Question 2: When was Delta Golf built?

• Construction of the various sections of the airframe began at Weybridge and Toulouse in 1970. Final assembly of DG started at the end of 1971 at Filton in Bristol and the fitting out of the aircraft's systems continued through 1972 and early 1973. The completed aircraft was officially registered as G‑BBDG and rolled out at the end of 1973.

Question 4: When was Delta Golf's last flight?

• 24th December 1981 from Filton to Filton.

Question 6: Will Delta Golf ever fly again?

• Unfortunately this would never be possible. A feasability study was undertaken by British Airways in the early 1990s to evaluate the possibility of returning DG to flying condition and refitting her for airline service, but this was determined to be far too costly. This decision ultimately meant that Delta Golf would spend the rest of her days on the ground. In addition to this, cutting the airframe up for the move to Brooklands in 2004 meant that she could never be recertified for flight. Apart from the structural implications, when Delta Golf was cut up, most of the hydraulic and fuel lines were cut through - as was much of the electrical wiring.

Question 8: How long did the restoration take?

• The main structural rebuild work and restoration took just over two years to complete. This was followed by several years of less intense work to produce the exhibit you now see at the museum today.

Question 10: Did Delta Golf ever go into commercial airline service?

• No, as Delta Golf was a test and development aircraft. Along with French Concorde 'F-WTSB', Delta Golf carried out the bulk of the flying that allowed the final certification of Concorde for airline service. She was also used extensively for BA crew training.

Question 12: When did Delta Golf first open to visitors?

• Delta Golf was opened to the public by HRH Prince Michael of Kent on 26th July 2006.

Question 14: Why does Delta Golf not have engines fitted?

• DG's engines were removed in the 1980s and put back into British Airways engine pool for use on the rest of the fleet. The structural rejoin of her wings at Brooklands was specifically designed to not include the need to support the considerable weight of four Olympus 593 engines (over 3 tons each). However, an engine is on display underneath the aircraft.

  
  

Question 16: Where will Delta Golf be exhibited?

• Delta Golf was initially located between the Stratosphere Chamber and the Acoustics building and this is where the bulk of the rebuild and restoration was carried out. In May 2011 she was moved from that location and now sits on a new tarmac area in front of the VC10 in the aircraft park (see photo)

Question 18: Where did Brooklands acquire all the parts needed to re-assemble the aircraft?

• Fortunately, virtually all of the original parts and components that were removed from Delta Golf during the 80s and 90s were either found or alternatives located during the course of the restoration. Many of these came from British Airways spares at Heathrow and were donated to the museum by the airline when they stopped Concorde operations in October 2003.

Question 20: What is the device on the underside of Delta Golf's wing that looks like a small propeller?!

• This is the ram air turbine, also known as a 'RAT' (click here for a photo). This is a device used for generating emergency power for vital systems (flight controls, linked hydraulics and also flight-critical instrumentation). In the event of total engine failure during flight - something that never happened to Concorde! - the RAT would deploy automatically and the blades would spin in the airflow. The device is certainly not unique to Concorde. Indeed, most large aircraft have a ram air turbine.

Question 22: Finally, THE question - will any of the remaining Concordes ever fly again?

• It is extremely unlikely that a Concorde will ever fly again. This is due to many factors:

  
  

• Of the flight crews that flew the aircraft, all are now retired. There are also no facilities available to train new pilots (i.e. a CAA approved simulator).

  
  

• All spare parts were either scrapped or auctioned off when Concorde retired. Those that were auctioned off are no longer deemed to be airworthy since leaving the strict control of British Airways' and Air France's bonded stores and therefore could not be used. In addition, much of the infrastructure needed to make spares has long gone and many of the hundreds of OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) that manufactured those parts and have design authority over them no longer exist.

  
  

• The facilities and equipment for servicing and repairing all parts of Concorde's airframe, engines and systems no longer exist.

  
  

• There are no longer any licensed engineers who would be able to a) return a Concorde to airworthy condition, or b) service/maintain the aircraft to keep it airworthy. This is because all the engineers who worked on Concorde over the years either re-trained on other aircraft types, or they have retired. Either way, their licences expired a short time after Concorde's retirement.

  
  

• It's been more than 20 years since any Concorde last flew. Of the surviving airframes, none are in flying condition anymore. At the time of Concorde's retirement in 2003, some of them were approaching major scheduled servicing and this would have to be carried out before the aircraft would be allowed fly again. However, such work would no longer be possible because of the factors outlined in the previous 3 paragraphs. It is also extremely unlikely that any of the museums who have a Concorde would be willing to give up their prize exhibit.

  
  

• It could be asked, if there are many older aircraft types still flying today, why couldn't Concorde? Simply put, Concorde is an order of magnitude more complex both to maintain and to operate than aircraft such as a Spitfire, Lancaster or even a Vulcan which are all very basic in comparison. Concorde has many computer controlled systems and sensors that mean, unlike most heritage aircraft, it would be impossible for it to be maintained, operated and kept airworthy by a handful of enthusiasts with basic facilities.

  
  

• Several years ago it was reported that one of the Air France Concordes was being kept "serviceable". Unfortunately the word serviceable can be rather misleading. In this instance it simply meant that volunteers at the museum in question had been maintaining some of the electrical and hydraulic systems to an extent that allowed them to connect ground-power from the museum to the aircraft. This allowed them do things like power up the cockpit instruments and move the droop nose up and down occasionally for museum visitors. Sadly, this is no longer the case and besides, like all other remaining fleet Concordes, the aircraft in question in France hasn't flown since 2003 and in reality is very far from being in a position to do so.

  
  

• It could be argued that many of the issues listed above could be solved by money. However, how much money? For a while some people closely involved with Concorde had been quoted saying that £10-£15 million should be sufficient. This may well have been the case in 2003, but a long time has passed since the last flight and now that the Concorde support chain has been disbanded and the spares holding disposed of, the amount needed would be astronomical - likely over £100 million.
  
  In today's climate, spending such a vast amount of money would be totally unjustifiable just to get one aircraft airworthy for a handful of air shows a year - even if it is Concorde! It is also necessary to bear in mind that the figures mentioned above just relate to the money needed to get a Concorde back into airworthy condition. The costs of on-going service/maintenance and flight operations would all be in addition to this.

  
  

• Concorde's Certificate of Airworthiness was withdrawn by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) soon after its final flight in 2003. This is a document issued by the CAA and is a legal requirement for all civilian aircraft types before they are allowed to fly. For there to be any hope of Concorde's certificate being re-instated, it would be essential to have the support of the manufacturer. Unfortunately, Concorde does not (see the following paragraph).

  
  

• Concorde was jointly manufactured by the British Aircraft Corporation of the UK and Aerospatialé of France, who both later became part of the Airbus consortium. Unfortunately, Airbus have repeatedly stated over the years that they have no interest in participating in returning Concorde to the skies. Airbus was the key supplier in the Concorde operation. Not only did it build Concorde, it specified and controlled the maintenance programme and was the end supplier of the parts that made it fly. Without their support, it doesn't make any difference how much money is made available - the whole idea literally is a non-starter.

  
  

• The sad truth is that you will now almost certainly only ever be able to enjoy Concorde in a museum. The 'virtual' flight experiences on G‑BBDG or in the simulator at Brooklands are likely the closest you'll get!