1956
5th November:
Supersonic Transport Aircraft Committee (STAC) established. The committee was made up of representatives of Britain’s aircraft and engine manufacturers, as well as government officials and personnel from the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough (England) to study the possibility of building a supersonic airliner.
1959
9th March:
STAC recommended the design studies for 2 supersonic airliners, (one to fly at a speed of Mach 1.2, and the other at Mach 2.0).
1961
June and July:
During June and July the first discussions between The British Aircraft Corporation and Sud Aviation took place in Weybridge (England) and Paris (France).
1962
September:
French President Charles de Gaulle made a plea for Britain and France to co-operate in building a civil aircraft to concentrate on speed rather than increased passenger capacity, and he wanted this aircraft to fly at supersonic speed. The aircraft would need to be built using both the countries aircraft industries as the building of such an aircraft would be too expensive for Britain or France to fund alone.
October:
An Anglo – French Mach 2.2 airliner specification was published.
29th November:
British Minister of Aviation Julian Amery and French ambassador Jouffroy de Coursel signed a draft treaty for collaboration in the building of a supersonic aircraft. The treaty stipulated that Great Britain and France “must in all aspects of the project make an equal contribution regarding both the costs to be taken on and the work to be carried out, and to share equally proceeds from sales”. The building of this aircraft was entrusted to four companies, The British Aircraft Corporation (Britain) and Sud Aviation (France) were to be responsible for building the airframe, and the Olympus 593 jet engines would be manufactured by Bristol Siddeley (Britain) and SNECMA (France).
1963
13th January:
French President de Gaulle during a speech makes use of the word “Concorde” with reference to the Anglo – French supersonic aircraft project.
3rd June:
Pan American Airlines signed sales options to buy six of the aircraft. The company announced these options on 4th June.
5th June:
US President Kennedy announced he was to back the development of a US supersonic airliner.
24th October:
In Bristol, British and French journalists were shown an experimental model of the Anglo – French “Concord” (no “e”).
1964
1st March:
No special company to build the aircraft had been formed. Instead a management structure had been created of officials from the two governments, BAC and Aerospatiale (the two companies now to build the airframe), and Rolls Royce and SNECMA (the two companies now to build the Olympus 593 jet engines). All these companies were now signing hundreds of contracts with suppliers from British, French and US companies.
1st May:
At Bristol the British Aircraft Corporation’s experimental “mini concord”, designated “BAC 221″ made its first flight. Its testing was carried out in the Bordeaux region in southern France as the weather was more suitable in this region than in England, and the sparsely populated area would be more suited to the frequent sonic booms.
19th November:
With Britain having had a general election, the new Labour government announced Britain’s withdrawal from the Concord project.
1965
20th January:
Britain’s new Labour government announced that Britain would not, after all, withdraw from the Concord project.
April:
The first metal was cut for the Concord prototypes.
May:
The pre-production design was announced.
11th September:
Work commenced on the airframe at the British Aircraft Corporation’s division at Filton on Britain’s 40% share of the airframe, the other 60% being the responsibility of the French. Although the agreement was for a 50/50 share in the production of the entire aircraft, Britain had a bigger share in production of the Olympus 593 jet engine than France.
1966
March:
A 16 ton centre fuselage and wing section was delivered to CEAT, Toulouse, France for static and thermal testing.
April:
The final assembly of the French prototype 001 began at Toulouse.
June:
The Concord flight simulator at Toulouse was commissioned, and a complete Olympus 593 engine and variable geometry exhaust assembly was first testbed run at Melun-Villaroche, France.
August:
The final assembly of the British prototype 002 began at Filton.
9th September:
At Bristol, flight tests began using a RAF Vulcan bomber with the Rolls Royce / SNECMA Olympus 593 jet engine attached to its underside. Due to the Vulcan’s limitations the tests were limited to a speed of Mach 0.98.
October:
The Olympus 593 engine, on test at Bristol achieved 35,190 lb. of thrust, which exceeded the ‘Stage 1′ brochure requirements.
December:
A 70-foot fuselage and nose section was delivered to the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough for fatigue testing.
1967
During 1967 the design for the pre-production (01 and 02) aircraft was revised to reduce drag, a new nose and visor were designed and the rear fuselage was lengthened.
February:
At Filton a full scale Concord interior mock-up was presented to customer airlines.
April:
The first test run in a high altitude chamber, of a complete Olympus 593 engine took place at Saclay, France.
May:
Concorde sales options reached a total of 74 aircraft from 16 airlines.
August:
Concorde 001 underwent resonance testing at Toulouse.
11th December:
In Toulouse, with over 1,100 guests present, the first prototype Concorde (French spelling) was ceremonially rolled out. The aircraft was called Concorde 001. With the British Concord prototype almost complete, British technology minister Anthony Wedgwood Benn announced at Toulouse that from now on the British aircraft would also be called Concorde. The “e”, he said, stood for “excellence, England, Europe and entente”. It was said the overall shape, aerodynamics, flight controls, propulsion and auxiliary systems made Concorde a generation ahead of any other form of civil transport.
1968
January:
The Vulcan flying testbed logged 100 hours, and the variable geometry exhaust assembly for the Olympus 593 engine was cleared at Melun-Villaroche for flight in the Concorde prototypes.
February:
The British government announced the provision of £125 million loan to launch the production of Concorde aircraft and engines.
March:
Concorde 001 underwent preliminary engine testing at Toulouse.
August:
Concorde 001 underwent taxi trials at Toulouse.
19th September:
Registered as G-BSST, Concorde 002 (the first aircraft assembled in Britain) was rolled out from the so-called Brabazon hangar at the British Aircraft Corporation’s plant at Filton, Bristol. The aircraft was fully painted and could possibly fly within the next few weeks. Also visible in the Brabazon hangar, nearing completion was the first pre-production aircraft Concorde 01. Registered as G-AXDN the aircraft incorporated modifications from the prototype aircraft, these being a new “droop-snoot” nose, a fully transparent visor and a lengthened fuselage from the original 184 feet to 193 feet, although the production type aircraft would be lengthened still to 204 feet.
December:
The Olympus 593 engine ground testing reached 5,000 hours.
31st December:
The first supersonic airliner to fly, the Tupolev Tu-144 took off for the first time from a runway to the side of the factory where it was built in Zhukovski, USSR. Due to its resemblance to Concorde it was nicknamed “Concordski” by the West.
1969
March:
Government authority was given for 9 Concorde airframes to be built; 2 prototypes; 2 pre-production types; 2 ground test airframes; and 3 production type aircraft.
2nd March:
Concorde prototype 001, registered as F-WTSS, was now packed with ten tons of test instruments. Its first flight from Toulouse had been delayed for several days due to bad weather. At 15:40 hrs, captained by chief test pilot Andre Turcat, Concorde 001 started its first take off run, with afterburners lit, the four Olympus 593 engines briskly accelerated the aircraft, and after 4,700 feet of runway and at a speed of 205 knots captain Turcat, flying manually throughout, rotated 001. The aircraft climbed steeply away accompanied by two chase aircraft, one taking film and the other to serve the calibration of Concorde’s airspeed indication systems. For this historic flight the landing gear was left in the down position and the “droop-snoot” nose left lowered. Accompanying Andre Turcat that day was copilot Jaques Guignard, and engineer observers Henri Perrier and Michel Retif. At 16:08 hrs Concorde 001 made a perfect landing.
9th April:
Concorde 002 (G-BSST) made its first flight from Filton. Concorde 002’s crew for that flight was chief test pilot for commercial aircraft BAC, Brian Trubshaw; co-pilot John Cochrane; and Brian Watts the engineer observer. After carrying out the specified test items G-BSST made its approach to RAF Fairford that had been equipped as the main Concorde flight test centre. With both radar altimeters failed, and the crew being 35 feet above the landing gear, Brian Trubshaw made an impeccable landing.
29th May:
Before going on display at the Paris air show, Concorde 001 (F-WTSS) made a low level flight over the city.
June:
At the Paris air show both prototype aircraft (001(F-WTSS) and 002(G-BSST)) made their first public appearance together.
July:
The annular combustion system design, to remove exhaust smoke for all subsequent aircraft was specified.
1st October:
Concorde 001 (F-WTSS) on its 45th test flight exceeded Mach 1 for the first time. At an altitude of 36,000 feet and 75 miles from Toulouse it held Mach 1.05 for 9 minutes from 11:29 hrs. From now on both Concorde prototypes were to proceed up the Mach scale during flight tests.
8th November:
Pilots from BOAC, Air France, Pan Am and TWA took turns at the controls of Concorde 001 (F-WTSS).
12th November:
Concorde made its first night time landing.
December:
Government authority was given for 3 more production type aircraft (204, 205, and 206).
1970
February:
The Olympus 593 engines made the longest single test run, it ran continuously for 300 hours, which was the equivalent of nearly 100 Trans-Atlantic Concorde flights.
25th March:
Concorde 002 (G-BSST) flew for the first time at Mach1.
May:
A new design Thrust Reverser Aft (TRA) engine nozzle was specified to improve weight, aerodynamic and noise qualities for production type Concorde’s.
1st September:
Concorde 002 (G-BSST) made an appearance at the SBAC show at Farnborough.
13th September:
Concorde 002 (G-BSST) landed at London’s Heathrow airport, which caused complaints from local residents about the noise.
4th November:
Concorde 001 (F-WTSS) reached Mach 2.
12th November:
Concorde 002 (G-BSST) reached Mach 2.
1971
January:
Between Concorde 001 (F-WTSS) and 002 (G-BSST) the total numbers of supersonic flights reached 100.
24th March:
US congress abandoned the US supersonic transport programme.
April:
Government authority was given for another 4 production type aircraft (207, 208, 209, and 210).
13th May:
Concorde 001 (F-WTSS) made its first automatic landing.
25th May:
Concorde 001 (F-WTSS) appears at the Paris air show and then flew on to Dakar, and completed the 2,500 mile journey in 2 hrs 7 minutes.
June:
The total Concorde flight time reached 500 hrs, and the bench and flight development engine testing reached 10,000 hours.
August:
During the month of August the combined flights at Mach 2 totalled 100.
18th September:
Concorde 001 (F-WTSS) arrived back in Toulouse having completed a two week tour of South America. The tour started with Concorde 001 making its first transatlantic flight. Concorde arrived in Rio de Janeiro via the Cape Verde islands, Cayenne and Sao Paolo, where it was the highlight of the ‘France 71′ exhibition and made several demonstration flights. During the tour, Concorde 001 flew for a total of 29 hrs 52 minutes, of which 13 hrs 30 minutes were at supersonic speed, 9 hrs 21 minutes of them at Mach 2.
20th September:
Registered G-AXDN, Concorde 01, the first pre-production aircraft was rolled out at Filton.
14th December:
The US Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) announced that Concorde was within American airport noise limits.
17th December:
Concorde 01 (G-AXDN) the first pre-production aircraft made its first flight from Filton to Fairford.
21st December:
All the 3 flying Concorde’s (001, 002, 01) were simultaneously on test flights.
22nd December:
The pricing formula for Concorde customer airlines was announced in the British Parliament.
1972
6th January:
All 3 Concorde’s (001, 002, and 01) were together at Fairford.
February:
Concorde 02 (F-WTSA) was structurally complete at Toulouse.
7th February:
Concorde 002 (G-BSST) flew with the production type undercarriage.
12th February:
Concorde 01 (G-AXDN) flew at supersonic speed for the first time.
13th April:
Government authority was given for another 6 production type aircraft (211, 212, 213, 214, 215, and 216).
April:
The first Olympus 593 Mk 602 engine for Concorde 02 (F-WTSA) was delivered to Toulouse, and the total Olympus 593 engine running time had exceeded 20,000 hours.
22nd and 23rd April:
Concorde 002 (G-BSST) made its first appearance in Germany at the Hanover Air Show.
3rd May:
Concorde 001 (F-WTSS) flew from Toulouse to Tangier.
18th May:
Concorde’s 001, 002, 01 (F-WTSS, G-BSST, G-AXDN) reached 1000 flying hours.
25th May:
BOAC announced its intention to order 5 Concorde aircraft.
2nd June:
Concorde 002 (G-BSST) left Fairford and began a 45,000 mile sales demonstration tour of 12 countries in the Far East and Australia.
1st July:
On time, Concorde 002 (G-BSST) returned to London Heathrow having completed its sales demonstration tour of the Far East and Australia.
24th July:
China signed a preliminary agreement to purchase 2 Concorde aircraft.
28th July:
BOAC ordered 5 aircraft, and Air France ordered 4.
10th August:
Concorde 01 (G-AXDN) returned to Filton for a ground programme to bring it up to near production standard, notably the installation of the Olympus 593 Mk 602 engines.
28th August:
China signed another preliminary agreement for a 3rd aircraft.
4th – 10th September:
Concorde 002 (G-BSST) appeared daily in the flying display at the SBAC Farnborough Show and made ’show the people’ flights to several areas of the UK.
14th September:
Government approval was given for the procurement of advance materials for 6 more production type aircraft (217, 218, 219, 220, 221, and 222).
28th September:
Pre-production type Concorde 02 (F-WTSA) was rolled out at Toulouse.
5th October:
A preliminary purchase agreement was signed by Iran Air for 2 aircraft with a 3rd on option.
26th October:
United Air Lines opted not to take up the options it had for 6 aircraft which was due to expire in February 1973.
11th December:
The British government approved a Bill to raise the production loan from £125 million, made in February 1968, to £350 million.
1973
10th January:
Concorde 02 (F-WTSA) made its first flight from Toulouse.
22nd January:
Concorde prototype 002 (G-BSST) left Fairford and flew to Jan Smuts Airport at Johannesburg, South Africa and carried out ‘hot and high’ airfield performance trials.
31st January: TWA and Pan Am decided not to take up their options of the Concorde aircraft.
20th February:
Concorde 002 (G-BSST) successfully completed the ‘hot and high’ performance trials and demonstrations in South Africa.
23rd February:
Concorde 02 (F-WTSA) made a 3,728 mile non-stop return flight from Toulouse to Iceland, equivalent to Paris – New York, in 3 hrs 27 minutes, of which 2 hrs 9 minutes were at Mach 2.
24th February:
Concorde 002 (G-BSST) returned from South Africa to Fairford.
3rd March:
Concorde 02 (F-WTSA) made a 3,900 mile return flight from Toulouse to West Africa, equivalent to Frankfurt – New York, in 3 hrs 38 minutes.
15th March:
Concorde 01 (G-AXDN) returned from Filton to Fairford after its major modification programme.
29th March:
Continental Airlines decided not to take up its options for 3 aircraft.
June:
Concorde’s 001 and 002 (F-WTSS and G-BSST) made high altitude sampling flights, in support of the ‘international research programme’, to improve the knowledge of the stratosphere.
3rd June:
Whilst appearing at the Paris Air Show the Soviet Tupolev Tu-144 crashed into the northern Paris suburb of Goussainville, killing 14 people, all 6 aboard the aircraft and 8 people on the ground. The pilot of the Tu-144, M V Kuzlov, appeared to pull up in order to avoid a Mirage fighter, then dive and pull up again. During the last manoeuvre the aircraft lost a wing and broke apart.
30th June:
A solar eclipse, which scientists predicted would be the longest for 1,000 years, was witnessed aboard Concorde 001 (F-WTSS) by scientists from Britain, France and USA on a flight from Las Palmas, Canaries to Fort Lamy, Chad. Concorde 001 flew at 55,000 feet and its speed made the solar eclipse visible to the scientists continuously for 80 minutes.
9th July:
Concorde 002 (G-BSST) began temperature and altitude accountability trials, 2,000 feet above sea level at Torrejon, near Madrid.
18th September:
Concorde 02 (F-WTSA) left Paris for the first visit by a Concorde to the US for the opening of the Dallas-Fort Worth airport, visiting Las Palmas and Caracus en route.
20th September:
Concorde 02 (F-WTSA) made its first visit to America. Its visit was for the opening of the Dallas-Fort Worth airport and to gain the trust of the US officials and the American public.
26th September:
Concorde 02 (F-WTSA), the second pre-production aircraft landed in Paris having broken the Washington – Paris record by completing the flight in 3 hrs 33 minutes on its return flight from visiting America.
19th October:
Concorde 001 (F-WTSS) was retired to the French Air Museum at Le Bourget Airport, having made 397 flights, covering 812 hours block time, of which 255 were at supersonic speeds.
6th December:
Concorde 201 (F-WTSB), the first production type aircraft made its first flight from Toulouse. It was airborne for 2 hrs 40 minutes and reached Mach 1.57.
1974
7th February:
Concorde 02 (F-WTSA) flew to Fairbanks, Alaska to carry out ‘cold soak’ tests at low temperatures.
13th February:
Concorde 202 (G-BBDG) the second production type Concorde made its first flight from Filton. On the 1hr 45 minutes flight to Fairford it reached supersonic speeds.
19th February:
Concorde 02 (F-WTSA) returned having satisfactorily completed its ‘cold soak’ tests at low temperatures in Fairbanks, Alaska.
5th June:
Concorde 02 (F-WTSA) made a 12,000 mile return trip from Paris to Rio de Janeiro in 12 hrs 47 minutes.
17th June:
In Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Air France eager to promote the Concorde made a dramatic demonstration. At 08:22 (Eastern Standard Time) an Air France Concorde departed from Boston’s Logan airport and set course for Paris. The departure was timed to coincide with the departure of an Air France 747 from Paris Orly airport that was bound for Boston. At the point when both aircraft passed, with the Concorde flying at twice the altitude of the 747, the 747 had travelled 620 miles whilst the Concorde had travelled 2,400 miles. The Concorde landed at Paris Orly airport and spent 68 minutes on the ground and then departed for Boston. Concorde arrived at Boston 11 minutes ahead of the 747.
25th June:
The Concorde static test specimen was tested to destruction at CEAT, Toulouse.
19th July:
British Prime Minister Harold Wilson and French President Valery Giscard d’Estaing agreed to the continuation of the Concorde programme, but limited the airliner to a production of 16.
7th August:
With a crew headed by Brian Trubshaw, Concorde 202 (G-BBDG) left London’s Heathrow airport for a fast run to Tehran. Having offloaded some passengers aboard, Concorde 202 continued onto Bahrain for some ‘hot weather flight’ and ground handling testing.
27th August:
Concorde 202 (G-BBDG) made a demonstration tour of the Middle East, visiting Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Kuwait, Muscat and Dubai.
3rd September:
Concorde 202 (G-BBDG) left Bahrain for Singapore to carry out several days of runway response trials.
12th September:
The flight testing of Concorde reached 3,000 hours.
20th -28th October:
Concorde 02 (F-WTSA) made a tour of the American Pacific coast, visiting London, Gander, Mexico City, San Francisco, Anchorage, Los Angeles, Lima, Bogota, Caracus, Las Palmas and Paris.
21st October:
Concorde reached 1,000 hours of supersonic flight, amassed by 6 aircraft.
28th October:
Concorde 202 (G-BBDG) was based at Casablanca, Morocco, for certification testing. A series of take-off and noise measurements were made, as were cold air supersonic cruise checks made. Concorde 201 (F-WTSB) was also at Casablanca carrying out intake control work.
7th November:
Concorde 01 (G-AXDN) flew to Moses Lake, USA, via Bangor, Maine, to carry out natural de-icing trials and made the fastest ever civil crossing of the North Atlantic.
1975
31st January:
Concorde 203 (F-WTSC) made its first flight.
11th February:
The passenger emergency evacuation certificate trials were completed.
26th February:
Concorde 01 (G-AXDN) flew to Nairobi, Kenya via Cairo to carry out tropical icing trials.
27th February:
Concorde 204 (G-BOAC) made its first flight.
28th February:
Concorde 202 (G-BBDG) started trials at Madrid covering certification work on runway, take-off, climb, and landing performance.
3rd March:
Concorde 02 (F-WTSA) started several days of flooded runway tests.
15th April:
The first of a series of air conditioning system flights with full passenger loads began.
25th April:
Air France started a 2-week flight crew-training programme at Dakar.
6th May:
France and Brazil finalised an agreement permitting Air France Concorde’s to land in Brazil on scheduled flights.
28th May:
A special category Certificate of Airworthiness was awarded to Concorde 203 (F-WTSC), its registration was changed to F-BTSC. The aircraft then started ‘endurance’ flying, routes flown were, Paris – Dakar (1); Paris – Rio via Dakar (15 round trips); Paris – Caracas via Lisbon (12 round trips); Paris – Gander (4 round trips); North Atlantic – Mediterranean (6 sorties).
30th May:
Concorde 02 (F-WTSA) appeared in the static display and Concorde 201 (F-WTSB) in a flying programme at the Paris Air Show.
9th June:
Concorde 201 (F-WTSB) started its ‘endurance’ flying. Destinations covered were Keflavik, Bodo, Shannon, Tangier, Dakar and subsonic flights within France to Charles de Gaulle, Lyon, Marseilles, Lille and Nice.
19th June:
British Airways (formerly BOAC) started flight training at Fairford.
30th June:
The CAA awarded Concorde 204 (G-BOAC) its special category Certificate of Airworthiness.
7th July:
Concorde 204 (G-BOAC) started its ‘endurance’ flying. Destinations covered were London, Bahrain, Bombay, Kuala Lumper, Singapore, Melbourne, Beirut, Gander and Damascus.
2nd August:
Concorde 203 (F-BTSC) completed its ‘endurance’ flying.
1st September:
The fourth production type aircraft Concorde 204 (G-BOAC) made two return flights from London to Gander, Newfoundland, and became the first aircraft to make four Atlantic crossings in a single day.
4th October:
Concorde 02 (F-WTSA) flew from Paris to Montreal, via London and Ottawa for the opening of Montreal’s new International Airport, Mirabel.
9th October:
Concorde received its French Certificate of Airworthiness.
14th October:
British Airways and Air France opened reservations for Concorde scheduled services to Bahrain (BA) and Rio de Janeiro via Dakar (AF) with both services to start on 21st January 1976.
25th October:
Concorde 205 (F-BVFA) in the new Air France Concorde Livery made its first flight and reached Mach 2.
5th November:
Concorde 206 (G-BOAA) made its first flight and reached Mach 2.
5th December:
Concorde received its British Certificate of Airworthiness.
18th December:
In Washington DC the US House of Representatives voted by 199 to 198 to put a six month ban on Concorde landing in the USA. British Airways and Air France wanted to fly Concorde six times a day to John F Kennedy airport in New York and Dulles airport in Washington. Ohio Senator, Clarence J Brown said concerning the ban “I see no reason to oppose the SST (meaning Concorde) just because we were stupid enough to get out of the SST business ourselves”.
19th December:
Air France took delivery of their 1st Concorde F-BVFA (205).
26th December:
After the horrific crash of the Tupolev Tu-144 at The Paris Air Show in 1973 many doubted that the Tu-144 would be no more than a symbol of Iron Curtain technology. Aeroflot proved the doubters wrong when on this day, a Tu-144 departed Moscow’s Domodedovo airport for Alma Ata in Kazakhstan, 1,864 miles away, but was only carrying mail and freight.
1976
5th January:
The Concorde public hearing was held by the US Secretary of Transportation.
6th January:
Air France took delivery of their 2nd Concorde F-BTSC (203).
14th January:
British Airways took delivery of their 1st Concorde G-BOAA (206).
21st January:
British Airways began a London – Bahrain service using G-BOAA (206), and Air France a Paris – Rio service, via Dakar with F-BVFA (205).
4th February:
The US Secretary of Transportation, William Coleman approved British Airways and Air France to operate 2 Concorde services each per day to New York and 1 Concorde service each per day to Washington for a trial period of 16 months.
13th February:
British Airways took delivery of their 2nd Concorde G-BOAC (204).
4th March: Concorde G-BSST (002) was retired to the Fleet Air Arm Museum at the RN Air Station Yeovilton.
6th March:
Concorde 207 (F-BVFB) made its first flight from Toulouse.
11th March: The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey banned Concorde from landing at its airports.
8th April:
Air France took delivery of their 3rd Concorde F-BVFB (207).
9th April:
Air France extended its service to include a once a week Concorde service to Caracas, with a technical stop at Santa Maria in the Azores.
18th May:
Concorde 208 (G-BOAB) made its first flight from Filton, and reached Mach 2.05 at 63,000 feet.
20th May:
Concorde 02 (F-WTSA) was retired to Orly Airport in Paris.
24th May:
Transatlantic Services to Washington DC from London and Paris began with two Concorde’s, one in British Airways livery and the other in Air France livery landing at Dulles Airport, Washington. Before landing both aircraft simultaneously flew over the US capital and then made parallel approaches to Dulles Airport. Both aircraft touched down together, the British Concorde landed on runway 01L and the French Concorde on runway 01R. Special permission had been given by US Secretary of Transportation, William Coleman for these flights to take place.
9th July:
Concorde 209 (F-BVFC) made its first flight from Toulouse.
13th August:
Air France took delivery of their 4th Concorde F-BVFC (209).
25th August:
Concorde 210 (G-BOAD) made its first flight from Filton.
30th September:
British Airways took delivery of their 3rd Concorde G-BOAB (208).
2nd November:
Concorde F-BTSC (203) started a 30,000-mile demonstration tour of the Far East. Starting at Paris the aircraft visited Bahrain, Singapore, Manila, Hong Kong, Djakarta, and Seoul returning to London.
30th November:
The Concorde test flight base at Fairford was closed and the team returned to Filton.
6th December:
British Airways took delivery of their 4th Concorde G-BOAD (210).
8th December:
Air France returned Concorde F-BTSC (203) to Aerospatiale.
1977
21st January:
1 year in service, Concorde had carried over 45,000 revenue passengers and accumulated nearly 3,500,000 miles.
10th February:
Concorde 211 (F-BVFD) made its first flight from Toulouse. Braniff International filed interchange agreements for approval by US Civil Aeronautics Board to allow the airline to operate a 6 days a week Concorde service between Washington DC and Dallas using British Airways and Air France Concorde aircraft.
17th March:
Concorde 212 (G-BOAE) made its first flight from Filton.
26th March:
Air France took delivery of their 5th Concorde F-BVFD (211).
21st May:
To mark the 50th anniversary of Charles Lindbergh’s historic flight in ‘Spirit of St Louis’ from New York to Paris, a Concorde flew the exact same route, completing the flight in 3 hours 44 minutes compared to Lindbergh’s time of 33 hours 29 minutes.
20th July:
British Airways took delivery of their 5th Concorde G-BOAE (212).
20th August:
Concorde G-AXDN (01) was retired to the Duxford Aviation Museum.
19th October:
Concorde 201 (F-WTSB) made the first Concorde landing in New York from Toulouse for a series of proving flights.
26th October:
Singapore Airlines announced an agreement had been made with British Airways for a London to Singapore, via Bahrain Concorde service to operate 3 return services a week.
2nd November:
HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH Prince Philip returned to England from Barbados by Concorde.
22nd November:
After a long delay, due to protests over local noise, British Airways and Air France began services to New York from London and Paris.
9th December:
British Airways and Singapore Airlines began the London to Singapore via Bahrain service.
13th December:
The Malaysian government banned Concorde from its airspace, thus causing the London to Singapore service to be suspended after only 3 return flights.
1978
21st January:
2 years in service, Concorde had carried 129,000 passengers.
21st April:
Concorde 214 (G-BFKW) made its first flight from Filton.
26th June:
Concorde 213 (F-WJAM) made its first flight from Toulouse.
10th August:
British Airways carried its 100,000th Concorde passenger.
1st September:
British Airways and Air France Concorde’s were cleared to make Category III automatic landings in poor visibility down to 250 metres visual range at 15 feet above the runway.
4th September:
Concorde 213 (F-WJAM) was re-registered by Aerospatiale as F-BTSD.
18th September:
Air France took delivery of their 6th Concorde F-BTSD (213).
20th September:
Air France began a twice weekly Concorde service from Paris to Mexico City via Washington DC.
21st November:
1 year of Concorde service to New York and the FAA monitoring report found the Concorde noise to be in line with or less than they had predicted in an Environmental Impact Statement issued in November 1975.
10th December:
Concorde G-BOAA (206) arrived at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport and began proving flights to 16 south east and mid American cities.
26th December:
Concorde 215 (F-WJAN) made its first flight from Toulouse.
1979
January:
During January, 10 service Concorde aircraft (5 of British Airways & 5 of Air France) were re-registered for the subsonic service by Braniff (see 12th January). The 5 British Airways aircraft carried dual British and American registrations, and the Air France carried only American registrations.
9th January:
Concorde was awarded the US type certificate of airworthiness.
12th January:
A subsonic service was inaugurated by Braniff between Washington and Dallas (Fort Worth).
21st January:
3 years in service, close to 300,000 passengers carried and the Concorde’s in service accumulated 21,700 flying hours.
24th January:
The British Airways and Singapore service from London to Singapore via Bahrain resumed.
12th February:
Concorde flew to Kuwait with HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH Prince Philip aboard for the start of a three week Middle East royal tour.
20th April:
The last production Concorde 216 (G-BFKX) made its first flight at Filton and reached supersonic speed.
21st September:
The British and French governments announced that no more Concorde aircraft would be built, and all unsold aircraft and support engines were to be placed with British Airways and Air France.
14th December:
Concorde 216 (G-BFKX) was re-registered as G-N94AF / G-BOAF.
16th December:
A British Airways Concorde flew from London to New York in less than 3 hours, taking only 2 hours 59 minutes 36 seconds to complete the journey.
1980
21st January:
Concorde in service for 4 years.
6th February:
British Airways took delivery of their 6th Concorde G-BFKW (214).
1st June:
The Braniff International, Washington to Dallas Concorde service was discontinued due to a lack of passengers and an increase in fuel costs.
12th June:
Concorde 216 (G-BFKX) was re-registered as G-BOAF.
13th June:
British Airways took delivery of their 7th Concorde G-BOAF (216).
September:
By September all 10 Concorde’s used for the Braniff International Concorde Service from Washington to Dallas had been re-registered back to their previous registrations due to the service having been discontinued on 1st June 1980.
23rd October:
Concorde 215 (F-WJAN) was re-registered as F-BVFF and delivered to Air France, their 7th Concorde.
1st November:
The British Airways and Singapore Airlines Concorde service to Bahrain and Singapore was discontinued.
1981
21st January:
5 years in service, Concorde had carried 700,000 passengers, completed 15,800 flights and accumulated 50,000 flying hours.
9th February:
Concorde G-BFKW (214) was re-registered as G-BOAG.
14th April:
A report published by the Commons Industry and Trade Committee on Concorde expressed dissatisfaction with the cost figures and urged efforts to ensure the costs were shared equally with France.
24th May:
Concorde’s 5th anniversary of the first supersonic commercial flight to the USA.
July:
The Government replied to the report published on 14th April 1981, and described the committee’s criticisms of forecast as ‘unwarranted’.
11th September:
An Anglo – French ’summit’ meeting was held and the British and French governments commissioned a joint study on the future of Concorde.
29th October:
British and French ministers met in London and discussed Concorde. They proposed 3 options. 1, cancellation of the Concorde project; 2, a phased run down of the project; and 3, indefinite continuation.
2nd December:
The British government reviewed the relative costs of Concorde presented to them by the Department of Industry.
9th December:
The British Department of Industry ministers and officials gave evidence to the Commons Industry and Trade Committee over Concorde’s costs.
1982
21st January:
Concorde now in service for 6 years.
February:
The British Industry and Trade Committee reaffirmed their dissatisfaction with the cost aspects of Concorde.
31st March:
Air France discontinued their Concorde service to Caracus and Rio.
1st May:
A Concorde Division within British Airways was formed and was to be responsible for the profitability of their Concorde operations.
6th May:
British and French ministers met in Paris and discussed cost reducing, official’s report and cost sharing of Concorde.
August:
British Government Minister, Ian Sproat wrote to British Airways Chairman, Sir John King stating that the British Government will cease to fund Concorde’s British manufacturers Rolls-Royce and British Aerospace.
October:
British Airways Chairman, Sir John King replied to the Sproat letter (see August 1982) stating that British Airways would examine the possibility of funding the support costs of Concorde out of revenue.
29th October:
Air France discontinued their Concorde service to Washington, making New York their only Concorde service destination.
November:
British Airways set up a group to examine Concorde support costs.
1983
1st January:
The fastest Trans-Atlantic crossing from west to east, New York to London was made by Concorde in 2 hrs 56 minutes.
21st January:
Concorde in service for 7 years.
1984
21st January:
Concorde in service for 8 years.
27th March:
British Airways opened a Concorde route to Miami via Washington.
31st March:
After 18 months of negotiations the British Government involvement in the Concorde project became minimal and British Airways became responsible for funding Concorde’s British manufacturers.
11th September:
Concorde G-BOAB (208) made the distance record of 3,965 nautical miles (4,565 statue miles) on a flight from Washington to Nice.
16th November:
Concorde G-BOAB (208) started a Concorde charter service from London to Seattle via New York.
1985
Throughout 1985 Concorde inaugurated several routes within Europe for publicity, and to destinations within the Americas in conjunction with the Cunard Shipping Line.
21st January:
Concorde in service for 9 years.
13th February:
Concorde established a record time of 17 hrs 3 minutes on its first commercial service under charter from London to Sydney.
28th March:
Concorde under commercial charter from London to Cape Town established a record time of 8 hrs 8 minutes.
25th April:
Concorde G-BOAG (214) unveiled the new interior furnishings and exterior livery for the British Airways Concorde fleet. The aircraft had been out of service for a long period of time and much of its equipment had been removed and used in the other British Airways Concorde’s.
19th December:
Concorde G-BOAC (204) achieved the highest recorded ground speed in commercial service to date of 1,488 mph.
1986
21st January:
Concorde celebrated 10 years in commercial service, and had accumulated 71,000 supersonic flying hours.
5th April:
Concorde made its first charter flight to New Zealand and viewed Halley’s Comet over the Indian Ocean.
11th July:
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher made her first supersonic Concorde flight from London to Vancouver to visit ‘EXPO 86′.
8th – 23rd November:
Concorde made its first round the world charter flight. The total flying time amounted to 31 hrs 51 minutes. A special edition of the book The Concorde Story was commissioned by John Player to mark the event.
1987
January:
Concorde spearheaded the advertising campaign for the privatisation of British Airways.
21st January:
Concorde now in service for 11 years.
7th March:
Concorde made a 2nd round the world trip, which was organised by Goodwood Travel.
6th September:
Captained by Brian Walpole, Concorde set a new transatlantic record of 95 minutes between Hopedale, Newfoundland and the north-west Irish coast.
5th October:
Patrick Mannix of Reuters became British Airways 1,000,000th transatlantic scheduled Concorde passenger.
22nd November:
Concorde celebrated its 10th anniversary of operations into John F Kennedy International Airport, New York. Richard Noble, the land speed record holder set a new record by crossing the Atlantic 3 times in one day aboard Concorde.
12th December:
British Airways started a once weekly Concorde service to Barbados for the winter season.
1988
21st January:
Concorde in service for 12 years.
7th February:
Concorde G-BOAA (206) made a record flight from New York to London’s, Heathrow in 2 hrs 55 minutes 15 seconds.
April:
Concorde G-BOAA (206) became the 1st Concorde to undergo a 12,000 flying hours check. The structure was pronounced sound for service well into the 21st century.
May:
Concorde G-BBDG (202) moved into a purpose built hanger at Filton, where BA could access and work on the aircraft under cover, to strip her for spare parts to ensure they kept 7 aircraft serviceable.
15th June:
British Airways started a twice weekly Concorde service to Dallas until August.
December: British Airways Concorde service to Barbados resumed for the winter season.
1989
21st January:
Concorde now in service for 13 years.
2nd March:
Aerospatiale hosted a party to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Concorde’s first flight from Toulouse in 1969.
1st April:
Concorde G-BOAF (216) left London’s Heathrow on a supersonic circumnavigation charter to cover 38,343 miles.
12th April:
Concorde G-BOAF (216) whilst on its supersonic circumnavigation charter lost a section of rudder on a flight from Christchurch, New Zealand to Sydney, Australia. This explained the ‘thud’ and vibration the crew and passengers felt after take-off, as the aircraft was climbing through 43,000 feet and accelerating to Mach 2. After repairs were carried out Concorde G-BOAF (216) continued with its supersonic circumnavigation charter.
1990
January:
Goodwood Travel accumulated 34,153 charter passengers on Concorde.
21st January:
Concorde in service for 14 years.
6th April:
Concorde engineers received awards from Prince Michael of Kent.
14th April:
The New York to London record was taken by Concorde Captain Norman Britton by a time of 2 hrs 54 minutes 30 seconds.
5th May:
British Aerospace and Aerospatiale unveiled plans for a Concorde successor; British Airways was to make ‘more than usual interest’.
1st June:
Concorde travelled from Honolulu to Hong Kong in 6 hrs 30 minutes, compared to 13 hrs 10 minutes subsonic time.
6th June:
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, Concorde G-BOAA, captained by Captain W D Lowe flew Concorde in formation with a Spitfire over the White Cliff’s of Dover.
1st August:
Concorde F-BVFA (205) emerged from a hangar at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport, Paris having spent the past year undergoing a massive inspection and overhaul. Concorde F-BVFA (205) had accumulated 11,650 flying hours and covered 12,000,000 miles. The work began in Orly where the aircraft was stripped down to the bare metal, transferred to Roissy and painted khaki to prevent corrosion, then mounted on jacks and dismantled down to its basic skeleton. Every part was then X-rayed to discover any cracks before being re-assembled.
10th August: Concorde attended the diamond jubilee of Gatwick Airport.
1st September:
15,000 people watched the 1st landing of a chartered Concorde in Japan at the offshore airport of Omura.
7th September:
A model Concorde was installed at Heathrow Airports main entrance roundabout.
14th September:
Concorde appeared at the Farnborough Air Show.
30th November:
The British Airways twice weekly Concorde service to Barbados recommenced.
1991
January:
A 2nd British Airways Concorde rudder failed.
11th January:
It was announced the Concorde service from Washington to Miami was to be discontinued from 31st March 1991.
21st January:
Concorde in service for 15 years.
14th May:
Captained by British Airways Captain Lowe, Concorde flew HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH Prince Philip to Washington for the start of an official tour of USA.
7th June:
A new computerised Concorde flight-planning system was introduced.
12th July:
Concorde 101 (G-AXDN), the first pre-production type Concorde built and stored at Duxford was re-painted.
26th July:
Concorde attended the opening of Birmingham’s new Airport Terminal.
1992
21st January:
Concorde now in service for 16 years.
March:
It was announced that Concorde was to make a visit to Nigeria and South Africa.
21st March:
A British Airways Concorde nearing New York suffered a 3rd rudder failure.
15th May:
British Airways announced it was to replace the upper and lower rudders on all its 7 aircraft following the 3rd British Airways rudder failure in March of this year.
October:
Goodwood Travel chartered an Air France Concorde for a record supersonic circumnavigation time of 33 hrs 1 min.
11th November:
A RAF team pulled Concorde 440 yards for the ‘children in need’ charity.
18th December:
British Airways Barbados winter Concorde service recommenced with 1 extension at the end of March 1993 to Mexico.
1993
21st January:
Concorde in service for 17 years.
26th March:
British Airways Senior First Officer, Barbara Harmer became Concorde’s 1st female pilot.
21st May:
Concorde G-BOAF (216) became British Airways 1st of 7 aircraft to have a £1,000,000 internal and external refurbishment.
2nd July: Concorde Captain D C Rowland became British Airways Concorde business manager.
27th August:
Concorde was ‘human towed’ to raise money for British Airways Charity ‘Dreamflight’.
10th October:
British Airways made a special Concorde flight to Jeddah.
12th November:
British Airways Captain C Morris flew Concorde to Athens to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Greek association.
19th November:
Concorde G-BOAA (206) received the new £1,000,000 upper rudder, which was to be the solution to the previous rudder failure problem.
3rd December:
Concorde took part in the ‘fastest show on earth’ when the ‘Bee Gees’ aboard Concorde flew around the Bay of Biscay for the charity ‘children in need’.
1994
7th January:
Concorde flight BA001 from London Heathrow to New York’s JFK saw the introduction of the new British Airways Cabin Crew uniform.
21st January:
Concorde in service for 18 years.
2nd March:
The 25th anniversary of Concorde 001 (F-WTSS) first flight from Toulouse was celebrated.
August:
Cracks in the rear spar web structure of Concorde’s wing were found. The cracks turned out to be non-primary and were easily repaired. 3 outer windowpanes shattered at 57,000 feet and travelling at Mach 2, there was no loss of pressurisation in the cabin as the inner ply holds held firm. Replacement windows on Concorde were now to be double ply.
October:
The British Airways Concorde service to Washington was discontinued. An extra British Airways Concorde was based in New York to serve the growing US Concorde charter market. Richard Branson announced the possibilities of his company, Virgin Atlantic leasing Air France Concorde’s and crew. Concorde’s exhaust was analysed in flight near New Zealand.
1995
21st January:
Concorde now in service for 19 years.
29th May:
The British Concorde designer, Sir Archibald Russell CBE FRS, died at the age of 90.
15th August:
An Air France Concorde left New York for a world record circumnavigation flight.
September:
The Olympus 593 engine clocked up 500,000 hours of supersonic flight time.
25th September:
Via Dublin, Concorde carried the victorious European Ryder Cup team and their trophy home.
October:
An announcement was made that UK and French airworthiness authorities would decide in 1996 what modifications were necessary for Concorde to extend its life up to 8,500 Reference Flights.
1996
January:
The collision avoidance radar system which is essential for flights over the USA, was successfully fitted to Concorde, overcoming the problems of the aerial overheating at supersonic speeds.
21st January:
Concorde now in service for 20 years.
February:
Due to the excellent state of Concorde’s airframe, the UK and French airworthiness authorities ruled that, no modifications and only 6 changes to the Concorde maintenance schedule were required for the Life Extension Programme.
7th February:
British Airways Concorde Captain Leslie Scott broke the New York to London record with a time of 2 hrs 52 minutes 59 seconds.
March:
NASA completed tests on a synthetic vision landing system using video and infra-red sensors, enabling future SST aircraft not to have a ‘droop nose’.
2nd April:
Air France Concorde F-BTSD (213) and painted blue was unveiled at London’s Gatwick Airport to advertise Pepsi-Cola’s new can.
27th May:
Concorde G-BOAG (214) started its ‘major’ and refurbishment programme.
2nd June:
Concorde in formation with the RAF’s Red Arrows performed a fly past for the 50th anniversary of London’s Heathrow Airport.
8th August:
Sir Frank Whittle, the inventor of the jet engine died at the age of 89.
1997
Throughout the Year British Airways begins repainting its Concorde fleet in the new corporate identity. Concorde’s are giving the ‘Historic Chatham Dockyard Livery’
21st January:
Concorde now in service for 21 years.
1998
21st January:
Concorde in service for 22 years.
24th May:
British Airways Concorde G-BOAC suffers a separation of their No3 Left Elevon. This was an original part and suffered a similar failure to the rudder sections which failed in the late 80’s / mid 90’s
8th October:
British Airways Concorde G-BOAC suffers a failure of the lower rudder wedge on a flight to New York. This was a new part as fitted only 4 years earlier to all 7 aircraft.
1st July:
British Airways sent Concorde G-BOAB (208) to Nantes, France to fly home the England World Cup 98 team. The flight using the callsign ‘Concorde 5 3 Charlie’ landed at London’s Heathrow Airport at 16:54 hrs.
1999
21st January:
Concorde in service for 24 years.
May 1999:
British Airways unveil a new internal design for the fleet designed by Terrence Conran.
December:
G-BOAG is the last Concorde to be painted in the new BA livery
2000
23rd July:
British Airways Temporarily Grounds G-BOAE due to cracks being discovered in non-critical areas of the wings
25th July:
Air France Concorde F-BTSC crashes in Paris, due to Engine failure after a tyre burst, with the loss of 109 people on board and 4 on the ground.
2000
23rd July:
British Airways Temporarily Grounds G-BOAE due to cracks being discovered in non-critical areas of the wings
25th July:
Air France Concorde F-BTSC crashes in Paris, due to Engine failure after a tyre burst, with the loss of 109 people on board and 4 on the ground.
26th July:
British Airways re-start Concorde flights after the previous day’s accident
15th August:
British Airways withdraw Concorde services after hearing that the Certificate of Airworthiness is to be withdrawn on the following day. G-BOAC was taxing to the runway at Heathrow for take off to New York, when the news was passed to British Airways from the UK Civil Aviation Authority that the Certificate of Airworthiness was to be officially removed from the aircraft the following day. On hearing this news BA management ordered G-BOAC retuned to the stand and Concorde services were suspended.
16th August:
CAA and DGAC officially withdraw Concorde’s Certificate of Airworthiness
31st August:
French investigators (BEA) publish their first report into crash officially suggesting a tyre bust was at the heart of the accident.
September 7th:
An Anglo French working Group meets for first time to look at ways of returning Concorde to service
September 21st:
Air France fly home Concorde F-BVFC from New York, where it had been in Storage since Air France grounded their fleet after the accident.
December 12th:
French investigators (BEA) publish their 2nd report into crash confirming a burst tyre caused a fuel tank to rupture from the inside outwards when it was hit by debris. The Tyre was possibly punctured by a titanium strip that had fallen from a Continental Airlines DC10 after a bad repair to an engine.
December 15th:
Anglo French working group give go-ahead for modifications to start to return Concorde to service.
2001
Jan 2001: British Airways begin Modifications on Concorde G-BOAF that they hope will enable them to return the aircraft to service. These include fitting of Kevlar-rubber liners to the fuel tanks.
26th Jan:
Air France flies Concorde F-BVFB to Istres in the South of France to run tests to help understand the accident.
3rd Feb:
Air France Concorde F-BVFB flies back to Paris on Completion of tests.
11th April:
Air France fly Concorde F-BTSD on a test flight in and out of CDG, Paris, after is D check completion
17th April:
F-BTSD is flown to Istres for tests on newly developed Michelin tyres that would offer greater strength should they run over a sharp foreign object on the runway.
5th May:
F-BTSD returns to Paris’ Orly airport to visit the paint shop after the completion of the tyre tests.
30th May:
F-BTSD flies back to its base at CDG after being given a fresh coat of paint.
7th June:
Michelin announce that the tyres that were tested at Istres will be fitted to Concorde when it returns to service
19th June:
British Airways complete modifications of Concorde G-BOAF
20th June:
G-BOAE moves into the main Concorde hanger at Heathrow to start its Modification programme
4th July:
G-BOAF Performs a taxi test around Heathrow in preparation for a verification flight
17th July:
British Airways perform a Supersonic verification flight with Concorde G-BOAF. It is fitted with new tyres, Fuel tank liners and additional electrical shielding. The flight takes 3 hrs 20 minutes and lands safely at RAF Brize Norton. The fight proves to be successfully and the aircraft handles as expected with the modifications giving no un-expected effects.
20th July: G-BOAF follows a similar supersonic verification flight from RAF Brize Norton to Heathrow. These results of this flight provide similar results to the first verification flight paving the way forth airlines to re-apply for Concorde’s certificate of airworthiness
23rd July:
BEA publishes new report further confirming their findings and states that they nearly fully understand everything that went on during the accident. The working group meets on the same day and says that they will submit to the authorities their case for re-instatement of the CofA on August 15th 2001.
25th July:
Memorial services are held in Paris and the Gonesse crash site to mark the 1st anniversary of the accident. Many relatives of those killed along with Air France staff and locals attend.
16th August:
Concorde’s manufacturers submit information to Aviation authorities in UK and France to apply for re-certification of aircraft that have been through the modification programme
24th August:
Air France flies their first modified Concorde F-BVFB on a supersonic verification flight. It reaches a top speed of just over Mach1
27th August:
Air France fly Concorde F-BVFB on another on a supersonic verification flight where it reaches Concorde’s normal cruising speed of around Mach 2.0 during the three and an half hour flight
5th September:
Certificate of Airworthiness is returned to modified Concorde’s by the British CAA and French DGAC, who issued a set of airworthiness directives that when carried out will lead to the certificates of airworthiness being retuned individually to the 12 remaining Concorde’s.
11th September:
Concorde 216 (G-BOAF) completes first Operational Assessment flight and was the first Concorde aircraft to carry passengers since being given back its Certificate of Airworthiness
28th September:
Concorde 212 (G-BOAE) completes a 3hour supersonic verification flight after the completion of its modification programme.
5th October:
Concorde 216 (G-BOAF) completes second Operational Assessment flight. The flight was a 3hr 30min trip in and out of Heathrow towards the Bay of Biscay.
16th October:
Concorde Tickets go on sale after is announced that services will re-start on November 7th 2001.
Ticket sales go very well with some flights sold out in a matter of days.
15th October:
Concorde 207 (F-BVFB) completes first, mainly subsonic, verification flight from Paris after the modification work is completed. A few days later the aircraft flies at Mach 2.0 during a second flight
19th October:
Concorde 214 (G-BOAG) is the third British Airways Concorde to fly after the completion of her modifications
22nd October:
British Airways Concorde G-BOAF, Completes final operational assessment flight to New York and back. This is the first flight to New York since the British and French fleets were grounded after the accident in Paris in 2000 and paves the way for the resumption of full passenger services.
29th October:
Air France Concorde F-BVFB, Completes and operational assessment flight, to New York and back. This is the first Air France flight to depart to New York the accident the previous year.
7th Nov:
Air France and British Airways re-start Concorde services to New York.
Air France Concorde F-BTSD, as Flight AF002, departs Paris CDG at 10:30 Paris time arriving at New York at 8:20 EST
British Airways Concorde G-BOAE departs Heathrow Terminal 4, as BA001, at 10:30 UK local time and it similarly arrives in New York at 9:10 EST.
Later the same day British Prime Minister Tony Blair flies to Washington DC on board Concorde G-BOAF to meet the US president George W. Bush.
1st December:
British Airways re-start the Saturday only, BA273/4, services to Barbados. These services have become a regular part of the BA winter timetable since they were introduced in 1987. Concorde G-BOAF flies the re-launch service.
19th December:
British Airways offer for return Concorde seats for £2002 to celebrate the New Year 2002 sells out in 3 minutes.
2002
12th Jan:
The French accident investigators, The BEA, Publish their final report into the July 2000 accident. The investigators concluded that a tire burst on Concorde F-BTSC after running over the debris on the runway. The explosion sent rubber pieces hurtling toward fuel tanks, causing a fuel leak and fire that brought the plane down. Several criticisms were made of shortcomings at Air France and in their operating procedures.
29th Jan:
Concorde 210 (G-BOAD) completes a 3hour supersonic verification flight after the competion of its modification programme.
10th Feb:
British Airways Concorde G-BOAD, after a final check flight on Feb 8th, flies the BA001 service from Heathrow to New York.
1st April:
British Airways, now with 4 serviceable aircraft, decide that they can overnight an aircraft in New York to allow an earlier and more popular departure time for the BA002. The BA002 now arrives in London at 17:25 rather than 21:00.
13th April 2002:
After a successful summer re-launch season, the Saturday Barbados flights come to an end. The final BA273/2 flight for the season was flown by Concorde G-BOAG.
20th April:
With no Barbados flights being required, BA re-starts the Saturday BA001/2 services between London and New York.
May:
Air France begins work on F-BVFF’s 12,000 hr, 18 month Major check. This is 13th and last of the production Concorde’s to go through this check. Only F-BVFD did not go through the check as it was retired after only flying 5,821 hrs
4th June:
British Airways Concorde G-BOAD flies in formation with the RAF Red Arrows to celebrate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee.
11th July:
BA Concorde G-BOAC Back in the air after 23 months on the ground. ‘Alpha Charlie’ was the 5th BA aircraft to be modified and was the aircraft that was taxing to the runway at Heathrow for take off to New York on August 15th 2000, when the news was came through that the Certificate of Airworthiness was to be withdrawn from the aircraft the following day.
23rd July:
G-BOAC files the BA001/2 return service to New York that signifies its return to passenger service. This aircraft had completed a 2nd air test on the 16th of June.
25th August:
Duxford celebrates 25th anniversary of the arrival of Concorde G-AXDN, with a special anniversary reunion where people who had been involved in the aircraft over its life span both as a development aircraft and as a museum piece could come together. Many of the flight test crews were present.
22nd November:
British Airways and Air France quietly celebrate the 25th anniversary of the start of services to New York by Concorde.
27th November:
En route to New York British Airways Concorde G-BOAE suffers the airlines 5th rudder failure. Again one of the new lower rudders that were put on the fleet in the early 90s failed. Many suspects a flaw in the new design as the rudder had been check only a few flights before.
2003
18th Feb:
Air France Concorde F-BTSD diverts to Halifax, Nova Scotia. A fuel leak in the No3 engine causes it to be shut down, with the captain subsequently declaring an emergency and diverting to Halifax. The aircraft reportedly lands with only the minimum level of fuel remaining.
25th Feb:
An Air France Concorde suffers its first rudder delaminating FAA inspectors found that a 1 1/2-foot (50-centimeter) part of the lower rudder’s bottom wedge and a 4-foot (1.3-meter) piece of the lower rudders upper wedge were missing on F-BVFA. The hours on this rudder matched the same time frame when BA started to experience failures in the late1980’s
2nd March:
Sir George Edward Dies, Aged 94. Sir George was one of the Key players in the Concorde project and as chairman of the UK manufacturer, BAC, he was the first person who was not a member of the flight test crews to fly on board the aircraft in 1969……complete with parachute!
10th April:
British Airways and Air France make a simultaneous announcement that Concorde will make its last flight scheduled passenger flight at the end of October, ending nearly 30 years of supersonic travel.
British Airways said that its decision had been made for commercial reasons with passenger revenue falling steadily against a backdrop of rising maintenance costs for the aircraft. Air France later say they will stop on May31st.
11th April:
Virgin Atlantic founder Richard Branson announces that his airline was interested in buying British Airways’ Concorde fleet for just £1 per aircraft
Branson, said in a statement he would be asking BA for the full operation figures for its fleet of seven Concorde to see if he could keep the aircraft airborne at a profit, with their greater marketing skills and lower cost base.
31st May:
Air France conclude Concorde passenger services with a the AF001 flight form New York (F-BTSD), and a round the Bay of Biscay Charter (F-BVFB)
12th June:
Concorde 205 (F-BVFA) makes its final flight into the Smithsonian’s new Air and Space museum at Washington Dulles airport
14th June:
Air France Concorde F-BTSD (213) is retired to the Air and Space museum at Le Bourget
24th June:
Concorde 207 (F-BVFB) lands for the final time at Karlsruhe-Baden–Baden Airpark, in South West Germany, on its way to the Auto & Technik Museum, Sinsheim.
27th June:
Air France conclude Concorde operations when F-BVFC (209) is retired to the Airbus plant at Toulouse, where the French aircraft were constructed.
21st July:
After a 2 day journey by river barge and road, through south west Germany, Air France Concorde F-BVFB, reaches its final resting place at the Sinsheim Auto & Technik Museum.
26th July:
BA Concorde G-BOAD kicks off the final ever summer Barbados season. On returning the Heathrow the aircraft crew issue a PAN and then a Mayday after running low on fuel due to a go-around and bad weather.
30th August:
Capt Les Brodie commands Concorde G-BOAC as it leave Barbados, with BA completing the final ever scheduled supersonic service to the Caribbean island. Alpha-Charlie was the first Concorde to visit the island, in 1977, to pick up the Queen at the end of her Jubilee tour.
1st October:
G-BOAG visited Toronto at the start of the mini North American cities farewell tour.
8th October 2003:
Concorde G-BOAD, flying as BA97 visits Boston
14thOctober:
G-BOAG wrapped up the US tour with a visit to Washington Dulles, the aircraft would fly back on the 15th, after positioning to New York, as the final ever BA004 flown by Concorde
20th October:
UK farewell tour starts with G-BOAC visiting Birmingham, returning the LHR that evening
21st October:
G-BOAC heads to Belfast for one final time
22nd October:
Manchester is next on the itinery for the UK farewell tour, with G-BOAG being flown by Capt Adrian Thompson and SFO Mark Jealous
23rd October:
G-BOAC is back on tour duties flying a day return to Cardiff
24th October:
Concorde final day in Commercial service
G-BOAE with Capt Andy Baillie and Capt Les Brodie flies a return flight from Heathrow to Edinburgh
G-BOAF Flown by Capt Paul Douglas, flies Concorde’s final round the bay trip in and out of Heathrow
G-BOAG operates the final BA002, with chief Concorde pilot Mike Bannister and SFO Jonathan Napier at the helm
The aircraft land one after the other at Heathrow shortly after 4pm – G-BOAE first followed by G-BOAF and G-BOAG.
30th October:
BA announces the final destinations of their now retired Concorde fleet.
31st October:
G-BOAC is retired to Manchester Airport, in an uneventful subsonic hop that takes less than 20 minutes
3rd November:
G-BOAG heads to New York, en-route to Seattle
5th November:
G-BOAG is retired to Museum of flight in Seattle after a record breaking flight from New York, flown supersonically over Northern Canada
10th November:
G-BOAD Flies from Heathrow to New York, from where she will be barged to the intrepid museum on the Hudson River
17th November:
G-BOAE heads out to Barbados (WHY!!!)
26th November:
Final ever Flight of Concorde: G-BOAF departed from Heathrow shortly after 11am, heading round the Bay of Biscay for one final time. Alpha-Foxtrot flies over Bristol before returning to place of her birth, Filton Airfileld, landing at 1pm under the command of Capt Les Brodie. The last Concorde build and the last to fly is also the final Concorde ever to fly.