Concorde droop-nose fully functional for 50th anniversary

Soon, you can watch Concorde droop-nose as if it were approaching the runway.

This year marks 50 years since Concorde’s maiden flight – from Toulouse on 2nd March 1969, with the first British flight taking place from Filton on 9th April 1969 – and Aerospace Bristol will celebrating this incredible milestone with special activities throughout the year.

To celebrate the 50 years since Concorde’s maiden flight Aerospace Bristol aim to have the droop nose working by 9th April 2019: the 50th anniversary of the first British Concorde flight.

The droop nose of Concorde Alpha Foxtrot has not operated since the aircraft was decommissioned and the hydraulic fluid drained, following its final flight on November 26, 2003.

Alpha Foxtrot was the 20th and last Concorde to be built. It entered service in April 1979 and was the last Concorde to fly, landing at Filton on November 26, 2003

To make this special project a reality, they need to establish a method of energising the hydraulic system for the droop nose without affecting any other systems on the aircraft. And they also need to activate some of the original aircraft electrical system to be able to select the nose up and down.”

To do this, they have laid new cables under the aircraft floor to supply a transformer, which will take the voltage to 28 volts. This is compatible with the aircraft, allowing them to use the original aircraft selectors.

The next issue to overcome is to supply 3000psi of hydraulic pressure to the droop nose system. Zeus Hydratech have kindly agreed to supply them with a bespoke motor and pump unit (power pack).

To effect simple connectivity to the existing hydraulic circuit, it was decided the power pack would be installed inside the Concorde nose wheel bay.

Photo’s from Aerospace Bristol