I half expected David Cameron to make an announcement yesterday supporting plans to bring
Concorde out of retirement to lead a fly-past for the opening ceremony of the London Olympics in 2012 - what a brilliant and fantastic idea.
He has his finger firmly on the throbbing pulse of the population and must surely also regret the loss of this national treasure from our skies. This is a supersonic stunner that thrills the nation, even though we cannot afford the experience of flying her. Just watching her graceful, swan like neck soar into the skies gives trememdous pleasure.
Now left languishing in various aviation museums around the country, and drained of her hydraulic fluid, BA have said it would be too costly to restore Concorde to her former glory. The airline is stubbornly refusing to co-operate with the Save Concorde Group, made up of of former Concorde pilots, engineers and celebrities, and supported by a group of 20 MPs and MEPs, who are prepared to raise the money themesleves. It would not cost BA penny, they just need to agree to it.
BA needs to be made to see sense, to realise how much loved and admired this symphony of the skies is. Only two weeks ago, she was voted Britain’s No 1 design icon of the 20th century.
I believe that decommissioning Concorde was a backward step for aviation, she has never been rivalled and more proactive steps should have been taken to make her cost-effective.
I have seen the Concorde prototype at The Imperial War Museum, Duxford and she is an awesome sight. However, the interior is very cramped, nothing at all luxurious, and from memory there were only two seats each side of the aisle.
As someone who doesn’t have the stomach for fast fair rides, I cannot imagine what it feels like to break the sound barrier. How many boiled sweets would I need to suck on to stop my ears popping?
Getting Concorde back into the skies for the launch of our Olympics will be a gold medal achievement. As David Cameron will be at No 10 then, I hope he will add pressure to make this inspired dream become reality.
