CONCORDE ON THE HUDSON

Flight Journal, Apr 2004 by Ambats, Jessica

NO LONGER A WORKING AIRCRAFT, the Concorde is now a monument that symbolizes one of the 20th century's great technological feats. On November 25, 2003, British Airways Concorde G-BOAD was retired to New York City's Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum, where it will be on a permanent exhibit. It was transported to the museum from John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) on the 260-foot barge that NASA used to carry Apollo Saturn 5 moon rockets.

After its final flight from Heathrow, London, on November 10, the aircraft spent two weeks in a hangar at JFK being prepared for its relocation. Its wings were tested for lift points so that it could later be raised safely by a crane and placed on the barge. The engines had to be removed and the escape slides deployed to release the pressurized air.

At sunrise on November 25, the aircraft, which once flew from London to New York in 2 hours, 53 minutes and 59 seconds, crossed New York City harbor at a relative crawl speed. Passing Coney Island, going under the Verrazano Bridge and pausing next to the Statue of Liberty, the Concorde completed its journey up the Hudson River to its new home. It will be transferred to a larger barge that will become part of the museum complex.

Seven other British Airways Concordes will retire to these locations: the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Heathrow Airport, Manchester Airport and the British headquarters of Airbus at Filton (all in England), the Museum of Flight near Edinburgh (Scotland) and Barbados (West Indies). An Air France Concorde will go to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

-Jessica Ambats