Google Sightseeing takes you on tour of the world as seen from satellite, using the free Google Earth program, or Google Maps in your web browser. Each weekday your guides James and Alex present new weird and wonderful sights as suggested by readers.

The editors: James & Alex

Concorde Hunt

Monday, 29th August 2005 by James

Please note that some or all of the objects mentioned in this post are no longer visible on Google Earth or Google Maps.

Researching my recent Le Bourget Airport post I discovered a couple of Concordes on display and, seeing as there were only ever 20 of them built, I decided to see how many I could find on Google Maps.

Le Brouget houses the remains Aircraft 203 which disastrously crashed in July 2000 and Aircraft 211 which was scrapped for parts. Also in one of the hangers is the very first Concorde (001). The outside display features Aircraft 213 however the satellite photos are out of date so the Concorde cannot be seen.

Concorde 102 was the fourth plane built and the last of the preproduction aircraft. It has been on display at Orly Airport since the 1970s and replaced a full-size wooden replica Concorde that had been lost to a fire.

Outside the Aerospatiale HQ at Toulouse Airport (near where the Airbus 380s are assembled) is Concorde 201, the first “production” Concorde although this plane never went into service.

Also at Toulouse to the north is Concorde 209 which was the last of Air France’s Concordes to fly. After the disaster in 2000 the plane was stranded in JFK airport for three months while its safety was assessed so I’m pretty sure that the previously posted satellite photo of a Concorde in JFK is also Concorde 209 (although due to image updates it’s no longer visible on Google Maps or Google Earth).

Also missing due to the outdated photos in Aircraft 210 which is on display at the previously posted Intrepid Air and Space Museum, New York.

So I only managed to find 3 Concordes (one of them twice), the rest are either in parts of the globe where resolution is too poor to see them or they are stored indoors, for a full list of their locations see the Fleet overview.

35 Responses to 'Concorde Hunt'

  1. 1. TimR says:

    Concorde number 101 is on display at Placemark: The Imperial War Museum, Duxford / Google Earth, although it is sometimes kept inside to protect it from the worst of the weather.

  2. 2. Luke says:

    That is pretty cool. Too bad the concordes didn’t last that long. I mean they were pretty damn expensive - it would be cheaper to go on a regular flight and arrive a few hours later - and makes you wonder how much it would cost now. Hopefully we will be able to find a new way to power aircraft in the future to recommision these things.

  3. 3. Gergtreble. says:

    Theres one at manchester arport at the moment.

    But I have no idea if it was there when the satellite pic was taken…

    Greg

  4. 4. Scott says:

    There is currently one on display at the Museum of Flight next to Boeing field in Seattle, Wa

  5. 5. Paul Drye says:

    No need to power them a different way, just go longer distances so the time savings are greater. Japan’s always made it nearly economic to build supersonic airliners; now that the whole of East Asia is picking up economically it’s just a matter of time until someone does it.

    (Unless someone does something more radical first. Suborbital transports, anyone?)

  6. 6. robertw says:

    incidentally at the duxford air museum, next to my house, that big semi circular building just before the blur is the American Aviation museum, and there are some pretty cool planes in theie, including an Lockheed sr71 blackbird, an a10 tankbuster and a, Ikid you not, B52 bomber, hanging from the ceiling. Awesome display.

    http://aam.iwm.org.uk/server/show/nav.00h002

  7. 7. Ohad says:

    There is another one in Dulles, Virginia: Placemark: LINK / Google Earth
    but the google image still shows the museum under construction. Here is a photo of it making its final landing LINK.

  8. 8. Tim says:

    Let’s not forget #205 which Air France gave to the Smithsonian Institution after they retired the line. (James, I know you looked, I’m just telling them.) It is currently in the Udvar-Havy Center, a branch of the National Air and Space Museum, seen here in construction. (http://www.nasm.si.edu/museum/udvarhazy/) Unfortunately, the pictures are so outdated that the Concorde hadn’t even been flown to Washington-Dulles Airport, just to the north. So, we can’t see it.

    Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth

  9. 9. DDa says:

    Here’s the crash place :

    Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth

    http://95.croix-rouge.fr/edir/images/concorde3.jpg

  10. 10. John says:

    The concorde at manchester airport uk is here:

    Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth

  11. 11. james says:

    hm, that one at manchester looks more like a V bomber than a concord..unless the angle of the shot is waaaaay bent.

    -james

  12. 12. Birdman of Malkatraz says:

    that Manchester one is a vulcan I think. Although it is at the same place where all the aeroplane geeks get their binoculars out.

  13. 13. SJ says:

    There’s also on parked off the runway by Terminal 4 at London Heathrow….it sits not too far from the former dedicated gate and lounge at Terminal 4.

  14. 14. Russ says:

    here’s a Placemark: link / Google Earth to the boeing airfield in Seattle. but I think the satellite photo might pre-date the Concorde’s arrival. (I can’t find it..)

  15. 15. Per says:

    One Concorde is at the technical museum in Sinsheim, Germany (http://www.museum-sinsheim.de/). I don’t think Google Maps’ satellite images have enough resolution in the area to see it, though.

  16. 16. zmarties says:

    I’ve finally posted my Concorde Compendium which provides a Google Earth datafile giving details of all 20 Concordes. The data includes links to the museums which house them now. The webpage version of this data additionally provides a Google Map link for each aircraft.

  17. 17. rob says:

    bummer about the sinsheim site. the concorde there is mounted right next to a tupelov-144, otherwise known as the ‘konkordskii’.

  18. 18. Adam Meltzer says:

    The other Concorde is at the Museum of Flight at Boeing Field near Seattle, WA. It doesn’t appear to be on the Google Maps satelite image (or I just can’t find it).

    http://www.museumofflight.org/Display.asp?Page=Concorde

  19. 19. Richard says:

    It may not be on Google Maps - but if you take a look at Heathrow Airport in Google Earth, you can see one of the Concorde’s in it’s permanent spot alongside the taxiway towards the east end of the airport.

  20. 20. Speedbird says:

    They are one concorde (FWTSA) at the south of Orly airport.

    It’s the rare concorde flyin under the colors of singapor airlines and the boths colors, France/England.

  21. 21. Paul says:

    that Manchester link is not of Manchester airport, that’s woodford airport, i know because i live in the next town called poynton.
    Placemark: / Google Earth
    my house is at the top right of that picture zoomed out from that link.

    i don’t remember much about it, and there’s not much on the internet, but i think they built Lancaster bombers there, and its now used as more of a private runway for small plane owners and for testing planes.

    Manchester does have a concord, and last time i was there it was parked along side some others i heard they are going to open an exhibition of them.

  22. 22. Paul says:

    sorry to post twice but i just found the actual link

    depending when they update, you should see it here
    Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth

  23. 23. James says:

    Duxford is here:
    Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth

    Apparently concorde is stored in hanger 1 now..
    http://duxford.iwm.org.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.1699

    shame! Used to be outside when I was a wee lad.

  24. 24. James says:

    The one at manchester airport is not on google yet. (The link above is not even for manchester ariport!!!)… according to http://www.manchesterairport.co.uk/web.nsf/Content/ConcordeTours concorde is between the M56 and the wilmslow road tunnel under the runway, shown here Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth, as you can see concorde is not yet on display.

  25. 25. Jimmy James says:

    I think that Manchester link is Woodford Aerodrome, Manchester Airport is a few miles west of there. I know someone who worked at British Aerospace in woodford so I guess it’s something to do with that.

  26. 26. scott says:

    The concorde at Heathrow can be found here:

    Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth

    I think it has been moved from this exact location, because when I saw it in June of 2005 it was at the end of on of the taxi ways.

  27. 27. Fran says:

    Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth

    Also 2 There, Parked up at Teminal 4

  28. 28. Fran says:

    Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth

    Wrong Link, Sorry

  29. 29. john dare says:

    Can someone please help settle what I believe is a hoax. I have been advised by a regular ‘know-it-all’ that one of the Concorde aircraft was scrapped because a ‘mechanic’ (??) allegedly put the ‘wrong’ hydraulic fluid into its hydraulic system.

    Has anyone heard this ’story’ and is it just that, ie a storybook ‘tale’?

    Thanks in advance.

  30. 30. colin gebhart says:

    @John Dare

    Only one airframe was scrapped before the program retirement. Aircraft 211 was scrapped when it became unnecessary after Air France cancelled the Paris-Dakar-Rio route. 211 was chosen due to weight limitations from repairs after a hard landing in Dakar. 211 parts were used to bring 214 back to service after moisture contamination in the hydraulic fluid grounded it for a year. That is probably where this “story” came from.

  31. 31. Steve says:

    We cannot allow BA to trash Concorde, there is only one group in the UK who are totally focussed on returning a single Concorde to flight…… http:///www.save-concorde.co.uk join the fight to save a ” BRITISH” Concorde before it’s too late !!

  32. 32. John Black says:

    There`s a Concorde on static display at the Museum of Flight at East Fortune Airfield in East Lothian approx.18 miles East of Edinburgh and about 2 miles north of the A1 road.

  33. 33. Kathy says:

    The missing Concorde from Intrepid Air and Space Museum, New York is actually not too far from that right now. It is in Brooklyn at the now defunct airport so little known, yet so wonderful Floyd Bennett Field. One old hangar was restored to a sport complex and next to it rests this beautiful plane. It will be moved back to the Museum when it will reopen.
    http://maps.google.com/maps?q=floyd%20bennett%20field&sourceid=navclient-ff&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1B3GGGL_enUS227US227&um=1&sa=N&tab=wl

  34. 34. Kathy says:

    Sorry but I didn’t link probably. Just scroll up a little bit by Dead Horse Bay and next to Flatbush Avenue you will see a big white building. Even if you don’t zoom in you can make out the Concorde.

  35. 35. Tammo says:

    Since the last image update Concorde 216 at Filton Airfield (where they were originally built) has appeared: Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth
    This was also the last one to actually fly into anywhere.
    http://www.concordeatfilton.org.uk/
    and a shot of Concorde passing low over Brunel’s Clifton Suspension Bridge on that last flight: http://www.basereality.com/Images/Gallery/Misc/ConcordeBridgeObservatory.jpg

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