Concorde has been seen floating down East River on a barge after months of refurbishment.
The retired former British Airways airliner was heading to its home at Manhattan’s Intrepid Museum.
The museum has housed the iconic airliner since 2003, when it first arrived at Pier 86.
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As the only British Airways Concorde on display in the Northeast, visitors can take-in the unique power of the aircraft and learn more about its fascinating history.
The Concorde has been at the Brooklyn Navy Yard for the refurb since August and made its journey back on Wednesday 13 March.
From Brooklyn, it floated down the Hudson River to Weeks Marine in New Jersey for an overnight stop.
The last leg of its journey took place on Thursday (14 March).
In a display that was watched by excited crowns, it was then lifted by a 300 foot crane to be returned to Pier 86.
“The months-long restoration project included removal of the aircrafts paint coating, sanding, and recoating, using the same colors and markings that made Concorde a true aviation legend,” a statement from the museum, said.
The part of Pier 86 that houses it has also been given a glow-up to mirror the Concorde.
Now: a little history on the exhibit.
“The Concorde is a product of Anglo-French cooperation,” the Intrepid Museum’s website explains.
“When the Concorde entered Air France and British Airways’ transatlantic service in 1976, it was the only operational supersonic passenger transport in the world.
“With a crew of nine, the Concorde could fly at 1,350 mph (2,150 kph) at an altitude of 60,000 ft (18,181 m), high enough for its 100 passengers to see the Earth’s curvature.”
It was developed by scientists from both sides of the English Channel between 1962 and 1969.
Commercial flights began in 1976 and it set multiple records including ‘Westbound Around the World’ and ‘Eastbound Around the World’ world air speed records.
Flights between New York and London were the most popular route with the fastest transatlantic airliner flight being from New York JFK to London Heathrow on 7 February 1996 by the British Airways G-BOAD.
It went tarmac to tarmac in 2 hours, 52 minutes, 59 seconds.
Its developers claimed to have received orders for 350 of the supersonic aircraft, but rising fuel costs meant just 20 of the planes were made.
British Airways and Air France were its primary operators.
It was banned from going supersonic over many countries because of its sonic boom – something the next-gen of supersonic aircraft, including NASA’s X-59 hopes to nix with its ‘quiet’ technology.
Concorde was taken out of service in 2003 because of exorbitant costs and a crash.
But, recently this commercial plane accidentally hits supersonic speeds over the Atlantic.
Tours of the Manhattan Intrepid Museum’s Concorde resume on 4 April, 2024.
