Wednesday 4 June 2008
The Concorde Story
by Christopher Orlebar
For our June 2008 meeting we were delighted to hear Christopher Orlebar (shown left). Christopher John Dugmore Orlebar (born 4 February 1945) was a British Concorde pilot with British Airways, and is now well-known as a lecturer and writer and as a frequent contributor to TV aviation documentaries, on aviation subjects generally, and on the Anglo-French aeroplane in particular.
Orlebar, the son of Brigadier John Orlebar, was educated at Rugby School and Southampton University. He learned to fly in 1965 with the Southampton University Air Squadron (RAF), and then finished his training in civil aviation, at the College of Air Training at Hamble. Orlebar joined BOAC (later British Airways) in 1969, and became a VC10 pilot, navigator and instructor. He became a Concorde pilot and instructor in 1976, flying the aircraft for 10 years. He went on to become a training Captain on the Boeing 737 from 1986, and retired from British Airways in 2000.
In between all of his flying activities Christopher has written a book called the Concorde Story which is still in print and in its 6th edition. So far over 100,000 copies have been sold. He has on a number of occasions been called upon to advise on several documentaries, mainly about Concorde, but also on Air Traffic Control situations.
ISBN 978 1 85532 667 5About the Concorde Story ; When commercial services began in 1976, Concorde quickly established herself as one of the wonders of the modern technical world. This lavishly illustrated sixth edition traces Concorde’s development from inception to withdrawal. It investigates how the Anglo-French Alliance tackled the project, Concorde’s entry into service and the aircraft’s eventual commercial success. Other SST (supersonic transport) projects are considered, as is the future of SST aviation. With reference to the official report, the tragic event at Paris in July 2000 is analysed in-depth and outstanding questions concerning the accident are considered together with why Concorde was withdrawn from service.
The Concorde Story has been a bestseller since its publication in 1986. Now in its sixth edition, The Concorde Story has remained the most complete record of the history of Concorde in print since it was first published. Starting with Concorde's earliest development, it assesses other forms of supersonic transport and provides the background to Concorde's evolution. It reveals what it is like to fly Concorde, and the training procedures to which Concorde pilots are subjected. The latest edition brings the story up to date, with chapters on Concorde's final flight and decommissioning, advice on where to go to see Concorde at rest, and information on the Paris tragedy of 2000.
Whilst the Concorde story centres on the design and development of the plane, Christopher gave a potted presentation to ensure the membership was well aware of the problems that supersonic flight involved, from the principals of the sonic barrier and the changes in balance characteristics that enfold when drag, thrust, mass and lift which should be in balance became unstable due to the shift of the centre of pressure. He supported this theory with some nice illustrations and the whole lecture was kept in a refined manner and supported by his humorous asides aimed at those both political and cultural ideologies of two countries on a common project yet using incompatible units of metric and imperial for both design and manufacture and of course different language!.
An excellent example of engineering conceptual design to keep lift and mass in balance was the concept of fuel (mass) transfer aft during flight transition in the sonic region. This was developed in a test rig at Filton, whilst this solution answered the problem the complex manipulation was carried out by the flight engineer not the pilot.
This was a fascinating presentation supported by screen computer technology of both video and beautiful slides. This short report cannot do justice, but if you get the chance to hear this show again grab at the chance, if not do purchase or get the book written by Christopher.
He mentioned and showed a slide of Sir Frank Whittle in the cockpit of Concorde, Sir Frank recalled his aspiration that a jet-propelled aircraft ‘might carry mail across the Atlantic at 500 mph.’ In the 1930s this was regarded as crazily optimistic. As for being able to cross the ocean at 1350mph in a 100 seat passenger aircraft he said, such a suggestion ‘would have me locked up’.
On October 2003 after 27 years the sun set on the first era of 1350mph supersonic passenger flight. There is no successor in view and some contend that there never will be. The Concorde fleet still has many ‘reference flight cycles’ available for use. These could have been translated into 5 or more years of service. Indeed, following the tragedy at Paris, British Airways (BA) spent some £15m on the modifications required to return all seven of its Concordes to flight and budgeted £14m for the Sir Terence Conran's Concorde cabin refurbishment, the ‘interim’ version of which was being fitted during Concorde’s sabbatical. In the event only five were modified for a return to service and Air France (AF) paid proportionately less to modify four aircraft, choosing not to refurbish its cabins. Clearly, with well over £30m being spent or budgeted for, at that stage no one thought that only two years of commercial service would remain.
John Coomber in his vote of thanks congratulated Christopher, after a question time, on his all round presentation and the membership whole heartily agreed. For those who did not purchase the book, then a short synopsis follows with thanks to the http://www.concordeproject.com/index.htm
More about Concorde 202 G-BBDG Aircraft Number 202 Registration G-BBDG Production variant 100
Maiden Flight 13th February 1974
The two production test aircraft (201 and 202) were different in many ways from their four predecessors, necessitating repeating certain work to obtain certification. It was really these two aircraft that did the bulk of the flying that allowed the final certification of Concorde for airline service. However, even though called production aircraft, they never went into service because the final version, as specified by the airlines, was different yet again, although not in a way that affected handling or performance certification.
202 carried on flying after the 14 production aircraft had been delivered to the airlines. Work included further performance enhancements, such as the certification of the re-designed air intake profile. This modification, coupled to an uprated engine, allowed an increase in payload of 1,500-2,000 lbs.
Another change was an extension of the control surface trailing edges (by around two inches)- a modification that many now feel was part of the reason for the rudder de-laminations seen on the fleet over the years. The aircraft was kept serviceable at Filton throughout early 1982 for any more development work or test flights that were required.
At the end of the Concorde project, the aircraft was placed in storage out on the airfield. British Airways were given access, through their support contract, to use the aircraft for certain parts that were not immediately available. In April 1984 they acquired title to the aircraft and started using it as one of the main spare part sources. The airline had only been flying six aircraft and had been using a four year old aircraft, G-BOAG, for spares. With access to Delta Golf, British Airways set out on returning G-BOAG to flight status.
To protect their investment and keep prying eyes off what was very quickly becoming an eyesore, British Airways constructed a special hangar for G-BBDG. The "202 hangar" as it is affectionally known, was completed in early 1988. The aircraft (minus tail fin) was moved inside in May 1988.
As the aircraft was structurally sound, British Airways investigated, in the early 90's, the possibility of refitting for airline service. This would allow the airline to keep a fleet of six or seven serviceable aircraft doing engineering checks. The plan was found to be too costly and was rejected, although the study proved that if one of the seven BA aircraft suffered serious damage, parts from the damaged (and written-off) aircraft could be fitted to 202 and the airframe used to bring the fleet back up to strength, but there were doubts on certification, due to the fuselage skin being slightly thinner.
In 1995, Concorde G-BOAF's droop nose was damaged during a ground handling accident at Heathrow. BA decided to swap it for the droop nose on 202. Alpha-Foxtrot's nose, although not badly damaged, was kept as a spare and would be repaired in the future if required. It was not fitted on to 202.
Even as it looked like the end of the road was near for Delta-Golf, she was again found to be useful in late 2002 for prototype fittings of the new strengthened cockpit doors required by the authorities on the BA and AF fleets, after Sept 11th 2001.
In late 2003 she was offered to the Brooklands Museum Trust for restoration, where in May/June 2004 she was moved to the museum's Weybridge site.
With Concorde Delta Golf now open to the general public, this page brings together all the details and information that anybody might need prior to visiting DG - from a rough guide to what there is to see onboard Concorde, to admission prices and directions to the museum.
The Brooklands Concorde Experience has been designed to give visitors a unique experience and something different from the other Concorde exhibits around the country. Entry to Delta Golf is by ticket only and tours start at intervals of 15 minutes each day, 7 days a week. It is not normally necessary to pre-book tickets prior to visiting the museum although there is a limit to the number of tours each day and naturally certain times of the year are busier than others (school holidays etc.)
The inside of Delta Golf is split into 3 main areas. Visitors board DG via the cargo door at the rear of the aircraft and enter into the rear cabin. In operational service Concorde's rear cabin would have contained 60 seats, however, Delta Golf's rear cabin has been converted in an exhibition area. Here can be found exhibits such as George Edwards' famous 'Pork Pie' hat, Delta Golf's original flight logs and a helmet worn by flight crew during Concorde's testing days. Also in here are 3 video screens that show several short videos, one of which is called 'The Brooklands Concorde Story'. As the name suggests, this tells the story of Delta Golf, how it was transported to Brooklands and how it was rebuilt and restored.
Visitors then walk through the mid-cabin and an area of extended exhibition space called 'Concorde Through the Decades'. In here is a selection of seats that Concorde flew with during its operational life covering the 70s, 80s, and 90s. These include a pair of the plush blue leather Terence Conran designed seats that most of the British Airways Concordes were fitted with up until their retirement. The seat tray tables are complete with unique Concorde crockery and cutlery and general Concorde memorabilia. The wall panels, hat racks and forward bulkheads in this area are all that now exists of Delta Golf's original interior. Also on show in here are two large test equipment racks that were original fitted in Delta Golf's aft hold during the 1970s.
Finally, visitors walk through to the forward cabin. Here they are invited to take their seats for their Concorde 'flight'. The forward cabin has been completely re-fitted with interior trim, luggage bins and 40 seats. In addition, the cabin has been fitted with a large video screen and a state of the art sound system that helps to give people some idea of what a flight on Concorde was like. The video is presented by Captain Mike Bannister and he guides you from take off and the acceleration through Mach 2 - twice the speed of sound - with explanations of how Concorde was operated during the different phases of flight. During the video the Mach meters on the forward bulkheads display Concorde's speed and height. Once in the cruise at Mach 2 and 58000ft there is a special treat for visitors - but you’ll have to visit to see that!
On the way out visitors have an opportunity to view (but, unfortunately, not enter) Delta Golf's cockpit. This has been completely re-fitted with instruments, flight controls and crew seats. The cockpit of Concorde really is a sight to behold with its myriad of dials and switches and is a glimpse back at 1960s technology and the days when it took a minimum of 3 people to fly an airliner. In the not too distant future it will be possible to partially enter the cockpit where a specially made Perspex door (with suitably cut hole for cameras!) will allow visitors to see the cockpit close-up. When visitors leave Delta Golf, there is a chance to sign the visitors book and to let us know how much they enjoyed the experience!
more see...............http://www.concordeproject.com/index.htm with thanks, more great pictures there.
Former Concorde pilot Christopher Orlebar gives his book a plug from cockpit window
"The Club accepts no responsibility for any statement, views, opinions of whatsoever nature expressed or given above which is just a summary of a talk given to the Club and does not necessarily reflect those of the Club or its members."