Concorde pilots were a rare species, it seems.
‘There have been more US astronauts than BA Concorde pilots,’ announces a bright-red poster at the entrance to Aerospace Bristol, the Dh92 million museum that opened at Filton Airfield this month, to celebrate the UK city’s century-long aviation history.
The museum centrepiece is the last Concorde ever built. For years, it had languished, open to the elements, on a disused runway. Now it’s a main attraction once again, reflecting Concorde’s enduring power to amaze and impress. In an age when most passenger planes look the same, on the outside at least, this supersonic jet is still so very different.
Alpha Foxtrot made its final flight in November 2003 (flying over Clifton Suspension Bridge), and is now housed in a specially constructed hangar in the museum at Filton, on the outskirts of Bristol, where the airframe and the engines of Concorde were largely developed and where the UK assembly line was located. It is one of 18 remaining Concordes (only 20 were ever built), with the rest scattered around airports and museums elsewhere in Britain, France, the US, Germany and even Barbados. They were retired from duty, largely, because of the crash of the Air France Concorde in Paris in July 2000 and the rising cost of maintenance.
The museum, currently housed in two buildings, but with more planned, takes up a huge area on the former Filton airfield site. The bulk of the exhibits are housed a short walk away from the Concorde building in an imaginatively restored 100-year-old hangar. The idea is that you visit the main exhibition first, then head off to see the star of the show.
While the aim of Bristol Aerospace is to showcase the remarkable role played by the site in Britain’s aviation history, it also sets out, according to the museum’s collections manager, Linda Coode, to inspire the next generation to get interested in science and engineering. It succeeds brilliantly, with numerous exhibits – such as flight simulators (a Concorde training cockpit and an Airbus A320) and interactive options (a wind tunnel where you can play with a model aircraft) broadening its appeal.
There’s a great shop, too, selling everything from Airfix kits to posters and toys. The high point, however, remains Concorde. With its pointed nose and sleek frame, it looks as futuristic as ever and, like the Spitfire, has an enduring appeal. Walking inside the plane with its plush leather seats, it does appear relatively cramped - but then Concorde flights weren’t lengthy affairs, taking only 3.5 hours on average between London and New York. (On one occasion, it made the trip in a record two hours 52 minutes and 59 seconds, travelling at an average speed of 1,250mph.)
Projections on to the plane explain Concorde’s history, together with anecdotes from those associated with the aircraft (from pilots and engineers, who scribbled their messages near the flight deck, to celebrity passengers), and there is a re-creation and explanation of the famous and noisy sonic boom. Open daily, GBP15 to get in (approx Dh73) and GBP8 for children.
aerospacebristol.org
