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🇧🇷
@@pathmaker2337 Its a british way of doing things. So its entirely British. We were the first to create such systems and ways of taking anyway. Your all speaking English for god sake.
It's been 46 years since I flew on this magnificent and extraordinarily bird, and I get excited all over again seeing videos about Concorde, "this lovely lady" as our pilot then called her! It was one of the best experiences I've had, and I've had plenty to be excited over! I still remember the deep purple sky at mid-day and nearly 60,000' altitude, that was one of the things that amazed me most. No, it did not make me want to become an astronaut, although I respect them immensely. True pioneers.
I flew in her for my 30th birthday. One of the highlights of my life. Paris to Heathrow and out via the Atlantic. We went to 60000ft and Mach 2.0 and then did the turn back towards the U.K. and for about 40 minutes just hung at 45 degrees between Earth and the deep dark sky. Wonderful.
@@cuillinguy Enjoyed your comment, Richard! As a GA pilot, it was certainly one of the most exciting and enjoyable moments of my life, something I'll never forget! My trip was also a gift, I don't remember for what occasion now, but the whole trip was just amazing! I used to be a thrill-seeker but quit that, as when you age, longevity seems to become a lot more important. So bungee-jumping, sky-diving (tandem ONCE!) and dangerous white-water rafting, African walking safaris and the like is behind me now, but if ever given the opportunity, I would love to fly in one of those new hypersonic aircraft like the "Talon-A", but I doubt that will ever happen now!
@@mjlejer3241 It’s a shame that it seems few people today will be able to experience anything like this, at least for a few years yet. I’m a mountaineer and the experience is certainly up there with standing on the summit of a Swiss Alp. I’m hoping one of these companies does a hypersonic plane in a few years because I’ll certainly pay for another flight. For me Concorde has a special place because I grew up in Farnborough and we always saw the latest planes at the air show. Concorde used to visit regularly during the ‘70s along with amazing planes such as the SR-71 Blackbird etc. But to actually experience what normally people have to put space suits on to see was something else.
@@cuillinguy I agree with you. One of the reasons I became a private pilot is because I have acrophobia and I thought that would help my fear of heights! (My physician father discovered it when I was about age 5 or so, he loved to hike up a mountain and look at the view and he called me to come see the view, and I cried and crawled to him and hung on to his leg!) Flying did squelch it some and I loved the freedom I felt but I still have some residual fear although I'm not exposed to it now much. I skied all over the world including in the Swiss Alps and loved it, but I was wary about skiing next to the edge of a cliff and I would NEVER do what those skiers do today who are showing off for "Red Bull" cameras! I watched Alex Honnold free-solo climb El Capitan in Yosemite and was more than just tense his whole climb! Good luck to you and safe climbing Richard -- be careful out there in those beautiful mountains!
My family and I used to be amazed hearing the sound of the Concorde approaching GAIA in Barbados. Saturday morning treat seeing it coming overhead at Worthing in Christ Church. My daughter Trisha who was at the hospitality institute visited as a student on the last flight on the ground before it left from Barbados. Amazing looking at it taking off from GAIA. One day there were three Concorde planes on the tarmac in Barbados. What a sight experience and memory for this old man
This was so cool, I've never seen the cockpit view of a Concorde while in flight. How I wish that bird was still in service. Thanks for upload, it was great
John Hutchinson, type it in in the search bar. You'll find some videos of him talking about his aviation career and specifics about the Concorde he used to fly! He's an idol..
For anyone who is interested, there is a fascinating video somewhere here on YT where John Hutchinson, the now-retired captain seen in this video, gives a full interior and exterior presentation of the Concorde at an air museum in England. He explains several interesting features of the aircraft and he even get in a couple of jabs at newer aircraft today. He says something like, "Concorde is a REAL airplane. There's none of this rubbish with the fancy glass cockpits where everything is done for you. In THIS airplane, you need to actually think." Nicely stated, Sir.
