Heritage Concorde both supports the efforts of these two groups and is working along with them, to relive the dream.
La Nouvelle Entente Cordiale
http://www.save-concorde.co.uk/
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?v=info&ref=mf&gid=84332595616
On the 27th November, representatives of the Save Concorde Group (SCG) travelled to Paris to visit Le Bourget Air and Space Museum, which is now the home of F-BTSD. Our French hosts treated us to an unforgettable day with a VIP tour of not only Concorde but also much of the museum that is not available for public viewing. More importantly, it was an epiphany for return to flight (RTF) of Concorde on both sides of the channel. A new alliance has been forged with Olympus 593 (www.olympus593.com), the French counterpart of SCG, which is appropriately named, “La Nouvelle Entente Cordiale”. Just as it did in the 1960’s, this alliance will combine the very best efforts of the French and the English working in partnership to achieve the same aim: to return Concorde to life and why not to the skies – where she belongs.
The French team has made great strides and has some excellent advantages over us in the UK – not least due to ownership issues with the airframes but also because there is a huge will in France to see Concorde fly again. This will permeates from the ordinary man in the street to former aircraft engineers and flight crews to much higher political and possibly military levels. Given this support within France, it is probable one of the French Concorde’s, most likely F-BTSD, could be the first of the original airframes to once again become an aircraft and not a technological relic – perhaps be able to ignite one of her incredible Olympus engines, perform a ground taxi, and who knows, one day to fly. SCG is using all their resources to assist Olympus 593 and the French team at this point.
In an ironic twist, this aircraft might even feature in the London Olympics of 2012.
Whilst efforts to return one of the former BA fleet to the skies go on undiminished, the sight of a French Concorde back in the skies will no doubt strengthen the resolve of the UK public to allow BA to allow us to return one of their aircraft to flight and thus satisfy the wishes of the huge majority of the British public.
KEEPING UP THE PRESSURE ON BA:
If you want to help, we have to keep the pressure up on BA to expose the truth behind the demise of Concorde. There are four things you can do straight away:
1) Visit our website at www.save-concorde.co.uk, email us and let us know how you would like to help. Do you have skill in business, finance, engineering, marketing, charity and heritage, promotion, campaign management and politics? We need help in EVERY area! You can also follow our updates on twitter (save-concorde.co.uk). GET INVOLVED with us!
2) Read the Donald Pevsner article. Email it or print it out and send copies to any press, radio or TV stations in the UK or elsewhere in the world. Forward the link to the same media outlets or friends and relatives who are interested in seeing Concorde fly again. The more people that know about these allegations and the more publicity we can get will mean BA will have to sit up and take note.
3) Invite anyone you think might be interested in this group to join up. Even if everyone can invite just one person, we will double our membership. We need thousands of members on here to reflect the worldwide interest in Concorde and getting her back in the air.
4) Finally, cut and paste the following into a letter and send it together with a printout of the Donald Pevsner article to:
Mr. Willy Walsh (CEO),
Mr. Martin Broughton (Chairman),
Mr. Tm Steeds (Director),
British Airways,
Waterside,
Speed Bird Way,
Harmondsworth,
UB7 0GB
Dear Mr. Walsh, Mr. Broughton and Mr. Steeds,
I’m sure by now you will be aware of the extremely serious allegations made by Donald L. Pevsner, (a former prolific charterer of both BA and AF Concorde’s) regarding the premature retirement of Concorde. I along with the majority of the British and French public interested in Concorde would like to know how you would respond to these quite astonishing allegations.
I enclose a copy of his article for your information.
Furthermore, and especially in the light of such potentially damaging and embarrassing revelations, why would you choose to allow your company to ignore an opportunity for Concorde to return to flight in BA colours, given all that high profile and free promotion, when BA would not have to pay a penny towards the refits and recertification – (as this would all be done through lottery, heritage and private funding)?
I cannot see how any company would NOT consider this unique opportunity in these dire financial times.
I cannot see how any company would NOT consider this unique opportunity in these dire financial times.
I look forward to your reply.
Yours sincerely,
PLEASE HELP US AND JOIN THE FIGHT FOR FLIGHT!
THE WORK OF THE “SAVE CONCORDE GROUP” IN ENGLAND
We represent a growing number of people who feel saddened and cheated by the decision to retire Concorde early, and there is a lot of bitterness over the lack of Government intervention and the dismissal of various proposals to keep her flying. Our main aim is to create a voice that will be recognized. We already have the backing of the British Air Line Pilots’ Association (BALPA), Sir Terence Conran and Phil Collins, to name but a few. Please visit our website for more information and to pledge your support. Our website address is: http://www.save-concorde.co.uk/ Thank you for your help!
Official visit of the SAVE CONCORDE British delegation in Paris November 27th 2009