a flight in new book for 2017 the jump seat the forthcoming...

Mach 2Concorde magazine

Concorde watchNews from Filton and Seattle

New book for 2017The forthcoming Concorde by Christopher Orlebar

An aviator’s dream

A flight in the jump seat

Issue 7December 2016

Mach 2 December 2016

2

In this issue

2 Introduction

3 Fascinating facts Nigel Ferris

4 My Concorde life Nigel Ferris

5 Concorde: new book by Christopher Orlebar

6 An aviator’s dream Vince Chadwick

11 Tech log

13 Concorde watch

Editor: Katie John

Contributing editor: Nigel Ferris

Cover photo: G-BOAD at USS Intrepid, New York (Alan Wilson/Wikimedia Commons)

IntroductionThis issue features a dream for many of us – a per-sonal account of a full flight on Concorde’s flight

deck. Vince Chadwick, now a volunteer with Con-corde G-BOAC at the Runway Visitors’ Park in Man-chester, shares his experience of the trip of a lifetime,

in the jump seat of G-BOAD.

In addition, we are delighted to announce that for-mer Concorde captain Christopher Orlebar, one of our regular contributors, has written a new book on Concorde. This will be available from Osprey Pub-

lishing early next year.

Our extended “tech log” in this issue focuses on G-AXDN, with engineer John Dunlevy answering a range of questions on this aircraft’s history and cur-

rent condition.

Finally, we have the usual features for you to enjoy – from fascinating facts about Concorde’s hydraulic

systems to news from Filton and Seattle.


3

1 There were three separate hydraulic sys-tems on Concorde – green, blue, and yel-

low. They had an operating pressure of 4000 psi, which was facilitated by having smaller diameter pipes, thereby saving weight. No. 1 engine had one pump, for the green system; no. 2 two for green and yellow; no. 3 one for blue; and no. 4 for blue and yellow. This ar-rangement gave multiple redundancy.

2 There were also two electrically driven pumps, for ground running, and emer-

gency supply in the almost impossible event of four-engine failure. Another safety feature was the RAT (ram air turbine), which featured an airscrew to drive a generator – this would be lowered from the inboard PFCU fairing beneath the port wing.

Nigel Ferris takes a look at the workings of Concorde’s three hydraulic systems and associ-ated features – as well as the fall-back systems that could come into play if the unthink-able happened and the hydraulics were not operating.

Fascinating facts

3 The hydraulic pressure and electrical supply to the undercarriage was discon-

nected when the nose and visor were in the fully up cruise position, to prevent inadvert-ent lowering. In addition, these supplies were disconnected when the undercarriage was fully extended or retracted, the undercarriage being held in these positions by uplocks and down-locks. Both locks had switches which would illuminate the ‘up’ or ‘down’ red and green lights on the instrument panel.

4 In addition to the hydraulics for the undercarriage, there was a gravity drop

system operated from a lever at the back of the centre console, and the pilots could gently rock the aircraft from side to side if necessary to ensure the downlocks were engaged. The nose wheel would be moved into the locked-down position by the oncoming air, as it pivoted downwards and backwards.

5 Further to these systems, halfway down the cabin under the carpeting was a

removable hatch for access to a handle which could be turned to lower the undercarriage. Had it ever needed to be used, this might have caused consternation among the passengers! So the sight of one of the aircrew operat-ing this could be met with varying responses, maybe – “Just winding up the clockwork!” or “Just tensioning the rubber band!”

Ram air turbineThe ram air turbine shown here in extended posi-tion, on G-BBDG at Brooklands Museum. The RAT descends from the inboard powered flight control unit (PFCU) fairing under the wing.Photo: © Neil Walker, 2007, The Concorde Project (http://www.concordeproject.com/index.html)


4

My Concorde lifeNigel Ferris, Contributing Editor

Two legends of the airI was present at the roll-out of 002, and just about every BAC employee was there to witness. We stood either on the apron outside the assembly halls, or on the banking at the back. There is a picture in the visitor centre at Fil-ton which shows this event – on the banking are stood four people watching (well, an awful lot more), but the last person on the right of this little group is me.

This was obviously not my final encounter with Concorde – until I left in 1970 I watched all the engine runs across the runway, taxi trials, fast taxi, and of course first flight. The very respected commentator (and ex-Spitfire pilot) Raymond Baxter said as she lifted off – “She flies”. This was not said in surprise that such a project should succeed or actually make it into the air – more as a vindication of years of highly advanced research, design and development by far-sighted and in-novative engineers that had achieved exactly what they set out to do.

I was also very fortunate to meet Brian Trubshaw (briefly) after 002 had been retired to Yeovilton – he was extremely annoyed that the prototypes had been retired,

saying that they could have continued flying for many more years conducting high speed research, etc.

Family memoriesThe years ever since have not diminished my affection and interest in Concorde. Indeed, some years ago when my children were quite young, we were returning from London on the M4. As we passed Heathrow, my daugh-ter said “Look, there’s Concorde taking off!” which caused the driver (me) to crane my neck and swivel my head around to see her – not a recommended thing to do when driving at speed on a busy motorway!

Another memorable time was during an Air Day at Yeovilton where Concorde displayed – and performed a low-level high bank angle pass over the runway. When she left to return to base, probably very lightly loaded fuel-wise for a short trip, she lifted off and adopted a very steep climb-out angle. Both very impressive!

Film footage of G-BSST’s roll-out can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4WFOj1JkIg

In this third instalment of his Concorde reminiscences, Nigel recalls the historic occasion when the British prototype G-BSST (002) was unveiled to the world. He also recalls meeting the legendary Concorde test pilot Brian Trubshaw.

Roll-outThe British prototype, G-BSST, is displayed to spectators shortly after be-ing rolled out at Filton on 19 September 1968.Photo: Air Pictorial 1968-11 (copyright holder unknown)


5

Concorde: a concise viewMach 2 magazine is delighted to announce the forthcoming publication of a new book, Concorde, by our regular contributor, former British Airways Con-corde captain Christopher Orlebar.

In this attractive, accessible work, Christopher presents much of the knowledge collected in his previous book, The Concorde Story, in a concise form, with up-to-date text and images. The book will be published by Osprey Publishing on 23 February 2017.

Note from the publishersWhen commercial air services were launched in 1976, Concorde was hailed as one of the wonders of the technological world. Flying at speeds in excess of Mach 2, she was the only commercial airliner ever developed that could maintain twice the speed of sound for periods of over two hours.

This is a complete illustrated guide to Concorde, which examines how her designers had to overcome significant challenges in the pursuit of supersonic commercial passenger travel. It documents early opposition to the development of supersonic flight, going on to trace Con-corde’s path to commercial success. With stunning photography of the aircraft in development and in service, this gift book tells the story of one of the greatest engineering and technological feats of modern history.

Price: £6.99Publication date: 23 February 2017

For further information and updates, please see the Osprey website: https://ospreypublishing.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=concorde


6

My headset comes alive with a transmission from Air Traf-

fic to the airliner flying below us: “Speedbird 145, if you look up now you will see that you are about to be overflown by Concorde”.

From my God’s-eye view out of the cockpit windows of Concorde Alpha Delta, Speedbird 145 is a small beetle scurrying across the dazzling panorama spread 50,000 feet below us. The edge of the Pembrokeshire coast is marked by the bright golden strip of Pendine Sands. Across the Bristol Channel, Lundy Island and the whole of the Devon and Cornwall peninsula right down to the English Channel are similarly edged in dashes of gleaming yellow. From our great height in the azure heavens, the brilliant-white clumps of fair-weather cu-mulus seem to have been applied directly to the patchwork landscape, like thick oil paint from some giant artist’s palette-knife.

Could any PPL wish for a better birthday present than this – a flight-deck trip on a magnificent day on that ultimate aeroplane, Concorde?

A wish comes trueAs a total aviation nut, I have harboured many flying ambitions. Twenty enjoyable years fly-ing a Chipmunk have enabled me to realise some of them, and the acquisition of a share in a Yak 52 has provided new personal flying challenges as I explore the aerobatic capabili-ties of that exciting machine. But there was one aviation must that I knew I had to do one day. My wife Chris’s question, “What do you want to do to celebrate your fiftieth birth-day?” brought home to me that life is much shorter than we think, and that ‘one day’ had better be now.

“I’d love to fly supersonic,” I replied. “Con-corde won’t be around for ever and there’ll not be another supersonic passenger service in my lifetime.”

A bit of research, including on the internet, soon elicited the information that Concorde experience flights were available from Man-chester, our local airport. The least expensive flights were subsonic, but that wasn’t what we wanted. There were out-and-back Man-chester supersonic flights, or day trips to Paris with a 90-minute supersonic outbound flight, a city tour by coach, and a return to Manches-ter in the evening in an Air France 737.

A disadvantage of the out-and-back flights is that they attract VAT. I think the tax man takes a big enough bite out of my finances as it is, and Paris is worth visiting any time, so one sunny Saturday saw Chris and myself at Manchester airport bound for Paris, with this particular PPL about to realise another of those aviation ambitions.

Back in March 1991, Pilot magazine car-ried an article of mine entitled ‘A PPL on the Flight Deck’, which related my experiences of flying up front on various airline flights, and I wondered now about the possibility of extending my flight-deck experiences to include supersonic flight. A friend of mine on a similar Concorde flight had asked about the possibility of sitting in the jump seat for take-off. “Sorry, no!” came the reply, “That was allocated weeks ago.”

An aviator’s dreamVince Chadwick, a volunteer with Concorde G-BOAC at the Runway Visitors’ Park, Manchester, shares his account of the ultimate pilot’s dream – a full journey on Concorde’s flight deck.

The Concorde experienceG-BOAD under tow at Heathrow, 2003. Until 2000 all of the fleet carried out “Concorde experience”charter flights from various UK airports, including Manchester.Photo: © Konstantin von Wedelstaedt


7

So several weeks before our flight, I sent a request to the organiser, former British Airways pilot David Gladwin, of David Gladwin Concorde Ltd. David, who is a Luscombe Silvaire owner and avid Pilot reader, wrote back to say he would do what he could to help, but it would depend on the Concorde’s captain. I was greatly relieved therefore when I shook hands with David that August morning at Manchester and he said, “I think it will be OK. I know the captain and he’s a good sort ... flies a Miles Hawk Speed Six and the Constellation.”

Captain Roger Mills was indeed a good sort, and a short time later I was welcomed onto the flight-deck of British Airways Concorde G-BOAD by Ron Weighner, a supernumer-ary captain who was to provide a commentary for the passengers, and by First Officer Dan Payne, Flight Engineer Ian Radford, and Captain Mills himself.

My wife, well used to my obsessions, was quite happy to allow me to enjoy my birth-day present to the full as she relaxed in the cabin with its comfortable and spacious grey leather seats, enjoying copious complimen-tary champagne, first-class service, and an in-flight meal.

Introduction to ConcordeConcorde, for all its magnificence, is an old aeroplane. The flight-deck is reached through a narrow passage between batteries of avion-ics racks, which could probably nowadays be replaced by a handful of microprocessors. To say that the flight-deck is cosy would be an understatement. Concorde’s fuselage is a smaller diameter than that of subsonic jets, and at the pointy end it gets smaller still.

The right-hand wall of the flight-deck is completely covered in the dials, switches, lights and glowing indicators which make up the flight engineer’s panel. The pilot’s panels, cockpit roof, and centre console look like any 1960s airliner – but more so. Hundreds of dials, levers, indicators and switches are all crowded into a small space.

Despite the aeroplane’s Anglo-French origins, each pilot has a typically British ram’s horn control yoke like that on the Britannia, HS 125, and DH Trident. The flight engineer

sits in the middle of the flight-deck in a seat that faces sideways, so that he can work his panel, but which can rotate to face and slide forwards to position behind the pilots. Fly-ing Concorde is very much a team exercise between the pilots and the flight engineer, as I was to see for myself. At the left rear of the flight-deck is the jump seat.

Engineer Ian points out the emergency oxygen, runs through the exit drills – back out down that narrow corridor, or out of the captain’s side window on a rope – and explains the audio panel, while I strap myself into the four-point harness attached to the seat and don a headset. Ian moves his seat in to let me pass as I slide mine forward on its rails to nestle up behind the captain’s seat,

allowing Ian to move his seat out again. Ron then unfolds a demount-able jump seat, which he rigs across the entry corridor at the very rear of the flight deck, from where he will give his passenger commentary.

Once you’re in, you’re in. Which is great. It means that I’m not here just for the take-off; I’m going to experience the entire flight from up front.

Ready to goOur clearance received, after a delay caused by early morning fog at Paris, we push back and start engines. One control unique to Concorde is a lever on the right of the panel – it controls the nose droop position and the visor. When Concorde is in flight, the nose is raised in line with the fuselage and a stream-lined transparent visor covers the rather angular windscreens. But the aeroplane sits markedly nose-high on the ground and during the approach, so at those times the visor is lowered and the nose drooped to a maximum of 12.5 degrees to aid forward visibility for the crew.

Roger calls for the visor to be lowered and the nose drooped to the five-degree position, and we taxi for Manchester’s Runway 24. The ride on the flight-deck is quite bouncy, at times making it difficult to hold a camera steady; we are sitting 37 feet in front of the nosewheel, and the slight jolt from every joint in the paving is magnified for us by the long, narrow, springy fuselage. That 37-foot

“I know the captain and he’s a good sort ... flies a Miles Hawk Speed Six and the Constellation.”


8

overhang also makes steering quite interest-ing, which is brought home to me as we ap-proach the 24 hold. Several large metal plates are fixed over damaged areas in the concrete and Roger has to steer very carefully to avoid taxying over them in case a tyre is caught on a raised edge – Concorde’s tyres are more highly stressed than those on other airliners because of the higher speeds achieved during take-off and, to a lesser extent, landing. Any damage can have serious consequences.

Concorde is a regular visitor to Manchester, but she still attracts the crowds. The garden of the Airport Hotel, which backs onto the airport, is full of waving onlookers this sunny morning as we wait at the hold. The cabin windows are too small for the passengers to be seen waving back, and the crew are occupied with pre-take-off checks (Ian is read-ing out the check-list, and flicking switches on his own and the overhead panels), so I lean forward and wave through the cockpit side window. This is rewarded by even more exuberant waving and jumping up and down by the enthusiasts. Concorde may be old, but she’s as sexy as ever.

We line up, and after a 3-2-1 countdown Roger snaps the power levers fully forward (computers control the actual fuel flow to the engines). lan, seat in the forward posi-tion, holds them forward. The acceleration generated by the four Rolls-Royce Olympus turbojet engines is pretty impressive – then Ian lights the ‘burners and that push in the back becomes a bloody great shove that goes on and on and on as 152,000 pounds of thrust pushes our lightly-loaded Concorde to its 205-knot take-off speed in less than 30 seconds. Wow! And I thought Yak take-offs were impressive!

Higher and fasterGear up, the ‘burners are cut to make us more environmentally-friendly – if that is a phrase that can ever be applied to this splendid beast – and it feels as though we’ve stopped. But we haven’t. We’re climbing at a healthy rate on a Brecon departure in ‘dry’ power, and being a delta-winged aeroplane with no tailplane, Concorde doesn’t have any flaps to retract. Roger calls for the nose to be raised, and as the visor slides up to cover the windscreens the cockpit becomes noticeably quieter. The aeroplane is much quieter anyway than other airliners, both on the flight-deck and in the cabin. Perhaps this is due to the higher levels of cabin pres-surisation, which maintains a cabin altitude of 5,500 feet even at an aircraft altitude of 60,000 feet. Conventional airliners typically maintain their cabins at 7,000 to 8,000 feet. This is why Concorde’s windows are so small; small window apertures allow the fuselage to retain sufficient strength to contain this large pressure difference while keeping the weight of the structure within reasonable limits.

We are now climbing at 400 knots and 3,000 feet per minute (fpm). Subsonic cruise speed is Mach 0.95, and after what seems like only a few minutes we’re coasting out over the Bristol Channel, admiring that incredible view of Devon and Cornwall and preparing for our climb and acceleration to 60,000 feet and Mach 2.

We turn slightly west, out towards the western approaches, to avoid putting a sonic boom onto the north Devon coast. After yet more checks, full power is applied, the ‘burners are engaged again, and ‘accel’ (the acceleration phase) begins. Once more, that massive push in the back is felt as we begin to accelerate and climb. Slowly the Machmeter moves around – Mach 0.98, 0.99, Mach One. No drama, not even an expected flicker of the ASI (I’m watching carefully). Mach 1.1, 1.2 and on up as the autopilot increases the speed to follow the upward-moving ‘barber’s pole’ on the Machmeter. This barber’s pole, a broad black-and-yellow striped needle, indicates the maximum speed limit. It is driven by the air data computer using inputs such as outside air temperature, pressure, density, etc. Another speed-limiting factor is the aircraft’s skin temperature. This increases with airspeed but also depends on outside air temperature, and must be kept within limits

Supersonic cruiseEven when the reheats are cut, the aircraft con-tinues to acceler-ate, reaching a maximum of Mach 2.2.Photo: Vince Chadwick


9

to ensure that the strength and fatigue life of the airframe are not compromised.

At Mach 1.3 acceleration is paused while Ian carries out vital checks on the indicators on his panel for the engine intake and spill door system, the secret of Concorde’s highly efficient supersonic performance. Checks satisfactory, acceleration is resumed. At Mach 1.7 comes a magic moment: the ‘burners are cut, but the aeroplane continues to accelerate – all the way to Mach 2.02 at almost 60,000 feet. For the information of this PPL, not used to measuring speed in Mach, the ASI is show-ing an indicated airspeed of 530 knots. But there is absolutely no impression of speed on the flight-deck. It is remarkably quiet, and suspended nearly 11 1/2 miles above the At-lantic, far above any clouds, there is nothing to give the eye any sense of movement.

Breathtaking performanceBack in the cabin, passengers hear Ron’s com-mentary continue: “Now that the astronauts have left the Mir space station, you, and pas-sengers on any scheduled Concordes which may be at cruise level, are the highest and fastest humans in the universe.”

It is this ability, to continue to accelerate to and maintain Mach 2 without using reheats (afterburners), that made Concorde a techni-cal success. This is where the competition failed. And it is all due to the brilliant design of the engine intake system. Like all turbojet engines, Concorde’s require to be fed with subsonic air. The air intake system uses a series of adjustable ramps and spill doors to create shock waves to slow the incoming supersonic air to subsonic speeds so that the engines can digest it. The system that controls the ramps and doors uses pressure sensors, rheostats, and servomotors, and was designed and built long before digital comput-ers were powerful and compact enough for the job. The engineers got it right, and at high supersonic speeds the intake pre-compresses the air for the engines. making the engine and intake combination so efficient that Concorde can dispense with fuel-gobbling afterburners. Once established in Mach 2 cruise, Concorde is extremely fuel efficient.

It is also aerodynamically efficient, espe-cially the unique pitch-trim system. As well as having to compensate for normal centre of gravity changes, Concorde’s pitch-trim has to deal with a six-foot rearward move-

ment of the wing’s centre of pressure when the aeroplane goes supersonic. If this were achieved by deflecting the elevons, the drag penalty would be unacceptable. Instead, fuel is transferred from the main wing tanks to forward or rear trim-tanks, to trim the aero-plane by weight transfer. Between take-off and Mach 2, about 20 tons of fuel are moved to maintain the aeroplane’s pitch-trim. And this is another of Ian’s jobs. It is all controlled manually from the flight engineer’s panel.

Coming in to land After a short time at Mach 2, power is gently reduced for ‘decel’ (the deceleration phase) and Roger commences a gentle left turn back towards France. At Mach 2 and 60,000 feet the aircraft has a great deal of energy. Decel takes careful planning to ensure that we ap-proach the French coast at the planned flight-level for Air Traffic, and subsonic so that the sonic boom does not reach land. We maintain level flight initially, so the Mach reading drops quite rapidly, but as we approach Mach 1.6 Roger makes a further power reduction and the aeroplane is pitched down to descend at about 5,000 fpm.

The Machmeter is unwinding more slowly now, and the passengers, having finished their meal, are coming forward in pairs for flight-deck visits. I am amazed at how much effort the crew (mostly Ron, since the handling crew is still quite busy) put into carefully answer-ing, over and over again, the same observa-tions and questions. “Gosh, not much room is there!”; “I don’t know how you can under-stand it all!”; “I hope you’re all good friends”. And, most common of all, “How do you learn what all these gauges are for?” Eventually, with a passenger who appreciates the joke, Ron couldn’t resist a flippant answer to this last one: “I sit at home in the cupboard under the stairs and practise with the gas meter.”

Mach One is seen for the last time as we level off at FL390, with the south coast of Cornwall and Devon visible through the left cockpit windows. We are back in the world of subsonic jets as the island of Alderney and the Cherbourg peninsula slide past below, with the curved wakes of the ferries in and

“The engineers got it right ...”


10

out of the port looking to us like chalk streaks on a blackboard. The flight-deck visits con-tinue during the cruise over northern France, but once we commence the approach to Charles de Gaulle, the flight-deck once more becomes the preserve of professionals, and I feel privileged to share it.

As Roger slows us down, the angle of attack is increased, and once established on the ILS, he selects ‘gear down’. A loud bump is heard and felt as that long nose-leg locks into place, followed by two more bumps for the mains, one before the other, accompanied by a slight yaw in each direction. The visor slides down into the nose-cone and the cockpit noise level goes up considerably, with a marked wind roar around the windscreens.

Our angle of attack is now 14 degrees, so Roger requests maximum nose droop of 12.5 degrees so that we can see the runway. It is this high pitch-angle and fully drooped nose that gives an approaching Concorde that dis-tinctive avian look. The first officer confirms, “Four greens” (Concorde has a tailwheel ... I always knew it was a real aeroplane), and the landing checks are completed.

The view of the approaching runway is very different to that seen from the flight deck of a conventional airliner – the approach looks much steeper. It is not, of course, since we are following the three-degree ILS glideslope. It is an optical illusion caused by the large angle of attack, which places the runway lower down in the pilot’s field of vision.

Roger flies us down the approach at 160 knots, one hand on the yoke, the other rest-

ing on the power levers, which are shuttling back and forth following commands from the autothrottle. lan starts to read heights from the radio altimeters on his panel, “100 feet ... fifty, forty, thirty, twenty, fifteen”. The autothrottle is disconnected, and as Alpha Delta settles onto the massive ground-effect cushion of air squeezed between that big wing and the runway, the power levers are pulled right back. Roger slowly brings the yoke back to hold the nose up as the mains brush gently onto the runway, then nudges it forward again to lower the nose, followed by a smaller, second hold-off to cushion its descent. Once the nosewheel is on, he pushes the yoke fully forward as Ian applies a large dose of reverse thrust and the powerful brakes are applied.

With a terrific roar from the engines, the deceleration throws us forward in our straps as the speeds are called ... “100 knots ... 75”. Reverse is cancelled and quietness returns. “Forty knots.” The flight-deck swings out over the grass as Roger vacates the runway at a taxiway which a few seconds ago had looked far too close for us to use. The nose is raised to the five-degree position and again we enjoy that strange bouncy ride as we taxi towards the terminal, perhaps with a slight feeling of anti-climax, to exchange the won-derful freedom of flight for the bureaucracy of Customs, passport control and the official-dom of all airport arrivals.

A version of this article first appeared in Pilot magazine, March 2000.

UnforgettableVince in front of G-BOAD. In his words, “The many unique experiences of this flight will stay with me for ever”.Photo: Vince Chadwick


11

Tech log

Q Questions from reader John

Woolford about G-AXDN at Duxford

A John Dunlevy, Concorde Flight Test Avi-onics Engineer, BAC (Fairford) / Concorde

Avionics Engineer, British Airways

How many avionics boxes do we have?

XDN has its full complement apart from the three INS computers, which are in storage at Duxford and will be re-fitted shortly.I have not counted the actual total of boxes.

In what years were they designed and what challenges have they given the team?

The avionics boxes would have been designed and manufactured around what were in use and available in the mid sixties initially. All very weighty items, especially ADC radio equipment and en-gine control amplifiers.

Have there been any recent mods over the years to extend their lifespan?

Modifications were made to many as flight test/performance information became available and in some cases the unit size was reduced a little.

The pre-production aircraft basically set the standard of the boxes for the production fleet and very little changed during service life, apart from some upgraded and better-performing navigation and radar systems and more compact engine control amplifiers.

Did you ever at any point discuss putting in place a risk assessment for the possibility of applying ground power?

Regards applying ground power and high voltage being distributed, we decided early on and together with DAS that this would not happen even though our extensive checks so far have found the cabling and associated contactors to be in serviceable condition.

There is insufficient power supply available within Airspace in any case to cope with such loads.

How often do you climb aboard G-AXDN together with the team and wonder how far one can push the return to life project without attempting to launch the plane to the skies?

We are not restoring the aircraft in any way for RTF, but simply bringing as much life as we possibly can to create an overall effect of a live cockpit complete with master warning gongs together with a full complement of lit captions and all external lighting operating.

How many repairs have the team carried out since taking on G-AXDN?

We have repaired the droop nose to full working order.Landing lights and navigation lights are now fully operational with long-life low-voltage lamps.Missing ramp doors have been re-fitted and and all intake doors raised and positioned mid-stroke to represent a Mach 2 scenario.One nacelle set of intake ramp doors, together with its clam shell reverser, made operational via electric motors to recreate actual operation for public interest.Emergency escape system beacons and associated warning lights made operational again with low-voltage long-life lamps.AICU’s found and re-installed.


12

Q Questions from reader John

Woolford (continued)

A John Dunlevy, Concorde Flight Test Avi-onics Engineer, BAC (Fairford) / Concorde

Avionics Engineer, British Airways (continued)

Are there any areas of restoration that seem impossible yet the team thinks there still is a way forward?

We are always interested in any further restoration work with the permission and request of DAS and if possible.

Has the amount of visitors to Duxford increased due to G-AXDN?

The visitor numbers and corporate events have increased due to the improvements carried out on XDN.The droop nose operation is a popular event.

Before your team took on the project of taking care of her what areas of restoration or repair took place since her final flight in 1977?

Before Heritage Concorde became involved the aircraft had been well looked after with excellent repaint and corrosion prevention treatment, but no systems had been made operational.

What happened to her parachute? The parachute has been located and will be put on display.

After her final landing what pro-cedure was in place for her official decommissioning?

The aircraft was decommissioned in the same manner as all the production aircraft. However, certain components were robbed for BA aircraft – but we are not sure if they were of much use as there are too many variations!The dispersal of the engines (all removed) is also up for questioning.

Have there been any recent discussions to use G-AXDN as a means to motivate and bring en-thusiasm to young up and coming engineers of today?

Young and upcoming engineers are often carrying out educational and work practice on XDN as part of the DAS.

And lastly, if there is a bigger plan for G-AXDN for the next ten years what would it be?

The big plan for XDN is to return her totally to the flight test con-figuration to prevent confusion that exists with the existing set-up (seats that are not correct) – for example that give a hint to carrying passengers!!This work is now in progress.


13

Concorde watch

On Wednesday 19 October, six members of the ‘A’ team of tour guides from Concorde at Filton met for a reun-ion and a chat about the future of Alpha Foxtrot when she moves to the new purpose-built exhibition site/museum on the north side of the old (much lamented) airfield at Filton.

This was arranged by Paul Evans, and included his good self, Bob White, Anthony Barsi, James Coombe, Andrew Strange, and myself. We met with Tony Brier-ley, of the Bristol Aero Collection Trust, and drove to the East Bay of the AAH (or BAH, which collectively were known as the Brabazon Assembly Hangar, the Bri-tannia Assembly Hall, or the Aircraft Assembly Hall, depending on which period of time you refer to).

Unfortunately, we were not able to visit the car park next to AF’s compound (it is now an area for a car manufacturer to store new vehicles) to get a close-up look, nor to go over to the construction site. Hopefully, this can be addressed at a future visit.

Although we were unable to get close to AF, we do know that she has been moved a few feet, I guess to check that her wheels still roll and the brakes haven’t seized on! (On a regular basis, the aircraft was jacked up and the wheels rotated, to prevent flat spots on the tires, to ensure the wheels moved. Also they were covered, as ultra-violet light would affect the rubber.) This is in preparation for her move across the runway to her new home. We have been told that she will have a good clean up before she goes on show – definitely needs it as all the years out in the elements have dulled her paint-work somewhat. Also that new decals will be put on, as they too have faded. We have no idea if a complete respray will happen – there is certainly enough space in the hangar for that! I would happily arm myself with plenty of T-Cut and rags to polish her myself, although I’m not sure that is the correct way to brighten her up! But she certainly needs to be bright and sparkling in her new home - others around the world are such; look at those at Duxford and Manchester, for example.

Tony is a very well informed person with reference to the BACT and their plans for Concorde, the inten-tion to house many exhibits from the contribution that Bristol has made to the travel and defence industry – trams, buses, helicopters, guided missiles, (indeed, the

Location: Filton, UKReporter: Nigel Ferris Date: 19 October 2016

Concorde G-BOAF British production aircraft

Guided Missile division of BAC can be rightly seen as the guiding force behind the development of the intake and ramp system on Concorde, with their experience of supersonic airflow over aerofoil sections), aero-engines, aircraft etc. Bristol can rightly be regarded as one of the pioneers of the aircraft industry, and of course the birth-place of supersonic aviation. We were given a tour of the East bay, which has most of the examples to be able to chart a chronological progression of innovation to have come from Bristol. (Yes, I can seem to be overly proud of the contributions – but unashamedly so.)

Tony gave us a good idea of how things will progress at the museum, and we believe that he was impressed with our passion, knowledge of how to interest visitors in the achievements of Concorde, and ideas to keep the memory of without doubt the most influential and beautiful aircraft ever to come out of England (and the World) alive – and we hope to stimulate interest within the young people of today to go into careers which encompass STEM.

We look forward to our next visit, and will keep you updated with progress.

Visitor centre for G-BOAFConstruction of the visitor area is well under way.Photo: Nigel Ferris


14

Location: Museum of Flight, Seattle, WAReporter: Ted Huetter/Katie John Date: 3 November 2016

Concorde G-BOAG British production aircraft

At the end of October/beginning of November, specta-tors at the Museum of Flight got to witness a rare sight – a Concorde on the move.

G-BOAG was temporarily moved out of the new Aviation Pavilion, together with the Boeing B-17 and the B-29 Superfortress. All were rolled out and moved across the road to the Boeing Field to make room for

Air Force One, the Boeing 727, and the Boeing 247D. Once the move was completed, Concorde and the two bombers were re-installed in the Aviation Pavilion, which was re-opened on 12 November.

Film of the move can be seen on the Museum’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pg/museu-mofflight/videos/?ref=page_internal

In her elementAlpha Golf brought to a standstill on taxiway Bravo at the Boeing Field – looking ready for action!Photo: Ted Huetter/ Museum of Flight

Clash of titansConcorde and the Boeing B-29 Superfortress come face to face on the taxi-way under a stormy sky.Photo: Ted Huetter / Museum of Flight

Mach 2 Concorde magazine© Katie John 2016

a flight in new book for 2017 the jump seat the forthcoming...

Documents