Hop aboard the supersonic flying style icon of 1976

Published on Tuesday 18 January 2011 16:25

IF YOU were born in 1976, get ready to look out your passport to claim free entry to the National Museum of Flight this weekend.

G-BOAA, the Museum's very own Concorde, made its maiden flight to Bahrain the year you were born, and to celebrate the 35th anniversary of that historic trip, a weekend of special events is planned at the East Fortune airfield.

Grant Mackenzie, general manager of the Museum explains, "On the 21 January 1976, the very first commercial flight was made from London Heathrow to Bahrain by Alpha Alpha, the Concorde we have. We thought that the fact that we have that plane here presented us with a good opportunity to celebrate that achievement."

To mark the anniversary, visitors will be encouraged to share stories of what they were doing in 1976, as well as taking part in a Concorde Quiz, watching Supersonic Science Shows, participating in arts and crafts workshops and exploring a display of artefacts from the 1970s.

They'll also be able to tour the aircraft itself. "One of the main reasons people come here today is to see Concorde," reveals Mackenzie. "When you see younger kids who weren't about when Concorde was flying, they are just so impressed when they see it close up because it is so different and so striking. The fact that people are still so inspired by it makes it a shame that it is no longer flying."

Of course, while the museum's bird is celebrating its 35th anniversary, it is actually 42 years since the first supersonic flight of a Concorde aircraft.

So what made aircraft so different from those that had gone before? Well, as former Concorde pilot Cpt Andy Baillie once told me, "The amazing thing about Concorde was that you felt nothing as you went through the sound barrier. You should have - breaking the sound barrier is like trying to go through a brick wall.

"Like driving a nail through a piece of wood, you have to be shaped like a nail and have a hell of a big hammer to get through, yet all the passengers in the cabin would know was that the altimeter in the cabin had reached Mach 1.

"Whereas the sub-sonics rely on aerodynamics, Concorde is pure ballistics, it's the engines that keep it airborne. If a 747 lost all its engines it would glide a long, long way. If Concorde lost all its engines it would have the aerodynamic qualities of a brick.

"We did the Atlantic in two hours 54 minutes 59 seconds, that was from take-off in New York to landing in London.

No-one is going to achieve that again for a long, long, time."

Edinburgh's love affair with Concorde began in 1980, when Air France Concorde F-BVFC flew into Turnhouse.

Thousands turned out to watch her final approach over the city. And though few will have ever flown on the aircraft, the fascination remains.

"One of the things that we are doing this weekend is holding a raffle. The winner will get an opportunity, not on the day, but at a later date, to be taken into the cockpit of Concorde," says Mackenzie.

Even if you don't win, you could always try to persuade one of the museum's Concorde hosts - who will be attired in black tie for the weekend - to let you try seat A1 during your tour. That's the seat that was reserved for the Queen.

"Concorde is tied up with the glamour of flight and we want to emphasise that too," says Mackenzie. "It brought back some of the style of the golden age of flight in the 50s and 60s.

"With everyone travelling on budget airlines now, flying doesn't have that glamour any more, so we have an exhibition which covers the glamour age of flight and how Concorde brought that back."

Visitors will also be able to enter a quiz that will test their knowledge of the 1970s, while the science shows will explain different aspects of supersonic flight.

All will be held in Hanger 4, Concorde's home, where at 2pm each day, one of the curators will raise a toast to Alpha Alpha's inaugural flight.

Throughout the day a soundtrack of the music of the time will play, while the lecture theatre will screen newsreel footage from 1976.

"The fact that we have the plane that made the first commercial flight is very significant to us," stresses Mackenzie. "We have lots of different aircraft, with quite a lot of different anniversaries, but this is the one that still resonates with people because they can remember the event and remember seeing Concorde flying."

Concorde 35th Anniversary Weekend, National Museum Of Flight, East Fortune Airfield, Saturday-Sunday, 10am-4pm, 9, 0300-123 6789