Earlier this year we learned about a man that has flown the Concorde over 700 times.
While I did get to sit in the cockpit of the supersonic plane as a little kid and also visited the Barbados Concorde Experience a few years back, I never had a chance (not many did) to take a flight on the supersonic plane.
The Concorde has been out of service since 2003 but there is a chance that it might take flight again in less than 5 years.
According to Mashable, the Club Concorde International has raised close to $186 million to put a Concorder back in commission.
The group has an interesting plan which involves two Concordes:
The first part would have the group purchase a Concorde for $62 million which is currently in France at Orly Airport. The plane would be restored and put on a special platform near the London Eye as a tourist attraction.
Guests would pay $25 to visit the plane and meals like those originally served on the Concorde could be dined on by guests. (I’d be willing to pay $25 to visit a Concorde again.)
This part of the project is supposed to be completed by the end of 2016.
The next phase of the project would be to purchase a second Concorde, currently located in Le Bourget Airport in France. The plane would also be restored and “then be offered as a private charter — ideal for a London to Monaco flight, for example — or as a flyover spectacle for airshows” according to Mashable.
The club would like for charters to take off by 2019, in time to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Concorde’s inaugural flight.
If this plan really happens, I’d love to get on one of those charters but I could only imagine what a flight would cost. I somehow think it would be out of my price range!
Would you be interested in visting the Concorde tourist attraction and/ or taking a charter flight on the plane?
Find out more from Mashable here.
(Image: WikimediaCommons– Alexander Johnson)
I actually have both photographs and videos of my experience.
The photographs have to be digitized, though — they are traditional film photographs — and the video is not the best quality.
I will think about sharing them, though…
Fred Finn- I doubt it will really happen too but it would be pretty awesome. My guess is that it would be ridiculously expensive to get a seat on a flight too…\
Brian Cohen- Sounds amazing! Have any photos to share? I got into the AF Concorde cockpit when I was around 5 years old which I never forgot. Not quite the same as taking a flight on the plane though…
Rich- I’ve heard that the service on the Concorde was amazing too. That is based on what we were told while visiting the museum in Barbados. I’d guess the whole experience was probasbly something very special.
Having flown supersonic in the US Air Force, it’s really not that big of a deal other than reduced flight durations. When flying at that speed, there is no real indication of being supersonic other than on the gauge in the cockpit —–
I was a passenger on Air France Concorde during its last week of service in 2003; and I paid for it using Delta Air Lines SkyMiles.
New York to Paris in 3.5 hours at slightly twice the speed of sound with a visit to the cockpit and a view of the curvature of the earth: I probably will never experience something like that again in my lifetime…
I would love to see this happen however where is tooling, simulator, spare parts, and the certification to operate.
After whatc would amount to 16 years on the ground I have my doubts. Would be great if it happened. I think raising peoples hopes and aspirations is wrong.
I am 9
Over 700 times Person would love to increase my number of flights