British Airways Bae-Aerospatiale Concorde G-BBDG

Bae-Aerospatiale Concorde: 21st January 1976 - November 26th 2003

I remember well that cold night in 2003 when the last few flights of the mighty and elegant supersonic airliner Concorde were carried out between London and New York, and I seem to recall I was on the edge of tears as I knew well that we were leaving behind something we could never get back, the ability for the fare paying public to travel through the sound barrier and into an entirely new level of speed.

When the Bae-Aerospatiale Concorde was first introduced in 1976, it truly did bring about a revolutionary age of style and luxury, and, of course, brought two of the world's continents closer together. Within 3 hours you could fly from London Heathrow or Paris CDG to New York JFK, and on most occasions, arrive before you departed. Even though Concorde was indeed a symbol for the wealthy, and anyone who wished to fly aboard it with an average salary would have to save up for several years, it was still a symbol of progress, the fact that we as a species could say that we built that machine, and aren't we a marvellous bunch for doing so!

But when we chose to ground Concorde, that small world of excellence was lost, and I firmly believe we will never get it back. Although many other manufacturers such as Boeing and Airbus have toyed with the idea of making supersonic jet airliners, in this day and age of austerity and environmental consideration, it will probably never happen.

I realize now that I'm older, that there were many flaws that grounded Concorde aside from the environmentalists complaining about the noise. The fuel costs were phenomenal and British Airways was making a loss on every flight they made because of this, and in a world following the attacks of September 11th and the crash of Air France Flight 4590 (Concorde's only fatal crash), confidence in the aviation industry had wilted, meaning that there were less people wanting to fly, and thus the airlines simply couldn't cover their costs.

But, if it's any consolation, for those of us who were alive to witness the beauty and magnificence of this mighty aircraft, let's just live on with the memory of man's only step into a world of supersonic commercial aviation.

This is G-BBDG, the first British production Concorde and the second production aircraft to be built. Making its first flight in 1974, this aircraft was used primarily for testing prior to the full introduction of the service fleet with British Airways and Air France. The aircraft had the distinction of being the  first aircraft ever to carry 100 people in supersonic flight.

The aircraft was retained by British Aerospace and made its final flight in 1981, where it was stored at Filton for use as a spares donor for the remainder of the British Airways fleet. In 1995 its drooping nose was donated to G-BOAF following a ground handling accident.

In 2003 the aircraft was offered to Brooklands Museum, and in a massive logistical operation the plane was taken apart and transported piece by piece to its new home. Upon arrival, it was also fitted with the damaged droop nose from G-BOAF, which had been kept in storage since 1995. With the interior refurbished to include both the seating arrangement of the prototype and the seating arrangement of the British Airways fleet, G-BBDG opened its doors to the public in 2006, to allow passengers to experience the beauty that was, and always will be, Concorde...