When was concordes last flight

Flight trials are scheduled to begin in , in the hope passengers will be carried on commercial flights in The company has declined to discuss any financial details however an executive said a deposit had been put down. United chief executive, Scott Kirby, said: "United continues on its trajectory to build a more innovative, sustainable airline and today's advancements in technology are making it more viable for that to include supersonic planes.

Meanwhile Boom Supersonic founder and chief executive, Blake Scholl, described the agreement as a "significant step" to "create a more accessible world". Virgin Galactic revealed designs for a supersonic passenger plane with the ability to fly three times the speed of sound last August. The delta-wing jet has a top speed of 2,mph 3,kmh and could fly to New York in less than two hours - but would only be able to carry between nine and 19 passengers. It had made ten flights up to its delivery flight.

A first day cover was issued for the delivery flight and carried on board. Strangely, it still referred to the previous registration G-N94AF. The total flying time was 2 hours, 56 minutes and 35 seconds.

It held the record for five years, when another Concorde shaved one minute and 20 seconds off the time. By the time it had returned, it had covered 38, miles. This was the first occurrence of rudder separation failure on a Concorde. Although a bang was heard while climbing through 44, feet at Mach 1. New rudders were fitted to the fleet after the same incident occurred on other Concordes. This was one of the 'Utopia' schemes, a series of ethnic designs from around the world painted on the tails of BA aircraft.

All Concordes received the 'Chatham Dockyard' livery, which included a stylised section of a Union Flag. In , the ethnic designs were replaced by the Chatham Dockyard livery across the entire BA fleet. As was the first in this livery, it featured prominently in publicity material at the time.

By the time Concorde was retired it was the only aircraft in the British Airways fleet that required a flight engineer. But it came to no avail, as Branson later wrote that Virgin Atlantic had wanted to run the fleet for many years to come but no agreement was reached. Concorde number was moved to its new home by engineers from British Airways and Airbus, who towed the iconic aircraft across Filton Airfield and up a ramp into the new purpose-built hangar.

Jump directly to the content. Not content with an average water salute, the aircraft was sprayed with colored water depicting the red, white, and blue of the British, French, and American flags. The trip lasted one-and-a-half hours, and even achieved supersonic flight for one final time over the Atlantic Ocean. Following this, the aircraft, whose registration was G-BOAF, then made a loop of the Bay of Biscay, before heading for its spiritual home, where it had been built.

And how about the aircraft that operated the final passenger service, 18 years ago today? Earlier this year, Simple Flying reported that it was undergoing an overhaul , which saw it get a fresh coat of paint. What are your memories of Concorde? Were you ever lucky enough to fly on the supersonic airliner?

Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments! Journalist - A graduate in German, Jake has a passion for aviation history, and enjoys sampling new carriers and aircraft even if doing so demands an unorthodox itinerary.