The last Concorde Supersonic passenger plane has recently made its final journey.
The Anglo-French Concorde Alpha Foxtrot is prepared to become the centerpiece at the Bristol Aviation Centre. The £19 million aerospace museum is due to open in the summer this year. The Concorde just got towed to the specially-built hangar using a standard runway towing vehicle. A wall had to be removed from the hangar to get the passenger plane inside, sparing only a meter distance on each side.
The Concorde was regarded as a project comparable to Apollo Moon landings. With only 20 manufactured, the museum centerpiece Alpha Foxtrot or No. 2016 was the last Concorde to be built (1979) and the last to fly (2003). After the first prototype testing in 1969, the Concorde began its service in 1976.
Unlike other airliners of the time, the Concorde cruised at Mach 2.04 carrying up to 128 passengers in absolute comfort. The high operating and maintenance cost of the craft, environmental regulations, and rising fuel prices did not allow the plane to remain in service for long.
The production of the parts of Concorde was carried out in France and the UK, which were finally assembled at EADS France in Toulouse and BAE systems in Filton. Out of the total 20 planes, only 14 went into service. Seven Concordes were delivered to Air France and British Airways. The Air France used one of those for spares, and the other one crashed in 2000 leading to the withdrawal of the Concordes from service. After an intensive modification program, the service was, however, resumed in November 2001.
18 of all the airliners have either been stored or displayed in museums worldwide. The Alpha Foxtrot is the last one to have found a permanent place after spending 13 years at the side of an airfield in Briston. The Airbus UK has maintained the plane since its last flight on November 26, 2003.
When the museum opens up this summer in Briston, you may want to visit and look at this beauty for yourself.
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