Concorde in the air again!
Discussion
...sort of!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-us-canada-6857...
Looks fantastic, and really wierd actually in the air as it were. As it happens I'm off to NYC in a couple of months tocommiserate celebrate my big five-oh, so I'll definitely be dragging my good lady around Intrepid.
Anyone else been...is it good? I sometimes find air museums very depressing, as you witness the cracking tyres, leaking fluids, yellowing canopies and corroding aluminium of once great aircraft giving in to the elements that they once flew in, however if the rest of the exhibits are as good as Concorde looks here, I'm hoping it will be a great museum.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-us-canada-6857...
Looks fantastic, and really wierd actually in the air as it were. As it happens I'm off to NYC in a couple of months to
Anyone else been...is it good? I sometimes find air museums very depressing, as you witness the cracking tyres, leaking fluids, yellowing canopies and corroding aluminium of once great aircraft giving in to the elements that they once flew in, however if the rest of the exhibits are as good as Concorde looks here, I'm hoping it will be a great museum.
I went there last year, and it was fantastic. The good lady wife wasn’t so enthralled, but we went to Ellen’s Stardust Diner afterwards so swings and roundabouts.
The aircraft on the flight deck are looking a bit tired being that they’re out in the elements, but they do look after them. Some excellent aircraft to be seen. The ones on the hangar deck are in excellent condition, and of course you have USS Enterprise (the shuttle) in its own hangar with lots of space paraphernalia including a Soyuz crew module that has been in orbit! Unfortunately, Concorde had already been taken for its spruce up so there was just an empty apron
The ship itself is in great condition (the bits that have been restored) and we probably spent a good 6-7 hours there, much to the chagrin of Mrs Alias. Well worth a visit.
On the subject of NYC, I thoroughly recommend the 9/11 museum / memorial. It’s set below the street level at the foundations of the two towers and it’s quite an experience. Very sombre, but very fascinating too.
I’d also recommend a visit to Katz’s Deli for a really good deli sandwich if like such things. It’s gets extremely busy and it’s quite expensive for a sandwich ($30 or so for a brisket and pastrami Reuben), but my word - what a sandwich!
Anyway, back on topic:
The aircraft on the flight deck are looking a bit tired being that they’re out in the elements, but they do look after them. Some excellent aircraft to be seen. The ones on the hangar deck are in excellent condition, and of course you have USS Enterprise (the shuttle) in its own hangar with lots of space paraphernalia including a Soyuz crew module that has been in orbit! Unfortunately, Concorde had already been taken for its spruce up so there was just an empty apron
The ship itself is in great condition (the bits that have been restored) and we probably spent a good 6-7 hours there, much to the chagrin of Mrs Alias. Well worth a visit.
On the subject of NYC, I thoroughly recommend the 9/11 museum / memorial. It’s set below the street level at the foundations of the two towers and it’s quite an experience. Very sombre, but very fascinating too.
I’d also recommend a visit to Katz’s Deli for a really good deli sandwich if like such things. It’s gets extremely busy and it’s quite expensive for a sandwich ($30 or so for a brisket and pastrami Reuben), but my word - what a sandwich!
Anyway, back on topic:
Not forgetting the USS Growler that's moored next to the Intrepid. Yes, it's a submarine and quite interesting as you can get on it. Much amusement to visiting Brits (e.g.I'm going to have a close look at the Growler), but seemingly lost on the 'mercans.
I see the Concorde has just had a tidy-up; you certainly didn't used to get on it, but I wonder if they've done it up so you can now?
But the whole Intrepid thing with boats, planes and a growler is worth it. Quite a few of the staff on hand are ex Intrepid crew and have some great tales about the ship.
I see the Concorde has just had a tidy-up; you certainly didn't used to get on it, but I wonder if they've done it up so you can now?
But the whole Intrepid thing with boats, planes and a growler is worth it. Quite a few of the staff on hand are ex Intrepid crew and have some great tales about the ship.
tvrolet said:
Not forgetting the USS Growler that's moored next to the Intrepid. Yes, it's a submarine and quite interesting as you can get on it. Much amusement to visiting Brits (e.g.I'm going to have a close look at the Growler), but seemingly lost on the 'mercans.
yes, thats what me and my son thought when we went onto Growler - couldn't stop giggling and the giggles just got louder every time his 13 YO sister asked why were giggling!Anyway, Growler, even were it the only attraction there is IMO a must see if you have any interest in cold war stuff. It's staffed inside by old timers who served on it decades ago and they will explain in great detail about how the targeting systems work and the likleyhood that the missiles would miss the targets anyway etc.
The museum is also excellent apart from Growler
I visited intrepid and growler about 5 years ago now and loved it. It's not often you get to go on an aircraft carrier or submarine so it was a very unique experience. As said, the guides were excellent as they had all served on the ship or others in it's class and had some great stories to tell.
My only issue (well more my at the time pregnant wife) was it being a bit out of the way of all the other NYC tourist spots but it was 100% worth the detour
My only issue (well more my at the time pregnant wife) was it being a bit out of the way of all the other NYC tourist spots but it was 100% worth the detour
I went in feb 2020, it’s a fantastic museum as noted above the planes on the deck do look abit tired but there is a good variety. There are plenty of ex crew volunteers happy to tell you about their experience on board in war time and explain the equipment at their particular station. We got a private tour of Concorde as there was no one else booked on at the same time as us. The guide was happy for us to take our time “on board” . I’ll try and find the pictures, As others have noted the 9/11 museum is also brilliant but very sobering there are so many artifacts on display and the personal phone calls you hear cause the room to get suddenly very dusty IMO.
Edit to add photos, I do have lots more but it’s a pain to upload them on my phone.
Edit to add photos, I do have lots more but it’s a pain to upload them on my phone.
Edited by Harfi88 on Friday 15th March 10:25
A little closer to home, if you are in Germany the Auto Technik museum at Sinsheim has both a Concorde and a Tupolev TU-144 that you can get inside to view. It's a great museum and well worth a visit.
https://sinsheim.technik-museum.de/en/
https://sinsheim.technik-museum.de/en/
Used to go and stay at my uncles house who was under the Heathrow flight path and used to love watching Concorde come and go. Such a shame that we have taken that backwards step not to have this sort of transport anymore. Really do want to get to New York to do the Intrepid tours etc
Great info, thanks guys. As it's my 50th, I'll see if I can persuade the Mrs to let me, erm, go inside the Growler, dive dive dive, and load the torpedo into the tube. I can literally see hours of puerile double entendres here!
Be fab to get on Concorde. BA always has a place in my heart (my mum was BA cabin crew, my dad was BA ground staff...). It's such an incredible aircraft...as a current LAPL/PPL student pilot it looks just so mind bogglingly complicated. I read a Jeremy Clarkson book all about iconic machines, and in the section on Concorde, apparently lots of people at NASA reckoned Concorde was a far greater technical achievement than the moon landings. The physics in play, the fact it had to make money, the fact that no-one was in a space suit, and the fact that whilst there was a degree of acceptance that spacecraft blowing up on the launch pad was just "one of those things/goes with the territory", Concorde passengers were likely to complain if the champers was served a bit warm...
Looking forward to it!
Be fab to get on Concorde. BA always has a place in my heart (my mum was BA cabin crew, my dad was BA ground staff...). It's such an incredible aircraft...as a current LAPL/PPL student pilot it looks just so mind bogglingly complicated. I read a Jeremy Clarkson book all about iconic machines, and in the section on Concorde, apparently lots of people at NASA reckoned Concorde was a far greater technical achievement than the moon landings. The physics in play, the fact it had to make money, the fact that no-one was in a space suit, and the fact that whilst there was a degree of acceptance that spacecraft blowing up on the launch pad was just "one of those things/goes with the territory", Concorde passengers were likely to complain if the champers was served a bit warm...
Looking forward to it!
PH5121 said:
A little closer to home, if you are in Germany the Auto Technik museum at Sinsheim has both a Concorde and a Tupolev TU-144 that you can get inside to view. It's a great museum and well worth a visit.
https://sinsheim.technik-museum.de/en/
Visited there around ten years ago, superb.https://sinsheim.technik-museum.de/en/
What surprised me was they had a section on the holocaust, rather than brushing it under the carpet.
Definitely a must visit in NYC been aboard a couple of times now and it’s very impressive
Not cheap ( nothing in NYC is ) but worth every cent imo
Even the LEGO model of it is pretty impressive
Get a great view of the Hudson, NJ and Manhattan thrown in
Combined with a round manhattan boat trip on the circle line from the pier next door it makes a great day out
Not cheap ( nothing in NYC is ) but worth every cent imo
Even the LEGO model of it is pretty impressive
Get a great view of the Hudson, NJ and Manhattan thrown in
Combined with a round manhattan boat trip on the circle line from the pier next door it makes a great day out
gshughes said:
I've been and would agree with everyone else it is excellent. There is also a small car dealership nearby that had a Lexus LFA, so I got to see one of those in the metal for the first and so far only time.
There’s also the Jacob Javitts centre next door where they hold the NY motor show which luckily was on one of our visits 
gshughes said:
I've been and would agree with everyone else it is excellent. There is also a small car dealership nearby that had a Lexus LFA, so I got to see one of those in the metal for the first and so far only time.
Classic Car Club Manhattan is just further down the river. I spent a bit of time wandering around inside looking at the cars, they are/were happy for you to just go in and have a look around.
Only been to the one in Brooklands and it was a lovely experience. She looks excellent despite being stored outside, but was also never in service.
I know there are some out there in better condition but I didn't think that the one in NY was one of them? It'll be marvelous to see etc. regardless though. Plus the rest of the museum/city.
I know there are some out there in better condition but I didn't think that the one in NY was one of them? It'll be marvelous to see etc. regardless though. Plus the rest of the museum/city.
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