Concorde: the plane that changed British spelling.
Posted by Lewis on October 24, 2003
In Reply to: Concorde: the plane that changed British spelling. posted by James Briggs on October 24, 2003
: Concorde has it's last commercial flight today. Back in the 1960s this Anglo-French project was 'Concord' on the English side of the Channel and 'Concorde' on the French. As a gesture of solidarity the British government said that, henceforth it would be 'Concorde' on both sides. The spelling with the terminal 'e' has now become so familiar that it is difficult to get anyone in Britain to spell the word the other way. Will this survive the plane's demise? Who knows?
: I've had a love/hate relationship with this plane. At the beginning, in the 1960s, I thought the prospect of 300+ of these machines was awful - it was reckoned that this number, a number needed for the project to make economic sense, would use up 10% of the World's kerosene. As it is, only 14 were ever produced. For the past 30 or so years it has flown over my house twice a day - always audible and sometimes visible. I now love it. Friday 24th October is the last day that I'll hear/see it. Thursday was cloudless and I took the opportunity to photograph it at flew over Bristol to New York.
: If you would like to see a larger view of my effort, and wave a personal farewell, then go to the link below. I'll keep it there for a week or so.
: RIP Concorde.
I've not flown in one but did look around one at Duxford Air Museum. I used to see it go over from my office window.
Stupid isn't it? We talk of it as if the fleet were one plane. It has a je ne sais quoi.
The pilots were the Premiership footballers of the aviation industry, with the 'ifitmoveshagit' morals you'd expect. Jealous? Betcha -lucky bastards.
It's a sad day for the aerospace industry.
OK so it guzzles gas, OK so it's cramped, OK so only the privileged used it regularly, but it was something to aspire to and supersonic flight an experience that civilians will be denied for some time to come.
An on the spot ditty :
Concorde
With your nose dropped down
But your pride still high
We lament the day
That you left the sky.