Concorde Farewell

On 26 November 2003 Concorde G-BOAF flew into Filton near Bristol, arriving for preservation with British Aerospace. She was the last Concorde ever to fly. Back in May 2023, Richard Clarke looked at Concorde’s final days in service with British Airways, and recalls the retirement of two of the airframes to their new homes.

Having been fortunate enough to have had a very close involvement with Avro Vulcan XH558 for more than 25 years, I have often compared her to Concorde. Oddly enough, the Vulcan has often been referred to as the ‘Mother of Concorde’.

Of course, both these iconic aircraft encompass so many common features and both have thrilled and captivated the public during their illustrious careers. This leads me to think back to the halcyon days of British aviation – especially when both were flying alongside other classic aircraft that once graced our skies including English Electric’s rocket-like Lightning, Blackburn’s brutish Buccaneer, and the mighty Avro Shackleton. 

On the doorstep

I first saw Concorde in the 1980s during the very memorable days of the Leicester Air Displays which, fortuitously for me, took place at Leicester Airport – just across the fields from where I lived. The show always seemed to attract an impressive line-up of military types, including the very first public appearance of the Panavia Tornado, as well as the likes of General Dynamics F-111s, McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantoms, Lockheed C-5 Galaxys and even Lockheed F-104 Starfighters. Concorde G-BOAC (204) – better known as Alpha-Charlie – appeared in the skies over what was the former RAF Leicester East in 1984 and 1985 as part of what were then frequent charter flights around the Bay of Biscay. During those appearances the aircraft thrilled the crowds with a short display, demonstrating the sleek lines and maneuverability of this still- futuristic looking machine extremely ably, culminating in a high-powered climb out, which literally made the ground shake! This experience of such an amazing machine gave me a real appetite for aviation and thus began a long personal ‘membership’.

Double delta

Building on this affiliation, I was inevitably sad when I first heard the news that Concorde was to be retired by British Airways (BA) in October 2003. Announced on April 10 that year, BA said that its decision had been made for commercial reasons in light of passenger revenue falling steadily against a backdrop of Concorde’s rising maintenance costs. As a result, I vowed to try to see ‘her’ as many times as possible during her last few months of operation and record those final days in service. 

At that time of course, plans were already gathering pace under the leadership of Dr Robert Pleming to return XH558 to flying status. As such there was a huge contrast in the future fortunes of these two great Bristol Olympus-powered deltas. Sadly, though, they only flew together on one occasion, during the golden days of the RAF Vulcan Display Flight; G-BOAB (208) flew with XH558 over North Weald on a very wet and windy June 23, 1991.

Earlier in 2003, before it was announced that Concorde was to be retired, the Vulcan to the Sky Trust (VTST) launched its annual raffle with first prize being a return flight to New York on – would you believe it – Concorde! This was highly fortuitous to say the least… and as they say every cloud has a silver lining! As I am sure you can imagine this, along with a prize of a flight in a Lightning with what was then Thunder City in South Africa, made this the most successful VTST raffle ever held! To make it even better, tickets were a snip at just £2! As a result of that raffle, Robert Pleming and I had the most welcome opportunity to visit London Heathrow – home of British Airway’s Concorde operation – in August to greet the winners on their return from New York. This necessitated us going through all the checks that a passenger would go through because, amazingly, we were allowed airside to see the aircraft taxi in. It is an experience I will never forget, and as we stood in the passenger disembarkation area, we could hear the jet taxiing before we saw her as the scream of her four Olympus engines reverberated, filling the air as the graceful lines of the ‘Queen of the Skies’ came into view. As she came closer, it was absolutely deafening…

And it was then I noticed that Robert and I were the only ones not wearing ear defenders! When all the passengers had disembarked, we had the opportunity to board the aircraft to meet with the winners – who were, as you can imagine, ecstatic about their experience – and the crew in the cockpit, which was quite an experience. While chatting all things Concorde and Vulcan, they were very interested to hear what Robert had to say about the planned return to flight of XH558. In fact, we were there for so long that eventually we all had to be gently ushered out of the aircraft so that ‘she’ could be prepared for ‘her’ flight the next morning!

As luck would have it

During the final months of Concorde operations, I was fortunate enough ‘through design rather than accident’ (to paraphrase the saying) to be working in the area around Heathrow quite regularly, so managed to be there more often than not to record the unforgettable and unique sights and sounds of this incredible aircraft taking off and landing. At that point BA’s fleet of five operational jets were primarily operating non-stop twice daily flights to/from New York’s John F Kennedy Airport.

It was always memorable to see… her fantastic acceleration, sheer noise and power, relatively high landing speed, praying mantis-esque angle of attitude when landing and, most of all, the sheer splendour of the delta shape in the air. On each visit, and as the retirement date for Concorde loomed ever nearer, it was interesting to note that the number of people who had gathered to see the spectacle for themselves grew and grew, as the sad realisation dawned that just a few weeks from then the aircraft would all be consigned forever to the annals of history.

The last week of Concorde’s scheduled operation came in late October, with Friday the 24th being touted as the day BA would retire its fleet. By this time, Air France, the only other Concorde carrier, had already withdrawn the type from service. As such, BA organised a ‘Farewell Tour’ of provincial airports, which would culminate in the spectacular finale landing of three of the aircraft at Heathrow on the Friday afternoon.

Supersonic finale

Over the period of that last week the aircraft visited the likes of Birmingham, Belfast, Cardiff, and Edinburgh Airports, in addition to continuing its regular scheduled services. Looking back, this must have been a challenge for the BA maintenance teams to ensure that all the needed aircraft were serviceable when required. Just prior to this, BA had conducted a mini-North American farewell tour with visits to Toronto, Boston, and Washington. During that week the first port of call on the ‘tour’ was Birmingham. Ironically it was G-BOAC doing the honours. I was lucky enough to find myself in a near perfect position as part of the media presence on the famed Elmdon ramp over the far side of the airport where the aircraft was to arrive and depart. Departing Heathrow, the jet unde Mach 2 dash down the Bristol Channel at 51,000ft before heading to Birmingham. To see the landing, which was also witnessed by thousands of spectators in and around the airport, and then watch Alpha-Charlie taxi in was an incredibly moving and emotional experience – her Olympus engines booming away to amazing effect, albeit with a very different ‘shriek’ to those of the Vulcan! To enhance the spectacle, a lone piper, braving the noise, welcomed the aircraft – it really was a highly appropriate and respectful gesture.

Later that afternoon, as G-BOAC was prepared for her final ever take off from Birmingham, we were once again allowed out onto the tarmac – this time to witness the incredible spectacle of her Olympus engines coming to life. The noise was indescribable… although I was pleased that on this occasion, I had the benefit of ear plugs! As she taxied out with a wave from the flight deck, the realisation once again dawned that this fantastic aircraft would never return – a sad and salutary prospect. As the skies began to darken and with the afterburners glowing, G-BOAC leapt off Runway 33, and in tribute, skirted around the city for the final time, before disappearing into the clouds towards Heathrow.

Concorde’s final days

With G-BOAE (212) taking in Belfast on the 21st, the following day I was at Manchester for the next stage of the tour – it was another memorable occasion, again with a huge media presence. Gathered alongside the runway to see G-BOAG (214) land, the BBC, Sky, ITV, alongside a host of newspapers and radio stations, far too numerous to mention, were all in place to record this piece of history for posterity. In addition, huge crowds gathered in and around the airport for their chance to say goodbye – including the Aviation Viewing Park (now the Runway Visitor Park), which was then soon to become home to its own example of the iconic supersonic type. After touching down, the crew acknowledged the crowds by bringing Alpha-Golf to a halt outside the ‘park’ in salute – an incredible gesture indeed, and very much in keeping with the occasion.

Later that day the take-off was once again awe-inspiring. With the sheer noise of the jet’s Olympus engines singing their song, filling the skies, their roar was soon replaced by the cacophony of camera shutters recording this historic occasion, cheers and applause as the aircraft disappeared into the night skies in a haze of orange exhaust against the backdrop of the Pennines. It really was a stunning vista.

With Alpha-Charlie visiting Cardiff Airport the following day, the scene was soon set for October 24, 2003 – Concorde’s final day in service. With G-BOAG leaving New York, G-BOAF (216) departing Heathrow for a supersonic trip around the Bay of Biscay and G-BOAE visiting Edinburgh as the last stop on the tour before making a supersonic dash across the North Sea, all three arrived back at their London home to land in quick succession on Runway 27R. With G-BOAE touching down first, G-BOAG followed before G-BOAC touched down just after 1600hrs, bringing the first supersonic transport era to a close some 27 years and nine months after it had begun.

Forever homes

To all intents and purposes, that week was the end for Concorde, but what may not have been so obvious to the world at large was that the remaining five airworthy aircraft (G-BOAC, G-BOAD, G-BOAE, G-BOAF and G-BOAG) were due to be delivered to their new homes soon after their withdrawal by air. Having been a near daily part of their lives, it must have been a great surprise to those living near Heathrow who probably thought that they had seen the last of her.

As luck would have it, I was present to see the G-BOAD and G-BOAE leave Heathrow on their final flights to New York and Barbados on November 10 and 17, respectively, and see G-BOAC touch down at Manchester for the last time on October 31, as well as G-BOAF arriving for preservation with British Aerospace at Filton near Bristol on November 26. Not only did the latter mark Concorde returning home with every British-built airframe being built there, it was also the last ever flight of the type. All of these occasions attracted huge crowds, a tribute which fully demonstrates the level of affection and respect that Concorde engenders – even today – from the public. Being present when she taxied in for the final time at both Manchester and Filton was a huge privilege and, indeed, very moving. Even more so at Manchester where G-BOAC received a thorough soaking from the traditional water canon salute provided by the Manchester Airport Fire Service.

So that was it – the end of an era. As they say, all good things come to an end, and it was good while it lasted. This great aircraft will never be seen in the skies again. She may have been expensive, inefficient, and prohibitively costly to operate, and had ticket prices beyond the means of most people – in fact, some would say it was an anachronism. But Concorde was a technical masterpiece with so many advanced features that were years ahead of their time. She was much admired by all who saw her and consequently will continue to be sadly and sorely missed even 20 years after her retirement.

There are not many sights that capture the attention of so many people, but Concorde did, and she will always be fondly remembered by the many millions that saw her. It is interesting to note that people always referred to her as ‘Concorde’ and not ‘a Concorde’ – almost referring to her as a person and not a machine.

I guess that really sums up the high level of affection that was felt for the jet, and this has a resonance which many of us fully understand and relate to.

There are not many aircraft that inspire so much enthusiasm, emotion and affinity as the two great deltas – Concorde and Vulcan. To my knowledge both are members of a very exclusive club, in that after having seen them for the first time, people can still recall many years later exactly where they were when this happened.

I will always miss Concorde but I am eternally grateful, both for the privileged and unique opportunities that I had to see her during her final months in service and to Robert Pleming and his team for bringing the glorious sight of a delta-winged aircraft back to the skies to fill the huge gap that had been left by her absence.

Both the Vulcan and Concorde became a significant part of people’s lives and thrilled and excited so many during their flying years. Because of this, they will surely never be forgotten.