Once upon a time, there was a Concorde that carried passengers around the world, earning money for its owner. Little did this aircraft know it was to become the loneliest Concorde in the world.
Almost all Concordes are happily living new lives in museums, being visited by eager tourists and aviation fans. Some of them even let you take a ‘flight’ to experience what it was like in the supersonic age. There is one that is all alone though.
The Loneliest Concorde
On 18 May 1976, this Concorde took its first flight, reaching 63,500 feet or 19,354 metres in the air. Being a supersonic airliner, it reached Mach 2.05 on this trip and after 12 test flights it was delivered to British Airways on 30 September 1976.
Not one to shy away from new experiences, the aircraft flew for Braniff in the United States between transatlantic flights in 1979 and 1980.
Today, Concorde G-BOAB sits at London Heathrow airport, looking pretty near one of the runways. With no cabin installed, it is a shadow of its former self. Magazines are inside for ballast, which is a far cry from the luxurious interiors inside when it was flying.
What Happened?
G-BOAB was scheduled to be the sixth of seven British Airways Concordes to be upgraded with the post accident modifications. Unfortunately, BA did not need the last two aircraft, so they were never modified.
Overall Thoughts
Considering all the other Concordes went to museums, it’s a little bit strange that this one remains at London Heathrow. The loneliest Concorde probably wouldn’t be much of an attraction since it has no cabin installed, but even so, it’s strange that it hasn’t been snapped up.
It’s now been 19 years since its last flight. Sitting out in the London weather can’t be good for the long term future of the aeroplane. Hopefully it doesn’t corrode into dust.
Does anyone know what is planned for this Concorde, if anything? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Featured image by Adrian Pingstone via Wikimedia Commons.
Interior picture via Heritage Concorde.
Landor livery picture by Ken Fielding via Wikimedia Commons.
It’s funny you say “The loneliest Concorde probably wouldn’t be much of an attraction since it has no cabin installed”. I know at Udvar Hazy near Dulles, you can’t go inside anyway or even see the inside from any vantage point, so it doesn’t matter if there is a cabin or not. Not sure why this couldn’t be simply displayed somewhere without the ability to go inside.
Yes, that’s right, you can’t go inside the one beside Dulles and I agree, it’s hard to get a good view. You are right, it could be displayed somewhere more fitting than beside the runway at an active airport. I think it was originally planned to be somewhere else at Heathrow, but it never went there. It’s a shame. Hopefully someone will do something with it sometime. Thanks for the comment!