Will Concorde return for a 2012 moment?
Post categories: 2012 Olympics, British Airways, Concorde
| 12:32 UK time, Wednesday, 9 June 2010
A bit of a tea spluttering moment this morning reading about how enthusiasts think Concorde could be involved in the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics.
Forget the Red Arrows... Imagine Concorde flying over the Olympic stadium? That would be quite a sight.
The Save Concorde Group want Concorde back in the air and say it could be timed to coincide with the celebrations for the London Olympics in 2012.
The news according to them is that the checks at the weekend on the engines went well and the Save Concorde Group says:
"In an ironic twist, this major development gives further weight to the distinct possibility that Concorde could fly again and feature in the opening ceremony of the greatest event on the planet - the 2012 London Olympics."
So is this a flight of fancy? Or is there a chance it could happen? Is it a good idea?
My colleague, our Olympics Correspondent Adrian Warner, tells me London 2012 say:
"There's been no formal talks about it and this idea's been floating around with enthusiasts for some time."
British Airways tell me the tests weren't actually done on its Concorde but on one formerly owned by Air France and now owed by a Paris museum.
By way of explanation BA says:
"British Airways is incredibly proud to have flown this marvellous aircraft for 27 years. The decision to retire Concorde in 2003 was not taken lightly but was due to a combination of commercial and technical reasons.
We have loaned our Concordes to various museums and collections around the world following the retirement of our fleet from service in November 2003.
We carry out maintenance audits of all of our Concordes around the world and are satisfied with their structural condition and how the respective new homes are looking after each of them.
There is a huge difference between keeping Concorde in an airworthy condition and maintaining them as ground based museum exhibits.
In the summer of 2003 before Concorde retired from commercial service we conducted a detailed study with Airbus which regrettably led us to conclude that it would not be feasible to keep a single Concorde flying on a ceremonial basis.
British Airways and Airbus know the aircraft's history in greater detail than anyone else and we firmly believe that the technical challenges of keeping a single Concorde airworthy are absolutely prohibitive.
Concorde is one of the most complex passenger aircraft ever built and has many specialist parts which are no longer available or technically supported.
Airbus has said on numerous occasions it is not possible to support British Airways, Air France or any other operator flying Concorde.
The aircraft no longer has a Certificate of Airworthiness which would enable it to fly in any capacity and without the manufacturer's support it is impossible for that certificate to be re-issued. "
Oh....
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Update: Just spoken to the Save Concorde Group. They dismiss the statement made by BA. They think the statement is out of date and they think it's possible to get Concorde back in the air. The tests on the French plane went very well. The group say they have the engineers to make it possible and believe they could get a certificate of airworthiness from elsewhere. They say they have also written to London 2012 and have not yet received a reply. So a glimmer of hope????
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What is the truth concerning this study that BA states that they took part in with Airbus?
At last years BA AGM, the BA CEO stated that he had no idea if there had been a study carried out into a single heritage flight Concorde.
A former BA board member has stated that no such study was carried out!
So what is the truth?
But this is 2010 and not 2003, that study would be now very much out of date. We need to look at this again, this isn't something that will just go away. Just one of these beautiful birds needs to be seen again, lets fight for this fight.
As for the work carried out at Le Bourget, Paris on the former Air France Concorde, you can not see a full video and pictures at Heritage Concorde, with is a non proft making website that support Return To Flight (RTF)
I was in Paris to watch this work being carried out, it was amazing!
Steve de Sausmarez
Heritage Concorde
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Why is it we always say "Oh we can't do this because of the parts etc..."?
I have worked for a couple of aircraft companies in the role of I.T and I got to learn quite a lot. I mean there seems to be no problem keeping the 3000 or so 747's in the air, all archived logged and maintained.
Airbus say "The parts are not available", Well being a classic car owner my first response would well, lets make some more then. The drawings almost certainly exist as does the mod log. So other than money I cannot see lack of parts as a reason for it [sic] Concorde not to fly, in a ceremonial capacity or otherwise.
The French obviously are thinking along similar lines, and the youngest of the Concorde fleet "SD" has engines that are in near perfect condition and which were recently inspected. Why bother doing the inspection if there is no intention to fly again ?
I think there is more to this and we will no doubt get bits of information as they are made public. BA made a retrograde step when they took Concorde out of service, perhaps they are aiming for some publicity mileage out of the event if Concorde does indeed fly over the Olympics in 2012.
We spend far to much time saying "we can't do this or can't do that". A classic example being the Tornado Steam Train recently completed and running in normal service - took 20 years to build from donations, but it was done - why can't the same thing be done with a Concorde ?
I think the politics within BA and Airbus have more to do with this than anything else. I am certain, in fact I know there are plenty of qualified aircraft engineers, who would probably give both arms and one leg to work on Concorde.
So to blame parts being unavailable as an excuse is a little limp in my opinion. Sponsorship, technical know how and the blessing of the CAA would be the way forward surely ?
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It'll be interesting to see if they bring back Concorde at all - I'd imagine even if it was successful, public opinion might prevent it from ever seeing the light of day. I believe this is the Paris air museum that holds the Concorde they tested on - based in Le Bourget.
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I have to say that I really can't see Concorde ever being back in the air. That is such a shame, the fleet should have been passed to Virgin, I firmly believe they would be flying now if that had been done. The CAA will never issure a C of A unless all the previous manufacturer partners are on board,
I agree with John re his comment about the part supply, what about all the stocks of parts that were auctioned off ? I would return any parts (if I had any) if it was going to help.
Mike Jones, I don't understand your comment re public opinion ? I have seen Concorde arrivals and departures from several locations (including charters from Exeter airport in Devon, Fairford, Bournemouth, Farnborough and LHR)Crowds at the airshows clearly were so proud to see Concorde flying, and at Exeter the large and excited crowd in attendence for every flight who had made a special journey to see the plane, I don't see Brits get this excited about much else other than the World Cup !
If I was asked to make a donation that would help see Concorde fly again, I would in an instant.
(Few thought that the CAA would ever allow XH-558 to fly again !)
Nick
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What about some retired Harriers for the opening ceremony. Vertical take off and then bowing to the crowd? I love Concorde, but sadly don't believe we'll see it flying again.
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