One of my fondest memories that I thought I'd share; the return of Concorde F-BVFC to Paris:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nA5eYdwC8o4


My favorite aircraft, my favorite song.
So right for the joyously-happy but horrifically-sad moment. I originally wrote this for a non-aviation forum; but figured that today, on the 40th anniversary of Concorde's rollout (March 2, 2009), it'd also be appropriate to share here.

For those of you who may not be familiar... Concorde was (for most of its history) the only supersonic passenger aircraft, meaning it can fly faster than the speed of sound. In fact, twice as fast: capable of crossing the Atlantic Ocean two and a half times faster than conventional jets, and faster than a bullet shot from an elephant gun! It was also known for its exclusive luxury, with tickets in excess of $10,000 on Air France and $13,000 on British Airways, the only two remaining of the three airlines to ever operate Concorde.

Tragically, after operating for 24years with a flawless safety rating... on July 25, 2000, Air France Concorde F-BTSC suffered a freak accident which saw a tire burst through a fuel tank during its takeoff run, causing a massive fire and ensuing loss of thrust. A passenger on an inbound flight from Japan was able to capture the calamity on camera:

http://concordesst.com/accident/pictures/flames1.jpg

A trucker's wife just happened to be playing with her new digi-camcorder while driving near the airport, and caught the liftoff on film:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEHoaYMsP9Q

The crew struggled to heave the aircraft into the air and guide it over the highway to nearby Le Bourget airport, for an emergency landing. However, they quickly loss the struggle to control it, and the aircraft rolled over then slammed into a hotel... killing everyone onboard and people in the hotel as well. 113people, dead.

Authorities were horrified.
They ordered an immediate grounding of Concorde operations until the cause of the crash could be identified. Hours turned into days. Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months. It became apparent that Concorde may never actually fly again... news that was particularly traumatic to Air France, as ship F-BVFC had been sitting overnight at New York's Kennedy International Airport on the day of the crash, in order to operate the next morning's return flight to Paris. The airline was desperate to get it back under their care, as Concordes were extremely maintenance-intensive and easily subject to wear&tear.

Air France lobbied hard to get her back. They had the help of aviation enthusiasts (like me!) around the world to support their cause. We got our wish. On September 21, 2000, Concorde F-BVFC was repatriated, after being stranded in New York for nearly two months. A temporary Airworthiness certificate was granted, though the town of Gonesse (where the destroyed hotel had been) demanded that the ship come in from the East, in order to avoid overflying them. Many believed this would be the last time a Concorde ever flew, so enthusiasts from all corners of the globe flocked to Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Paris to see her land. Hence the creation of this video.

Though it is somewhat difficult to see, if you look in the far background from 1:49 in the video onwards, you'll see hundreds of Air France ground crew who came out to salute her. Notice highway traffic, in the lower right of the screen, came to a complete and voluntary halt to see her as well. It was all so surreal... and plenty of tears, as almost everyone thought that it would end (so unceremoniously) this way.

...I might even admit to having shed a tear or two as well. ;-)

and you wouldn't be alone ...pretty cool ^ and thanks for posting ^.

I'm still partial to the British airways tribute.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ro3QVMCG-aY

One of my life regrets, never having had the chance or money to fly on Concorde.

It's nice, no doubt... but it's not a personal memory, which is the purpose of this, particularly in light of the nice response garnered from THIS THREAD.

I had the good fortune to be vacationing in Barbados when the bird that is now nesting at BGI came home to roost. Some of the pommies on the beach threw a great party as it flew in - it was really a thrill to see, as it was the only time I ever observed one flying.

http://www.barbadosconcorde.com/

I can't find the song on itunes.

...dunno about itunes, as I've never seen a need to pay for what I can get free-- but it's quite easy to find on any of the standard shareware (Limewire, Frostwire, Kazaa, etc) sites.

In keeping with the general mission statement of OMNI that it be a forum for most anything imaginable except for travel, miles and points, we're going to switch this thread to TravelBuzz!

Our thanks to ConcordeBoy for starting this interesting thread.

________________________

Cholula
OMNI Co-Moderator

Thanks.

I'd been living under a rock for the past 30 years. I had no idea what supersonic meant, or that this aircraft was the only one like that.

You managed to bring back such wonderful memories, ConcordeBoy
We flew the Concorde twice. Unforgettable. I still have the luggage tags, Concorde envelope, playing cards and all other memorabilia given to us. I will never sell these items.
I always love reading about the Concorde. Again, thanks for starting this thread.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it's just Concorde, not the Concorde.

Whatever Loved both (the) flights.

I was dumb enough to leave the luggage tags on one of my suitcases. During one of my flights, someone along the way decided to cut it in half :-(

...all while apparently struggling with an acute case of selective literacy:


NP, thanks for viewing!

See how hard it is to be me?