Former crew inside the Concorde with captain Les Brodie, pictured centre, who commanded the final flight of the Concorde on November 26 2003.
The largest-ever gathering of Concorde crew has been hosted to mark 50 years since the iconic plane’s first commercial flight.
More than 30 former Concorde captains, first officers, flight engineers and cabin crew came together at Aerospace Bristol to celebrate the occasion.
The Concorde’s first passenger flight took the skies on January 21, 1976.
The anniversary was brought to life as Concorde Alpha Foxtrot – the last Concorde to fly – performed a timed ‘droop nose’ at 11.40am, marking the exact moment the first commercial flight took off.
As a synchronised tribute, two other supersonic Concorde aircraft, at Manchester’s Runway Visitor Park and IWM Duxford, also drooped their noses at this time.
The ‘droop nose’ — a hydraulically operated nose cone pivoting down — gave pilots visibility during take-off and landings.
Sally Cordwell, CEO of Aerospace Bristol, said: “Concorde still has an extraordinary ability to stop people in their tracks, for good reason. It’s instantly recognisable, incredibly photogenic and packed with stories of human ambition and engineering brilliance.
“We’re thrilled to be able to bring this amazing crew together to celebrate this milestone for Concorde — it continues to play a huge part of our story and the heritage and legacy of aviation in our region.
“Today was about sharing stories of ambition, collaboration and engineering prowess, giving people the behind-the-scenes detail, celebrating our work as a museum and showing why we work so hard to do what we do.”
The museum also hosted a live auction of Concorde memorabilia, raising funds and celebrating the aircraft’s enduring cultural pull.
At the time Filtonvoice went to print, Aerospace Bristol was due to hold a special talk from Concorde captain John Hutchinson about his experiences flying the aircraft.
A host of other events have also been organised to mark Concorde’s 50th anniversary.