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-   -   BA Concorde which side. (https://www.fodors.com/community/air-travel/ba-concorde-which-side-337343/)

RJames Jul 15th, 2003 02:22 PM

BA Concorde which side.
 
Does it matter if you are on the north side or south side of the plane for a JFK-LHR flight? Any tips on flying the Concorde would be appreciated. Thanks.

cal776 Jul 16th, 2003 11:46 AM

It does not matter as far as seeing the curvature of the earth. However, I would get an "A" side window seat JFK-LHR because immediately after takeoff, Concorde powers back and makes a sharp right bank -- from the "A" seat you will have a better view. The Mach-meter on the Marilake display is on the "A/B" side as well. Try to get a seat toward the front of either cabin to get the best view of the Marilake. Row 11, the bulkhead row, is ideal.

For more information, peruse the trip reports at: http://pub13.ezboard.com/bconcordesst

Here's a link to what is probably the best Concorde report ever:
http://www.travelscholar.com/concorde/

Enjoy your supersonic flight!

cal776 Jul 16th, 2003 11:49 AM

Excuse me, I meant to say that "immediately after takeoff, Concorde . . . makes a sharp LEFT bank", not a right bank. Sorry for the confusion.

Dave Jul 16th, 2003 05:04 PM

cal776 - Thanks for the reminder on TravelScholar's Trip Report....I had read it a long time ago when posted on FT, but had completely forgotten about it!!

Best wishes, Dave

NoFlyZone Jul 16th, 2003 06:11 PM

cal776, you may have experienced a left turn but the path of the aircraft will vary ffrom flight to flight depending on wind conditions (which determines which runway), the overall traffic pattern around the airport and which departure path the plane was assigned. It can be a sharp left one day and a lazy right the next...

cal776 Jul 17th, 2003 02:50 PM

All true, NoFlyZone, but without having the statistics in front of me, I believe that Concorde's most frequent JFK departure runway is 31L and the flight plan from that departure point calls for the immediate left bank almost invariably. Regardless, the "A" side is preferable because of the slightly better view of the Machmeter, IMHO.

NoFlyZone Jul 17th, 2003 04:20 PM

As the prevailing winds are out of the west/northwest, Rwy 31 would often be used and the SID does call for a left turn to avoid bumping into Laguardia's airspace. But ... winds often shift so there is a big difference between always and usually...


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