Concerns over the future of Concorde G-BOAF at Filton!
This page will be updated as and when any new information arrives
LATEST NEWS FROM FILTON
September 5th 2010
SCG held a public meeting at Filton Leisure Centre, Elm Park, Filton yesterday evening. This meeting was held as part of the emergency campaign, SOS: Save Our Speedbird, and concerned the imminent closure of the Concorde at Filton Museum.
Representatives from the Concorde Trust, Airbus, British Airways were formally invited, but failed to turn up. Local MP Jack Lopresti attended and played a key role in the meeting.
The Concorde Trust
What have they spent £350,000 on?
Why do they want the other £400,000 for?
It’s the money raised by our visits to pay for the new Filton BAC heritage centre!
They have made no efforts to raise any funds, and have no plans to do so at this time!
Heritage Concorde challenges the Trust to be upfront concerning this matter, where has our funds, raised by our visits, in support of the heritage centre gone????????
All Concorde Fans around the world await your answer!
Concorde G-BOAF looking amazing at Filton
The real facts from Filton
Airbus UK are the official guardian’s of G-BOAF under contract from British Airways, this contract runs out in 2013
The Bristol Aero Collection carries out the tours at Filton
The contract between Airbus UK and British Airways states that they must maintain the airframe and allow limited public viewing to take place.
Airbus does send two engineers to work on this Concorde every Monday, but it’s been said that they enjoy spending their time in their little workshop watching TV, and therefore no maintenance has been carried out for a while, Heritage Concorde can’t confirm this report as fact, as its only hearsay, but from a good source. During Mondays the volunteers have now been banned from the site by Airbus, since they voiced their concern over the lack of maintenance being carried out during this time.
The real problems for the volunteers have occurred since a disabled man fell 15 feet to the ground from the specially constructed walkway to the Aircraft, it was just a very sad accident that ended in the very worse possible situation, as the man sadly died that day. But I don’t believe that it was the fault of the volunteers or really Airbus, but the court fined both following this and stated that if this happened again the next fine could be 1% of the turn over of the company, we are talking serious money here. Since then health and safety has been working overtime at Filton, which to some point you can understand, and Airbus have been treating Concorde at Filton in a way that has been hard to believe and with a total lack of communication
Airbus was also under the understanding that Concorde G-BOAF would be gone within three years and placed on display inside her new hangar at Cribs causeway, nearly seven years later she remains on the site. There are also reports that BAe Systems is also selling the site, and add to this that GKN have also moved to the Filton site due to joint MOD work with Airbus. The ‘Concorde Trust’ have done nothing but totally waste money to the sum of £350,000. This seems to have been wasted on very high wages in the area of £87,000 per year, and other fees including various consultants and surveys for the proposed options for a ‘home’ for the aircraft, and it seems that there are now also claims that they are bullying the trustees of the Aero Collection to hand over the £400,000 + raised from your visits and support, this money of course was planned to be used towards the cost of the new heritage centre (in which Concorde was to be the star exhibit). At this point the real situation starts to become clear. It also seems that the Concorde Trust would like to have a hangar for Concorde only, without the Bristol Aero Collection, and their volunteers, of course, they are only claims and we await a statement from the Concorde Trust concerning this matter. To date (August 2010) there has been no such statement forthcoming. The Bristol Aero Collection are fighting for Concorde, they will not allow anymore money to be wasted, and the £400,000 that they hold is for the new heritage centre and not to pay the wages and fees built up by the ‘Concorde Trust’.
Check this link to see the accounts of the Concorde Trust – CLICK HERE!
The Bristol Aero Collection and their volunteers are doing a super job at Filton, it’s the best tour of any Concorde and she looks like she has just arrived from Heathrow. This group who are looking after Concorde G-BOAF at Filton are in a state of shock , they have stated that Airbus have totally shafted the Aero Collection, in so much that they have been led down the garden path for the last few years. There is nothing wrong with the state of the airframe of Alpha Fox,its been said that Airbus SAS are claiming that its leading edges are wet and therefore needs extensive maintenance to dry out ???,if so then this is total rubbish, Airbus put in a £30K dehumidifier system into the aircraft about 3 years ago which works far too well!, and they have to ‘add’ moisture to the interior now and then to balance the humidity!!..
Airbus plans to store the aircraft in the Brabazon Hangar stating that its due to much needed maintenance, some at Filton believe this to be untrue and that Airbus just want it out of sight, and out of mind, and then who knows…?
The last time she went into storage in this hangar during 2003, Airbus staff remove items such as seat belts and the fight engineer’s hat, what would happen to her this time?
All tours during 2010 are either sold out or nearly sold out, add to this that there is only one other 2003 in service Concorde within the UK on display, G-BOAC at Manchester, which is starting to look worse for wear due to damage caused by visits, so the importance to keep Foxy on display increases.
Stephen de Sausmarez, owner of Heritage Concorde has spoken to BA at their AGM in London on the 13th July 2010. During the conversation and in front of the shareholders, BA confirmed that the aircraft will at some point go back on display at Filton, but at this point no date has been set, and of course the visitor centre would of already been destroyed.
At the BAC 100 years celebration back in February there was NO mention of Concorde anywhere on site, no photos memorabilia etc NOTHING!
Before all the “so called experts who claim to know what is going on” get their two penneth in, this is not sour grapes just because BAC will no longer be involved with this magnificent aircraft after September 2010.
The harsh reality is Airbus have wanted Concorde offsite since the accident shortly after it opened, again if true I can see their point.
The old guard at Airbus like Ian Gray, who were so much of a part of bringing 216 home in 2003, have long gone.
Hasn’t the penny dropped yet, when you see volunteers “wing walking” at Brooklands to clean Delta Golf, soldering in the cockpit during tours etc etc, yet at Filton where she was designed, put together, first flew from, you can’t even open the fuel access points underneath the aircraft to show people on tours, as Airbus H&S have CCTV pointed at every part of the plane, and would come down on us like a tonne of bricks if we did!
BA came to Filton to check over the airframe.
Oh and before the experts start on this, Concorde at Filton and BAC have already spoken with ex BA Concorde engineering members like Denis Morris, Claude Freeman etc
In over 2 years all they have managed to do is spend all the money that was raised from the coming home video that was sold through the BBC and the Bristol Evening Post. Do you know how much funding, and interested support that they have managed to drummed up ????
NOTHING!
These are the people that Airbus want to run the project, so what future does Foxy have???
What can you do to save Concorde?
Well your role is of great importance, so it’s very important to do something and really save Concorde!
Heritage Concorde would like every Concorde fan around the world to write/ call your MP, Airbus and the press and also the owners of this aircraft British Airways PLC. Don’t be fooled your role is of great importance, so do something!Filton
Airbus UK
New Filton House
Filton, Bristol BS99 7AR
UK
Phone: +44 1179 69 3831
We need to get this new heritage centre built at Filton and get Foxy inside it. So please send your donations to the ‘Bristol Aero Collection’, not the ‘Concorde trust’ as Heritage Concorde has lost all trust in this group. Just imagine if one million people sent just £3.00 each? So will you be one of the ones who help save this Concorde??
Please make your cheques payable to….
BAC Trading Ltd
Then send it to
Concorde at Filton, PO Box 77, Bristol BS99 7AR
The planned new Concorde home at Filton
Another way to support this project, is to get down to Filton and visit this Concorde!
Its time to act, its time to save this Concorde or lose it forever, act now before its too late
Heritage Concorde suggests, that everyone gets themselves down to Filton as quickly as possible to support G-BOAF before it’s planned closure, and furthermore, find out the REAL facts (just as we and others did on the 10th &11th July) You all need to act! Don’t just sit back and watch this happen! It really is a terrible state of affairs!
Let’s save this Concorde and keep her on public view for everyone to see!
These two groups are working hard to save Concorde G-BOAF for you, HELP THEM!
Concorde at Filton website http://www.concordeatfilton.org.uk/
The Bristol Aero Collection website http://www.bristolaero.com/
Support ‘Save Concorde Group’ who are committed to saving Concorde at Filton!
[...] SAVE CONCORDE ALPHA FOXTROT FROM THE SCRAP YARD! [...]
Save Concorde Alpha Foxtrot !!!!
Come on everybody! If she goes you will regret it. Please save our Alpha Foxtrot!!!!!
Send money to Concorde at Filton, every pound counts!!
Visit this Concorde!
Write to Airbus, lets keep this aircraft on display!
I have set up a petition to save Concorde aimed at the local Filton MP to get involved! Sign it at http://www.petitiononline.com/GBOAF/petition.html
I’m in London and would like to visit this aircraft. What would be the best way to come to Filton?
Following on from the channel 4 programme on Monday night, I decided that I must go and view a Concorde at the earliest opportunity. A few days later, I was in Filton viewing Foxtrot. It now seems to me that this example is the most complete example that remains. This makes it increasingly more precious as time goes by. Without this all original example, it seems that we will be left with butchered examples and pictures and films to refer to.
To make the most of what time we have left, I am only suggesting that it would be good a good idea for any air museums and clubs around the country to put together some organized groups / tours to view this magnificent machine before it disappears from view. This I am sure would be cost effective for many whilst raising much needed funds and awareness towards this now pressing situation.
Thank you very much for your kind reply.
I feel that I may have come across a little strongly in my previous message when referring to “butchered examples”. I would not want to ignore the hard work and preservation efforts of other museums. Apologies.
With regards to the Concorde at Filton, I notice that you are already supplying useful contact information. I am sure that if you are able to conveniently list all of the suitable contact names and addresses for all of those concerned (eg. Airbus, British Airways, Local MP, Petitions, Concorde at Filton donations etc), I am sure that this will make the campaign process easier and more attractive for more people.
save alpha foxtrot from the scrapyard
give the airplane to bournemouth airplane musuem who would probly
restore the plane to airworthy condition
best wishes and keep the plane from scapyard
susan
Just reading the above would make me suspect that Airbus have something nasty for Concorde up their sleeve. Like British Airways, they are only interested in the future with their A380 and A400 programmes. Why should they be interested in obsolete ’sliderule age’ machinery? Letting Airbus UK tow BOAF from her present stand would be it’s death knell. I would imagine at the very best they would strip all her avionics and mechanics and leave just the frame as a mock up with a cutout cardboard cockpit, similar to the souless Space Shuttles in Florida. ‘Please keep the genuine artice alive’
Absolutely amazing, will tell the friends on Bournemouth Air Show.
Thankyou, will visit again.
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