Vocal Voices

Yesterday was the day I'd booked for us to take my Dad for his 80th birthday present trip on Concorde

Firstly, and I was thinking of you Ally, the visitor centre at Manchester Airport is right next to the runway so we were standing watching planes take off right in front of us for a while. I was a bit jealous when the Virgin Atlantic 747 to Vegas took off (I had the departures on my phone so I knew where each one was going ).

Anyway, Concorde itself. John and I took the boys to see it just outside of Edinburgh a few years ago and there we saw a video and then it was a matter of walking on, looking (through perspex in the case of the cockpit) and then walking off again. John and the boys went on one in New York too (I was shopping) and again, walked on, looked and walked off. Here though we had a video presentation and then were led onto the plane where we sat (Economy will NEVER be the same again - all that legroom!!!) while the guide talked, explained things and shared interesting facts but while he was doing that small groups were called forward to go in the cockpit where another guide was explaining what it was like in there while flying and what various pieces of equipment were, Dad was sitting there in the captain's seat lapping up every minute of it
Afterwards the outside was explained to us so we had a walk around and underneath it.
It really was interesting and Dad said we couldn't have bought him anything better

Oh smashing Jo.

(I bloomin love planes.)

Me too, I was so excited when I saw how close to the runway it was

I live about 15 mins from the Brooklands Museum (http://www.brooklandsmuseum.com/) and they have all sorts of planes, including a Concorde. My brother Klaus and his eldest daughter (the niece that stayed with me for a few months) went there last time Klaus was over from SA, and he just raved and raved and raved about it.

I really should make an effort to go there myself; it's mean to be a very good museum

I saw Concorde lots of times when I was young - I often travelled down the A30 either in a car or bus and that road ran parallel to the airport perimeter and Concorde's hangar was right by it - it was often parked outside the hangar. I also saw it the first time it took off from Heathrow - we were allowed to leave the school classroom and stand on the field to watch it go over So graceful

I remember years back when I was living in Cape Town, a colleague and I were driving along to a meeting and we were passing the airport; there were cars parked on the side and we realised it was the Concorde about to take off. Needless to say we also pulled over and stopped to watch. The power (ie noise) of those engines when they were revving was absolutely astounding and amazing; the earth was vibrating. It really was one of those moments of being in the right place at the right time - so incredible watching that plane go

We used to live in Corsham, Wiltshire and I remember wtaching it go over the house - stunning.

Eventually I move to Bristol and used to gawp at it, as it went over head - the noise was amazing, but you knew what it was.

I only saw it once as we drove home from Gatwick. As we were passing Heathrow there was a really loud engine noise we looked over and this beautiful plane lifted off the ground almost vertical. It was beautiful and we both whispered "its Concorde"

There is one of the original two (I believe that number's correct) prototype Concordes in the Museum at RAF Yeovilton, and we visited it on a couple of occasions. The inside cabin is bare, no seats, I think on that plane it just held test equipment originally. You could walk through it, including the cockpit. I think the thing that made the biggest impression on me was how narrow and cramped the cabin would have been for passengers. Jo mentioned in her post about lots of legroom, but it only carried around 100 passengers, didn't it?

One year, a BA Concorde visited Yeovilton for the Air Day there, a huge annual event, and we saw it take off from the back bedroom window of our home, which was about 8 miles away as the crow flies. It wasn't unusual to see aircraft in the sky circling the base there (it was home to two or three Sea Harriers squadrons, including a training squadron), but Concorde rising into the sky was unmistakeable!

The last time I saw a Concorde was back in the 1990's while stuck in the car park at the Majewski Stadium, Reading, waiting to get away after a soccer match. One took off from Heathrow and flew more or less overhead - a magnificent sight .....

Yes it was small Ossie, I think I might have found it a bit claustrophobic, legroom or not