Final Destination
Final Destination:
After setting a new coast-to-coast speed record, the British Airways Concord SST touched down at approximately 2:30pm, Nov. 5th, 2003, at Seattle’s Boeing field as its final destination...ever.
Seattle’s Museum of Flight has the tremendous honor of being one of two US recipients of the last 6 commercially active Concord aircraft. The British Airways donated Concord is also the very same aircraft which made the final commercial supersonic crossing of the Atlantic earlier in the summer. Both British Airways and Air France have retired their fleet of icons which represent one of the most elegant aircraft, inside and out, and the last of the luxury airliners.
The Concord SST was a true engineering accomplishment for its time and served as one of the safest aircraft...until the unfortunate accident resulting from a tire blowout and the shreds of rubber being ingested by the engines. Yet the Concord continued to serve as a symbol of status and providing a sense of awe every time it past overhead. However, the rising costs of operations for fuel hungry, maintenance heavy, and aging airliner forced it to give way to the wide-body flying sardine cans in which creature comforts are sacrificed for the bottom line.
It is a treat to have the retired Concord in the Northwest and join the Museum of Flight. It was also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for this avian-fanatic to see this beautiful machine fly, as its engines have since been silenced for good....
Kraz
After setting a new coast-to-coast speed record, the British Airways Concord SST touched down at approximately 2:30pm, Nov. 5th, 2003, at Seattle’s Boeing field as its final destination...ever.
Seattle’s Museum of Flight has the tremendous honor of being one of two US recipients of the last 6 commercially active Concord aircraft. The British Airways donated Concord is also the very same aircraft which made the final commercial supersonic crossing of the Atlantic earlier in the summer. Both British Airways and Air France have retired their fleet of icons which represent one of the most elegant aircraft, inside and out, and the last of the luxury airliners.
The Concord SST was a true engineering accomplishment for its time and served as one of the safest aircraft...until the unfortunate accident resulting from a tire blowout and the shreds of rubber being ingested by the engines. Yet the Concord continued to serve as a symbol of status and providing a sense of awe every time it past overhead. However, the rising costs of operations for fuel hungry, maintenance heavy, and aging airliner forced it to give way to the wide-body flying sardine cans in which creature comforts are sacrificed for the bottom line.
It is a treat to have the retired Concord in the Northwest and join the Museum of Flight. It was also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for this avian-fanatic to see this beautiful machine fly, as its engines have since been silenced for good....
Kraz
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