# So long, Concorde... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 10, 2003, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-long-concorde/167743 "2003-04-10T09:25:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![The\_Clawman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47c2d/32.png) [@The\_Clawman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Clawman)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-long-concorde/167743/61 "2003-10-24T14:26:38Z")
Rather unexpectedly, the Edinburgh-bound flight flew over my town a couple of hours ago. Apparently the pilot lives a few miles away in Bridge of Allan and wanted to do a low pass over his own house! ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-long-concorde/167743/62 "2003-10-24T14:37:30Z")
BA002, the last Concorde coming in from JFK, is expected to land at 16:03 UK time. Concorde has about 15 minutes of flight left, as I type this. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![London\_Calling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-long-concorde/167743/63 "2003-10-24T14:38:16Z")
Someone said three are going to form up over the Thames Estuary for a fly past right down the river to Heathrow - be nice to see that. One mother of a dark cloud right over the airport but the rest is clear and blue. 15 mins 'til the final _scheduled_ flight comes in . . . ---
**Author:** ![owlstretchingtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/958977/32.png) [@owlstretchingtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/owlstretchingtime)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-long-concorde/167743/64 "2003-10-24T14:57:02Z")
It’s just this minute flown over my office. ---
**Author:** ![owlstretchingtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/958977/32.png) [@owlstretchingtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/owlstretchingtime)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-long-concorde/167743/65 "2003-10-24T15:11:13Z")
Well I have just seen the last flight. The sky here in London is blue with fluffy clouds. I see Concorde every day as I live on the flight path to Heathrow. It is always a pleasrur to see (and hear) it. My best Concorde moment was walking across westminster bridge on a sunny day when concorde flew past, and my view was of Concorde passing Big Ben. If only “Waterloo sunset” had been playing…London really is the only place worth living… Concorde is always portrayed (in the UK) as something the British can be proud of - is this the case in France too? ---
**Author:** ![Sparrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Sparrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparrow)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-long-concorde/167743/66 "2003-10-24T15:25:45Z")
I saw them too. I work in Westminster and a bunch of us went up on the roof of our building and saw them come over in quick succession, one, two, three. Beautiful. ---
**Author:** ![Infectious\_Lass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e56c9b/32.png) [@Infectious\_Lass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infectious_Lass)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-long-concorde/167743/67 "2003-10-24T18:42:46Z")
I saw it go over my back garden about 20 minutes before four this afternoon! A few minutes before that I saw another one (or maybe the same one) pass by over to the west of my house. As the second (or same) one flew directly over, I was as excited as a dog at dinnertime (that’s seriously excited, non-dog owners!), I had my air radio on and as Concorde was in the middle of the sky with the sun glinting off the delta wings, the radio came to life and crackled with the captain’s voice saying “Speedbird Concord 002” and then went silent again. Not to sound like a greetings card or anything, but that was a magic moment! wow! ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-long-concorde/167743/68 "2003-10-24T21:19:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Spectre of Pithecanthropus \* > \*\*I wonder why they couldn’t have operated on any oceanic route. No need to go supersonic until you’re offshore, and too far away from anyone to cause any annoyance. You’d think it could have been very successful on all the trans-Pacific routes. Maybe then a critical point would have been reached beyond which it would have made sense to invest in developing more efficient and quieter models. > > It’s too bad that it wasn’t possible to extend the option of supersonic travel to more people. Flying generally used to be very exclusive, and I’m sure when the first jet transports were rolled out, they too were aimed at the high end traveller. But after decades of commercial jet operations, the cost has come down to where the middle class can afford tickets. \*\* From what I’ve read, such was the idea when the first jets were introduced, but airlines quickly found that the jets were, in many ways cheaper to operate than earlier planes. Engines were simpler to maintain, having fewer moving parts. Also they could run on kerosene, which was much cheaper per gallon than the gasoline used by the propeller-driven transports. Especially in California, for example, the smaller jets quickly took over every major short haul route, excepting only when the plane had to go through an airport that couldn’t handle jets. The Concorde, on the other hand, was tremendously more expensive to operate. At the same time I feel sure that if a critical point could have been reached, improvements in technology would have made supersonic travel practical. It is especially a shame when you consider how much more common long-haul flights have become. For example, if you flew from Los Angeles to Europe in 1977, you would likely have to stop on the East Coast. Now you’re likely to go nonstop, as there are many direct flights between the West Coast and Europe. Such distances would have been admirably suited to speeds of Mach 2. ---
**Author:** ![fortytwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f9ae1b/32.png) [@fortytwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fortytwo)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-long-concorde/167743/69 "2003-10-24T22:04:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Coldfire \* > \*\*Richard Branson (Virgin Air) tried to buy the planes, but was denied. I think BA have decided to put them in museums and such. I guess airworthiness would just expire, what with no maintenance and checks being done anymore. > > Maybe they’ll keep one maintained, for special occasions? \*\* Richard Branson is doing what he does best. Self publicity. How would he fly it. Where are his flight crew, and where are his Concorde Authorised Engineers? More importantly, where is he going to get his spare parts? He is remarkably vague when asked for the details of his Concorde operation. V ---
**Author:** ![spogga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ab097/32.png) [@spogga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spogga)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-long-concorde/167743/70 "2003-10-25T14:53:20Z")
I don’t know whether this is of interest but if you don’t want to see the beautiful bird grounded you can sign the petition at [www.saveconcorde.co.uk](http://www.saveconcorde.co.uk) ---
**Author:** ![London\_Calling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-long-concorde/167743/71 "2003-10-25T18:04:14Z")
Talking of beautiful birds, I noticed Joan Collins was on the last scheduled flight . . . :eek: btw, I didn’t realise but I’m going to miss one thing in particular; the glint off the fuselage as she banked over London, turning from west to east, to face Heathrow and the evening sun . … . that was a beautiful turn. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-long-concorde/167743.md?page=3)