The National Museum of Flight is home to Scotland's only Concorde. Climb aboard to discover what transatlantic flight was like for passengers and crew and learn about the legacy of this iconic aircraft.
People Also Ask
It's over 40 years since Scotland's Concorde took to the skies in the first BA Concorde fleet commercial passenger flight. Don't miss the chance to get up close to G-BOAA. The National Museum of Flight is home to Scotland's only Concorde.
G-BOAB remains at Heathrow Airport as the last Concorde there and can be seen by departing passengers in her current location as seen in the two pictures below and other pictures further down the page.
The Concorde aircraft were retired in 2003, 27 years after commercial operations had begun. Most of the aircraft remain on display in Europe and America.
About ConcordeWith a take-off speed of 220 knots (250mph) and a cruising speed of 1350mph – more than twice the speed of sound - a typical London to New York crossing would take a little less than three and a half hours, as opposed to about eight hours for a subsonic flight.
Such speed didn't come cheap, though: A transatlantic flight required the high-maintenance aircraft to gulp jet fuel at the rate of one ton per seat, and the average round-trip price was $12,000.
British Airways Concorde G-BOACManchester carries out some super tours where you are allowed to sit in the pilot's seat and touch the flight deck controls. A range of tours are offered including a basic 20 minute tour and a more in depth Technical Tour. The viewing park is also home to a Trident and Nimrod.
Technical, financial, and regulatory hurdles make a return to the skies extremely unlikely. Concorde is an aircraft that captures the imagination and is instantly recognizable even to non-aviation fanatics.
No manufacturer has yet been able to recreate the days of the Concorde, but some are trying. Denver-based Boom Supersonic is leading the pack with its faster-than-sound Overture jet, already securing over 100 orders from United Airlines, Japan Airlines, and American Airlines.
Over the Irish sea and rapidly running out of fuel the Tornado had a hard time catching up with the mighty Concorde. Over more than a hundred miles or so, 5–10 minutes the Concord could outrun every fighter.
Supercharged: Concorde was the first -- and still only -- passenger aircraft that had turbojet engines with afterburners. Raw fuel was introduced into the exhaust of the plane's four engines, immediately increasing the engines' thrust by almost 20%.
Boom Supersonic, the US plane manufacturer, plans to have the answer with its new Overture jet, which is set to transport customers at twice the speed of today's fastest commercial aircraft, and is regarded as the new Concorde.
The Concorde was famously loud: a take-off at Washington airport in 1977 measured 119.4 decibels. By comparison, a clap of thunder hits 120 decibels while the pain threshold for the human ear is around 110.