26th November 2008 saw the 5th Anniversary of the final flight of Concorde.
Concorde 216 (Alpha-Foxtrot, more affectionately known as “Foxie”) was the last Concorde to be built and the last Concorde to fly, back to her birthplace of Filton. There was a great interest when this happened. Television stations went live to the take-off and landing, many tears were shed, and people talked of how it was the end of an era or “a giant leap backwards for mankind”. But what of the machine itself? For twenty-seven years British Airways flew Concorde as their flagship. Then one day, no-one came to its hanger, vacuumed her carpets, or prepared it to fly. How would did it react to that? How did it feel not to be wanted. Sarah Horsley (an avid Concorde fan) tries to imagine how Concorde felt after its retirement, along with the recording from the cockpit as Alpha-Foxtrot taxied to the runway for the last time, with emotional farewell messages from the tower, airport operations and ground control. Although the recording between the cockpit and tower and others at Heathrow airport before the final flight is played to visitors at Filton when they embark on the tour of Alpha-Foxtrot, it is not something that is well known.
This piece aims to bring this recording to light and remind the audience that many people thought of Concorde as more than a collection of aluminium and bolts.