This month, Mach 2 features two of the less well known episodes of Concorde’s career in service: British Airways’ scheduled flights to Barbados, and the joint service that BA and Air France ran with US airline Braniff International.
Weekly flights to Barbados began in the winter of 1987, and soon became a highly successful part of the British Concorde operation. Concorde Commercial Manager George Blundell-Pound describes how the service began and grew to be a success. We also show how the service was planned, and flight engineer Ian Kirby describes the ingenious fuel planning program that he devised, using just an ordinary palm-top computer, to ensure that Concorde could make the 4,000-mile journey non-stop.
Our second feature looks back at the three-way collaboration between British Airways, Air France, and Texas-based US airline Braniff, to create an “American” Concorde service. This involved Concorde making a two-stage journey – across the Atlantic with her usual British or French crew, then from Washington to Dallas with an all-American flight crew. BA flight engineer David Macdonald and Braniff Airways Foundation‘s Richard Ben Cass look back at the short-lived but unique service, and we also hear from American flight crew member Captain Norwood Band.
Also included are a Tech Log insight into changing Concorde’s engines, and finally some stunning news from the Runway Visitor Park at Manchester – Concorde G-BOAC has had her nose brought back to working order! The first public demonstration of the nose move will take place on 2 March – to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first ever Concorde flight.
To read the issue, please click the image below.
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http://mach-2-magazine.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Mach-2-magazine-Feb-2019.pdf