Posted: 9/24/2025 7:52:04 AM EDT
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One of the recent cool videos on things I thought I’d never get to see. I’ve shot maybe a handful of approaches in there in a regional jet years ago. Beautiful place. It was different to see a supersonic jet do the same, nearly forty years later. Enjoy  April 4, 1987 - The Concorde in Asheville, North Carolina |
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I was taxiing out for take off in DFW around 5-6 pm one summer day. We were headed north to the departure end of 18L and as we pass Terminal C, we see the Concord is not only at the gate but is pushing back for take off. I immediately slowed to a crawl hoping to eat up some time so she would taxi out ahead of us and we could watch her take off. Funny enough, as soon as they called for taxi, all the other planes slowed down hoping for the same outcome. Long story short, we got the thrill of watching a Concord full afterburner take off at dusk. Our whole jet rumbled and vibrated as she rolled past us. One of my favorite memories. |
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Dayum. At that time especially I couldn't see AVL rating a Concorde flight even if it was just a "demo". Such am impressive aircraft, even if it was an economic non starter. |
There's nothing wrong with a little personal baggage, it's owning the whole luggage store that's the problem.
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Originally Posted By SquatchAv8: I was taxiing out for take off in DFW around 5-6 pm one summer day. We were headed north to the departure end of 18L and as we pass Terminal C, we see the Concord is not only at the gate but is pushing back for take off. I immediately slowed to a crawl hoping to eat up some time so she would taxi out ahead of us and we could watch her take off. Funny enough, as soon as they called for taxi, all the other planes slowed down hoping for the same outcome. Long story short, we got the thrill of watching a Concord full afterburner take off at dusk. Our whole jet rumbled and vibrated as she rolled past us. One of my favorite memories. She was LOUD! I remember my grandfather and my father taking me to watch it take off a few times. 
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Originally Posted By mo4040: She may have been a beauty taking off, but she was a pain in the ass to deal with as a controller. Only the A380 and AN124 exceed it as an operational headache. Modern problems.... Why were the A380 and AN124 worse? Why was she a pita to deal with? @mo4040 |
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The Concord came with operational restrictions due to its unique handling characteristics. And departure procedures for the Concord added complexity to the operation (the Concord had to climb at or above a certain speed that my old ass cannot remember...When it was arriving, it was always in a fuel critical state, etc). A pain in the ass to deal with. The AN124 had a peculiar takeoff routine. When the AN124 is cleared for takeoff, it has to sit on the runway for up to 5 minutes while spooling up it's engines before rolling. No exceptions. It cannot do this prior to being on the runway. So, while this is no big deal at a slow, low-density airport, it is a huge pain in the ass at a major US airport; you cannot have a jet occupying a runway for 5 or more minutes (except maybe in the middle of the night) while there is a big demand to use that runway. As for the A380, because of its size, there were a lot of restrictions WRT taxiing, wake turbulence separation, and so forth. 99.9% of the major airports around the world were designed so as the biggest jet that would see regular service was the Boeing 747. Thus, there were restrictions put in place for the A380. On most of the airport's movement areas, you could not have aircraft over a certain size taxiing near the A380 due to clearance issues; when it's busy, that is a big hassle. When it first came out, we were briefed that "it would arrive and depart during periods where there would be low impact on the operation..." Early on, this was true. However, money talks and BS walks. Over time, the airlines began scheduling them to suit their operational (money) needs. So, you had lots of aircraft that could not move because the A380 is moving about like a bull in a china shop. In the beginning, it was cool watching them takeoff and land. As time went on though, it was not worth the headache associated with its operation. |
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Originally Posted By mo4040: The Concord came with operational restrictions due to its unique handling characteristics. And departure procedures for the Concord added complexity to the operation (the Concord had to climb at or above a certain speed that my old ass cannot remember...When it was arriving, it was always in a fuel critical state, etc). A pain in the ass to deal with. The AN124 had a peculiar takeoff routine. When the AN124 is cleared for takeoff, it has to sit on the runway for up to 5 minutes while spooling up it's engines before rolling. No exceptions. It cannot do this prior to being on the runway. So, while this is no big deal at a slow, low-density airport, it is a huge pain in the ass at a major US airport; you cannot have a jet occupying a runway for 5 or more minutes (except maybe in the middle of the night) while there is a big demand to use that runway. As for the A380, because of its size, there were a lot of restrictions WRT taxiing, wake turbulence separation, and so forth. 99.9% of the major airports around the world were designed so as the biggest jet that would see regular service was the Boeing 747. Thus, there were restrictions put in place for the A380. On most of the airport's movement areas, you could not have aircraft over a certain size taxiing near the A380 due to clearance issues; when it's busy, that is a big hassle. When it first came out, we were briefed that "it would arrive and depart during periods where there would be low impact on the operation..." Early on, this was true. However, money talks and BS walks. Over time, the airlines began scheduling them to suit their operational (money) needs. So, you had lots of aircraft that could not move because the A380 is moving about like a bull in a china shop. In the beginning, it was cool watching them takeoff and land. As time went on though, it was not worth the headache associated with its operation. Thanks
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