2003 footage shows how extraordinary it was to live near London Heathrow Airport as Concorde took off

  • This 2003 footage shows life living under Concorde’s flight path
  • It portrays the reality and disruption for residents
  • Concorde was. taking off from London Heathrow Airport

Published on Feb 26, 2024 at 9:27 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones

Last updated on Feb 27, 2024 at 6:49 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by Kate Bain

If you’re looking for some aviation-based nostalgia, you’ll love this 2003 footage of life under the Concorde flight path.

It portrays the reality and disruption of residents living in a neighbourhood close to London Heathrow Airport.

The video was posted to YouTube by Maguire Richardson in 2007.

READ MORE! Video shows what it was actually like to fly on Concorde

The minute-long clip was filmed in 2003 – the same year Concorde took its last journey.

It originally entered service in 1976, but the plane’s iconic status remains intact.

The footage is a powerful auditory memory of Concorde’s mighty Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593 engines with afterburners.

In the description, Richardson fondly recounts the phenomenon that accompanied each Concorde takeoff.

“Four weeks before the last flight in 2003 – filmed roaring over my house – captures the speed,” he said.

“Focus improves! I climbed up on a wall – hence the crazy bit – sometimes the swirl from Concorde blew our bin lids off.

“After-burners can be seen. If the wind was right you could hear it start its take-off run on the ground.”

Concorde had a maximum speed of Mach 2.04 (1,354 mph or 2,180 km/h) at cruise altitude, over twice the speed of sound).

And this animation has revealed just how fast the speed of sound actually is.

The supersonic aircraft actually blows the hats off spectators, who admittedly are standing very close to the runway in this incredible footage.

For many years, Concorde was the ultimate way to travel in flashy and luxurious style.

It was the first commercial supersonic jet, reaching New York from London in under four hours.

It seated 92 to 128 passengers.

With its high-profile clientele and second-to-none travel time, the supersonic jet seemed poised for long-term success.

But several factors, from ticket prices to a catastrophic crash in 2000, led to the plane’s demise.

The cost of a ticket was astronomically high, costing about $12,000 in today’s money for a round trip across the Atlantic.

Fortunately, after two decades, several companies have entered the supersonic race.

In fact, NASA just unveiled a revolutionary ‘quiet’ jet set for commercial supersonic flights.

The typically loud supersonic boom is reduced

Rather than the typical jarring sound, the sound of NASA X-59 is reduced to a “neighbour’s car door down the street being closed” – making the US Federal Aviation Administration more likely to approve it for flights over populated areas.


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Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones

London-based Amelia cut her journalistic teeth covering all things lifestyle, wellness and luxury in the UK capital. Fast-forward a decade and the experienced content creator and editor has put pen to paper for glossy magazines, busy newsrooms and coveted brands. When her OOO is on you can find her spending quality time with her young family, in the gym or exploring the city she loves.