Once the coolest plane in the sky, the reality feels far less glamorous

Stepping aboard the last Concorde to fly, the only reasonable conclusion is that the celebrities of the 1970s and ’80s were basically the size of Hobbits.

When the first supersonic passenger aircraft launched just over 50 years ago, it became the most glamorous plane in the skies. It was beloved of the showily famous – the most Joan Collins-style transport imaginable.

The reality aboard the Concorde on display at Aerospace Bristol in Filton, in south-west England, squashes both bodies and expectations.

At an unremarkable 180 centimetres, I have to duck down walking through the cabin towards the cockpit. The window seats look to have lethally low headroom for anyone under six feet tall (183 centimetres). Seats are cramped together in a way that suggests a faded flagship airline half-heartedly introducing a premium economy section.

These magnificent birds were designed for speed rather than comfort. They would zoom over the Atlantic, cruising at just over twice the speed of sound. In 1996, one flew from New York to London in just two hours, 52 minutes and 59 seconds.

Only 20 Concordes ever flew service miles, 10 for Air France and 10 for British Airways. The first passenger flights – from Paris to Rio de Janeiro, and London to Bahrain – took off simultaneously on January 21, 1976. G-BOAF, the last Concorde built, was the last to be retired with a ceremonial flight from London’s Heathrow to Filton Airfield on November 26, 2003.

The supersonic passenger plane dream died in the same place it was born. Constructing Concordes was a task that took place at numerous sites over the UK and France, but the final assemblies were in Toulouse and Filton. Aerospace Bristol, while hosting the last Concorde, also tells the story of why it’s there.

Filton, now a northern suburb of Bristol but in 1910 a village, became Britain’s unlikely aerospace hub because of the tramways. It was the end of the tram line, and Bristol Tramways and Carriage Company had built several construction and maintenance sheds there.

When managing director Sir George White saw the Wright brothers flying in France, he realised the potential of flight. He quickly formed the British and Colonial Aerospace Company, and leased some of the tram sheds to work on prototype aircraft.

The museum tells of how in World War I, demand for the new technology played a major part in the company’s success, with the Bristol F.2B fighter giving the British a critical advantage over their German enemies. From there, it’s a splintered story of engine innovation, company name changes and mergers, the space race and – eventually – a determination to make supersonic flight happen.

Work on what eventually became Concorde started in the 1950s, with the first test flights in the 1960s, long before paying passengers were allowed on board.

Aerospace Bristol traces that development, explaining how the plane was “the most tested of all time”. That meant more than 5000 hours in the wind tunnel, sometimes with whole raw chickens being fired at the windows.

All the parts and joints had to be able to safely expand to cope with the heat of flying so fast, special aluminium alloys were designed and a non-flaking, heat-resistant paint was applied. The engines had a series of ramps installed to ensure air entered them at the optimum 563km/h.

Concorde was new, exciting and – crucially – prestigious. Accounts tell of top-notch service and fine dining, even though there was barely enough time to serve all the food.

But on board, it’s easy to see why the glamour wore off. Combined with the fatal Air France crash in 2000, the terror attacks on the US the following year, increasingly uncompetitive fuel consumption and an ageing fleet, Concorde’s claustrophobic interiors suffocated the great supersonic experiment.

It’s better, therefore, to part ways by admiring the exterior. Aerospace Bristol allows you to go almost nose-to-nose with the exaggerated tip, then walk under the curving yet near triangular wings. For those of us who grew up with Concorde being the coolest plane in the sky, it’s impossible not to feel a bit giddy.

THE DETAILS

VISIT
Aerospace Bristol is 11 kilometres from Bristol city centre and a drive of one hour and 40 minutes from Birmingham Airport. See aerospacebristol.org

STAY
Nearby Mollie’s Motel and Diner has handsome oak-panelled rooms and lavish breakfasts. Doubles from £70 ($138), room only. See mollies.com