A passionate group of Concorde fans in England have been working on bringing one of the supersonic airliners back to life. Retired in 2003, the Concorde was the only supersonic airliner to carry passengers in regular scheduled service. One of the retired airplanes, G-BOAC, was flown to an aviation museum in Manchester where it is on static display. But that wasn’t good enough for a team of former Concorde engineers, mechanics and fans of the world’s fastest airliner.
Colloquially known as ‘Alpha Charlie,’ the Concorde in Manchester has been at the center of a heated effort to bring one of the airplanes back to life. Back in March, a group known as Heritage Concorde was able to get Alpha Charlie off of life support (ground power) and running under its own native power. The official purpose was to get the airplane’s electrical and hydraulic systems working so the iconic nose visor could be moved and repairs could be made to a broken windshield. Of course many hoped it might just be the first step to at least keeping the airplane in working condition and have the ability to power it up during special occasions. Some even dreamed of it flying for special occasions (read: London 2012 Olympics).
Since March, the team at Heritage Concorde was able to fully restore all three hydraulic systems on board the airplane as well as the electrical system thanks to the help of numerous volunteers including former Concorde maintenance personnel. Alpha Charlie was powered up on several occasions over the summer (short video from the cockpit after the jump) and the group planned on showing off the somewhat operational airplane this fall.
Unfortunately legal reared its ugly head and the project has been shut down.
A strong effort was made to alleviate the concerns of the museum in Manchester, but in the end the Heritage Concorde team was told to drain all the hydraulics and kill the electrical system. The short version is the insurance for the airplane covers a static display, not a living airplane. The museum says its main concern is for the safety of visitors, staff and volunteers. So this week the program was officially ended.
There are other groups working on preserving one or more of the various Concorde aircraft on display including a group in France. Work continues to keep the airplanes from simply collecting dust, but few expect to ever see a Concorde flying again.
Photo/Video: Heritage Concorde
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