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A bit about me and my interest in Concorde and the BAC...My name is Andy Buckley and I lived in Filton for 22 years covering the 60’s and 70’s and, in effect, grew up with Concorde
and some of the research aircraft which preceded it. I never actually worked at the BAC as it was known locally (Bristol Aeroplane Company, later part of British Aircraft C
orporation before becoming British Aerospace) but many of those who worked there were customers at the family garage business in Southmead Road and there was a close affiliation to “The Works”. Concorde Open Day It was Reg who took me on the BAC works tour when a Concorde Open Day was held (not sure when - mid ‘60s?) for staff and their families. This was before the first prototype
had been finished and I was probably eight or nine years old. We boarded a coach at the Golf Course Lane works entrance and taken to the giant Brabazon hangar where the Concorde pre-production prototypes were being built.
Other coaches were available to take visitors to other parts of the works - including the wind tunnel.
[above] A Concorde landing at Filton always seemed to draw a crowd - this is the view from the golf course overlooking Filton airfield. Note the former West Works buildings in the background - now demolished to make way for a Royal Mail sorting facility (Link: for more information on Concorde Philately) Filton Airfield in the 60’s/70’s I often used to walk up Golf Course Lane (sometimes with friends) to the hill above the airfield next to Filton Golf Club in order to watch the various activities on what at that time was quite a busy airfield (see photo above for a recent view). More often than not we were chased off the golf course but it didn’t stop us wanting to see what was going on at the airfield below. We would often see (and more often hear!) the Avro Vulcan test bed (XA903) which was air testing Concorde’s Olympus 593 engine. This was strapped to the underside of the fuselage. Often it was being “chased” by a small jet - I believe usually a Folland Gnat. This diminutive aircraft was completely dwarfed by the Vulcan but would be flying immediately underneath the tail (in fact from the ground it looked almost joined!), presumably observing the engine? Although the Vulcan test bed has since been scrapped, its nose and cockpit is still in existence and is being restored at Wellesbourne Mountfield airfield in Warwickshire. More details on this and an interesting article on XA903 by Alan Baxter (then Rolls Royce’s Chief Flight Test Engineer at Filton) can be found on the Famous Vulcans website. An English Electric Lightning jet was being used supersonically around Filton around this time to create “sonic booms” - I presume part of the research into the shock wave that aircraft flying faster than sound would produce. At school we were warned to keep the classroom windows open to avoid breakages! Also flying during this period was the modified Fairy Delta 2 (BAC 221 - now in the Fleet Air Arm museum at Yeovilton with Concorde 002 - G-BSST). I was recently lucky to obtain a model of the original Fairy Delta in 1/72nd scale. When compared to others models in my collection it strikes me that this aircraft bore a remarkable resemblance to the Dassault Mirage III (or should I say the Mirage looked very much like the Fairy Delta?). Did Dassault have any involvement in the design or development of the Fairy Delta or vice versa? An English Electric Canberra was used as a “chase aircraft” during the Concorde test programme and this could often be seen parked on the far side of the airfield (next to the RAF hangar) or, on at least one occassion when the doors were opened, it could be seen inside the Brabazon Hangar. Airshows at Filton
There were quite a few airshows at Filton during this period and there was always something interesting on display. I was given a Kodak Brownie Vecta 127 camera for a birthday present at a young age - fixed focus and aperture - and some of the first photos I took were at a Filton display (above - click for a bigger image) ?does anyone have any info on the Vulcan (above right)?. A replica Bristol Boxkite biplane appeared at one (?was this the one now hanging in the Bristol City Museum?). I remember seeing a Blackburn Beverley doing its party-piece of landing and then reversing back up the runway! Does anyone else remember seeing a pink painted Spitfire flying at one of these displays? (perhaps it’s just one of those doubtful childhood memories!) Filton was also an RAF station at this time. At Charborough Road School I can remember the children of RAF personnel waiting at the school gates to be picked up by an RAF bus at the end of the school day. The Bristol University Air Squadron also flew DH(C) Chipmunks from Filton throughout this period. 002’s Rollout - 1968 I remember standing on the golf course hill in September 1968, with what seemed like the whole of the population of Filton, to see Concorde 002 being rolled out of the Brabazon hangar - what a magnificent site. This was the first time I had seen a completed aircraft and I couldn’t believe just how beautiful it looked. One thing that puzzled me was that the tail unit looked as if it had holes in it - but I found out later that this was some kind of reflective silver coating - can anyone tell me what this was for? Bristol and Concorde Around this time Bristol as a city, and especially Filton and the surrounding neighbourhoods where much of the workforce lived, was very much behind this most prestigious of aircraft projects. An example of this was the local Filton Branch of the National Westminster Bank which produced a cheque book for its customers, which had images of Concorde on each cheque. I remember Lewis’s department store in The Horsefair used to stage regular exhibitions on the top floor and one was a large exhibition about Concorde. At that time airlines from around the world it seemed were queuing up to place orders or options on this supersonic airliner - before it had even flown. There were large models of Concordes displayed in the various liveries of all the airlines who had shown interest in flying the aircraft - a whole roomful it seemed although in fact I understand only 16 Airlines were represented (this must have been around 1969?). In the end of course the oil crisis and rapidly increasing fuel costs in the ‘70s only three airlines actually flew Concorde in their colours - BOAC - now British Airways, Air France, and later, Singapore Airlines (although in the last case I believe only the left hand side of the aircraft was painted in SA livery). (?I know that a Concorde was dual registered with an American Registration but did Braniff Airlines ever fly a Concorde in its own colours for its services within the States?) During the early ’70s there was a major concern that the Government was going to cancel the Concorde programme because of the escalating costs. In 1970 Rolls Royce was also on the point of going bankrupt. In Filton and Patchway, BAC and Bristol Siddeley (the aero engine makers later taken over by Rolls-Royce) were the major employers in the area for many years. There was a wide expectation amongst many school leavers that they would be taken on as apprentice and just about everyone living locally was either in employment or knew someone who worked at the factories. This would have been a major blow, not only to the 25,000 (?) workers at BAC and Rolls Royce but also to the local communities, if either had failed. Campaigns under the slogan “Keep Concorde Flying” were launched and industrial action taken at the works. The Government backed down under pressure and Rolls-Royce for a time became Rolls-Royce (1971) Ltd with Government support. I also remember going to a cinema in Bristol - possibly The Gaumont in Baldwin Street(?) - to view a film (produced by BAC?) which showed a view of the then near future and what it would be like to fly in Concorde to New York. This was enough to whet the appetite of one small boy and to form a dream unfortunately never to be fulfilled... My Air Experience Flights at Filton As a member of the Bristol Grammar School Combined Cadet Force, I first flew on an Air Experience Flight (AEF) from Filton in a de Havilland (C) Chipmunk (registration WD 376) on 01 Feb 1973. The Chipmunk was one of a number flown by No 3 Air Experience Flight RAF(VRT). This wasn’t my first flight - that took place at Staverton (Gloucester Airport) when No 3 AEF were based there during 1972. If you’re interested you can click here to see my flying log and a bit about my gliding and other flight experiences. |
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