rickdavis.co.uk

Rick's Photo Albums - Concorde
6th February 2012
Monday, 2:41am
GMT+0000

Back to Photo Album Menu

On Friday 24th October 2003, Concorde was withdrawn from commercial service after 34 years of supersonic flight. To celebrate, British Airways flew three Concordes in a row into Heathrow, landing one after the other on Runway 27R. Earlier in the day two of the aircraft had departed from Heathrow for their separate destinations.

G-BOAE (flight BA 9020) 10.05am Departure to Edinburgh Airport
G-BOAF (flight BA 9010) 2.20pm Departure to Bay of Biscay (out and return flight)
G-BOAE (flight BA 9021) 4.00pm Arrival from Edinburgh Airport
G-BOAF (flight BA 9010) 4.03pm Arrival from Bay of Biscay
G-BOAG (flight BA 002) 4.05pm Arrival from New York JFK Airport (last supersonic passenger flight)

Armed with my camera and bicycle I spent the day at the airport. For the three arrivals I found a place on the Eastern Perimeter road close to the 27R threshold, just north of the runway centreline. For a few moments, as 'AE' approached, I could see all three aircraft, one behind the other (although the last was only a speck!).

G-BOAE departs for Edinburgh from 27R (10.05am) G-BOAE was the first to land. The speck in the distance is the second aircraft, G-BOAF. G-BOAE. Back from Edinburgh and first to arrive, approaches 27R at 4.00pm G-BOAF. The second to land, approaching 27R at 4.03pm after her trip round the Bay of Biscay
G-BOAF. The second to land, approaching 27R at 4.03pm after her trip round the Bay of Biscay G-BOAF over the threshold of runway 27R G-BOAG. Last in, arriving from New York as the last supersonic passenger flight, approaches 27R at 4.05pm The British Airways maintenance area at the end of the day
Members of G-BOAF's crew waving from the steps The British Airways maintenance area at the end of the day G-BOAF in the British Airways maintenance area at the end of the day The end of the day.
G-BOAE arrives from New York on 17th October, approaching runway 9L

One week earlier, on the 17th, I was passing Heathrow and stopped to watch the New York flight arrive. The evening sun lit up G-BOAE beautifully in a cloudless sky, which is something I completely failed to capture on the image on the left. I stayed for the evening departure to New York but by now it was almost dark and sadly the photos didn't come out very well. However, the sound of those four engines on re-heat passing overhead and the sight of the rings of light in the re-heat exhaust is something I won't be forgetting.