Concorde G-BOAD Badly Damaged in NY

I’m with Pete Truman – much as I like Concorde (and the fact that we Brits, with a little help from the French :diablo:, managed to ‘outdo’ the mighty US aircraft industry) I am at a loss that so many have been preserved and, in the UK, have not sought to keep a 707.

Roger Smith.

The chopping up of most of the Cosford Collection was an utter disgrace, unfortunately (as people keep pointing out to me) British Airways is a business and not a charity. The simple fact is that Willie Walsh couldn’t care less about aircraft that aren’t actively making money for the airline.

It’s a shame about the 707, I would have loved to have seen it remain intact, same goes for the VC-10, such a distinctive shape. Something that’s hard to discern from the remaining nose section…

Thank you, wer’e talking about airliners not adapted airframes, don’t manipulate the subject, anything for an argument matey.

Oh, Pete.

Not trying to be argumentative at all. I was attempting humour but never mind.

I am aware of the 707 at Cosford being preserved/destroyed/sympathetically redisplayed*. I saw them taking her apart as evidenced by the images below:

The sun going down on the 707 in happier times.

The axeman cometh…..

And just to prove they were serious…..

Yes, it is disgraceful that not one 707 is preserved in the UK. But the option to save it was there and it was squandered. Something should have been done a long time before the salvage team arrived. Had there been the will, I believe it could have been. Cosford’s desperate attempts to rid the site of anything they felt not in keeping with the surroundings (e.g. the melted B&Q) ensured that when it came the end was swift and efficient.

As for the Concorde in New York? It looks nasty but it is hardly the end of the world. As J Boyle said, has anyone asked how/why the damage occurred and what moves are in place to put things right?

Regards,

kev35

To be honest all I see is what I would expect of an aeroplane kept outdoors and not neglected, just needing a clean.

In addition there is some unfortunate accident damage…so what is the problem??

If looked at at normal distance…..ignoring the nose, it looks fine all things considered.

Garry

It’s quite minor damage when you consider that two U.K Concordes were cut to move them.

I’m with Pete Truman – much as I like Concorde (and the fact that we Brits, with a little help from the French :diablo:, managed to ‘outdo’ the mighty US aircraft industry) I am at a loss that so many have been preserved and, in the UK, have not sought to keep a 707.

Roger Smith.

Possibly if interest can be raised amongst some approved volunteers ‘across the pond’ they can at least as an interim measure start keeping G-BOAD clean on a monthly basis.

As I mentioned before, the current state of the airframe is probably due (in part) to the fact that it’s in temporay storage away from the museum.

Give them some benefit of the doubt here!
Still the nose accident was bad. Hit by a truck?
It’s a star attraction at the museum, I’m sure they’ll put it right.
Did anyone ask them before taking them to task?

Maybe the issue was not to perfect a supersonic airliner, but to run a profitable aircraft production company.

The Concord was only sold heavily subsidised and would never had seen airline service, if not for that.

Granted, thats no reason to ban it from US airspace, or for neglecting is as a display item. Nevertheless, as mentioned above, its in temporary storage while its museum is undergoing renovation.

USS Intrepid takes pretty good care of their display, so I’m sure G-BOAD will have a long and happy retirement.

BTW the Duxford Concord is not in great condition either.

I am sure the Americans have no wish to be deliberately ignorant about the neglect of G-BOAD, but there may be ‘purse strings’ that are tight and demands from other more pressing projects.

Possibly if interest can be raised amongst some approved volunteers ‘across the pond’ they can at least as an interim measure start keeping G-BOAD clean on a monthly basis.

The nose cone is a bigger problem and if there is no spare one I am sure one can be made ‘at a price’.

It’s back where I started money USD lot’s of it.

Mildenhall? 😀

Regards,

kev35

Thank you, wer’e talking about airliners not adapted airframes, don’t manipulate the subject, anything for an argument matey.

I was puzzling myself stupid over that one. OK maybe not proper 707s but their offspring in the form of KC135s and J-Stars probably.

The fact that I can go and see one of these pointy things in various places sums that up, the fact that I can’t think where I can go in this country and see one of the greatest airliners ever built, the Boeing 707, is pretty sad.

Mildenhall? 😀

Regards,

kev35

Wasn’t the sole remaining Rolls-powered 707 recently chopped up at Cosford?

It was, and it was a bloody disgrace.
In reality, the Concorde is swooned over in the UK, it’s sacrosant, it also seems to be forgotten about that it’s an Anglo-French product, though no doubt either country has claims to be originators of the project.
Percentage wise it must be the most preserved a/c in the history of aviation.
The fact that I can go and see one of these pointy things in various places sums that up, the fact that I can’t think where I can go in this country and see one of the greatest airliners ever built, the Boeing 707, is pretty sad.

Can I just say that when I went to the Intrepid in March 2006, she was in great condition and was looked after very well, sadly I didn’t get up close as I didn’t realise she was accessible till it was too late.

So I just hope it was just an accident.

As for the pigeon, that’s no different to the starling we saw nesting in one of the lage jets at Duxford last year 😀 lol

Besides that, I’m sick of Boeings too……actually just sick of modern airliners,

Well you could take a DC-3.
No, wait…I guess you can’t.
Blame the EU or somebody.:D

Modern airliners aren’t the problem, its the airlines.

I hope you are not suggesting, that the UK authorities should have kept any research into metal fatigue as a national secret.

Development might remain secret and covert, but aviation safty resesarch needs to be shared.

Besides that, I’m sick of Boeings too……actually just sick of modern airliners,

With respect to our American friends, they tried to ban it from their air space when it first came out, why should this example of Anglo-French one-upmanship fair any better now.
It’s not part of their US heritage, I don’t blame them for neglecting it, it’s sits there as a reminder of a race that they lost to perfect a supersonic airliner, given the power, money and technological acheivement available in the States at the time, it must have really hurt.
Imagine if the situation was the other way around and some Boeing jobby was parked up at Heathrow as an example of what we were’nt able to achieve, apart from us keen types, would the authorities and the general public care a damn, I doubt it.
Whose idea was it to park it there in the first place.

Hear hear! Agree with every word. As someone connected with BA and living in NYC in the 60s and 70s, I remember the efforts the US went to block Concorde (vis atmosphere burning, polluting the water, etc). Every trick was used to delay the service. However it is missed greatly now by them.

However, the irony of the latter point (ie roles reversed) is that our failure to push the development of our post war civil (and mil for that matter) aviation industry is to our dying shame. If the Comet 1 had a little more luck (and the UK govt didn’t hand over the all the post crash research into metal fatigue), then we might have had a go. Ditto the Trident being a little bigger. Boeings everywhere is the result (albeit good planes they are).

The point is that when you consider the other museums in the UK or around the world that would have taken great care of Concorde, one does get annoyed when the people they were given to neglect them somewhat

Kev35

It always hurt to see an aircraft in neglect. Even if there are a few around….

Most scrapped, burned, or drowned aircraft, could have been a valued part of someones trip to an aviation museum.

But i know, they can’t all be saved.

What’s the fuss? It’s a Concorde!

There’s enough of them about under cover that we can afford to lose a few, like the Intrepid one, the one languishing at Heathrow, any more takers?

Let’s have a cull…….

Tune in next week for Vulcans!

Regards,

kev35

Reply to blurrkup:

Yes, you are right. The Duxford has been outside for quite some time, I did not take that into account.

Mondariz,

In reply to you saying the Concorde at Duxford is not in great condition either. At least it is being looked after, it has also been at Duxford for 31 years so a little wear and tear is expected, especially with a few thousand people walking through it every year. It is also inside.

I’m sorry if the above comes across a bit rude but I go to Duxford at least once a year with family and the first thing they want to do is walk through Concorde.