Concorde at Filton (continued)

Aircraft 216…the last to be built, is back beside the Brabazon Hangar where we built her. She is in a compound on the edge of the runway at Filton with a small exhibition centre. The facility is open to public visitors from August 18th 2004.

For 2 months prior to the official opening; the 100 volunteer guides… mainly aerospace pensioners…have been in training; escorting tours of Airbus and Rolls Royce employees. They paid to tour, albeit at a reduced rate. The entrance money collected is desperately needed to fund the permanent aero collection to be built on the north side of the airfield.

Entrance fees are £12.50 per adult (£10.00 for OAP’s/students), £7.00 for under 14’s. The tour is not considered suitable for young children.

The tour includes an historical display area; an exclusive video of Concorde at Filton including the return and final flight of a Concorde. This is followed by a 30 minute conducted tour of the exterior of the aircraft, and a similar duration tour to the cabin and close view of the cockpit.

A feature to look for is the engineer’s cap, which as a final flight ‘tradition’, is left in the cockpit. During flight, at 60,000 feet, the external air pressure is very, very small; the cabin is pressurised to the equivalent of 8,000 feet for passenger comfort. The fuselage therefore significantly expands and bulkheads, panels and equipment move away from the inside of the fuselage. The cap is rested in such a gap before final descent and thus remains there forever.

Should you tour on a Thursday be sure to make yourself known as a BAE pensioner as my wife and I will be among your tour guides.

Booking is made through an agency and the price includes their fee and postal charges. You can book by telephone on 0870 3000578 between 9am - 9pm weekdays, 10am - 5pm weekends or online at

 www.concordeatfilton.org.uk

You will be sent details of a nearby  car park, from where you will be taken by coach on a 30 minute tour of the Airbus site (no photography is allowed) and thence to the Concorde visitor centre, where photography is allowed, also permitted around and inside the aircraft.