This retirement stuff is exhausting! Last weekend I was involved in a five-day retreat involving the establishment of a strategic plan for the National Board for Certified Counselors; I chair one of their boards. Cindy went to Anoka to help her mom get her house organized, which meant going though lots and lots of stuff in the basement. I picked her up on Sunday at Dulles and we went into Washington DC for two days; I had some meetings there and we were able to slip in some nice meals. The temperatures were high, hitting a hundred, with lots of humidity so there wasn’t a lot of walking and certainly no running.
On Tuesday morning we met some dear friends from our time in Germany. They live in Arlington and they have wanted to take us to their favorite Italian grocery store for the longest time. It really is a hole in the wall and not easy to find, but goodness it is worth the effort. Tons of wonderful stuff that you just can’t find in regular big box grocery stores. We dropped a few hundred dollars on cheeses, pasta, wine, tinned Italian tomatoes and bread sticks. I think we have gone though most of it already, it was that good.
On Wednesday we drove to Northern Virginia to get our shingles shots and since we were there, we had a lovely luncheon at an old converted mill. From there we headed back to Charles Town and ordered three cubic yards of soil for our new garden and made arrangements for them to deliver it on Friday. Do you know how much topsoil is in three square feet?? Neither did we until they came and began to dump it and dump it and dump it. Out new garden is where the kiddy playground used to be, is 25x18 feet, and three cubic yards has filled it to a depth of three inches. Cindy and I are both rather sore today since we had to move all the soil where it was dumped next to the garage, over to the garden, which is seventy-five yards away. We did it all with two wheelbarrows and it took us about four hours in heat and humidity to get the job done. It all looks great now but I can assure you that one hour into the hauling of dirt I was ready to just throw seeds into that pile of soil and call it our new garden.
July 25th was the 11th anniversary of the first and last crash of the Concorde. Three years later the remaining aircraft in the Air France and British Air fleet were retired and we no longer have the option of supersonic commercial transport. I was reminded of a Concorde flight that Cindy and I enjoyed many years ago and thought you might like to read our remembrances of that event. (Please note my prediction in the last paragraph. I was off by two years.)
Until next week, Cindy and Wm
The Concorde
In 1970 I was in England for the first time arranging sites for student teachers at British Primary schools. I was in the play area at a school in Bournemouth talking with some of the teachers and children when my eye was drawn upwards by the sound of an airplane. It was like nothing I had ever seen before: sleek, delta-winged, small for a commercial jet and large for a military jet. I had no idea what it was and neither did any of the teachers with me. One of the students however not only knew what it was, but where it was going. “It’s the new Concorde,” he said, “and it’s on test runs out of Filton.” I never asked how this nine-year-old knew this but that day I was determined to find out all I could about this plane and to ride it as soon as possible.
What I didn’t know was that there were only two of them at the time, one French, one British, and that they would be undergoing intensive tests for the next six years before the first commercial flights in 1976. These first flights went to locations other than the USA since we had lost the race and scrapped our Super Sonic Transport (SST) program and we were not keen on letting the winners come to our shores. It would take another year for the politics of change to allow the first commercial flights to the USA but the price tag for such trips was well beyond my --and most everyone else’s - travel budget.
Twenty-eight years later the opportunity to fly the Concorde from New York to London presented itself and I took it! The night before the flight Cindy and I stayed at a hotel very close to Kennedy Airport so that we would not be rushed for the 0845 departure of British Air flight 002, JFK/LHR. I thought that evening as I was lying in bed that perhaps I would be disappointed in the flight since I had hyped myself up so much for this experience. I worried a bit about feeling claustrophobic in the small cabin; I worried about foolish little things that crept into my brain moments before sleep.
The next morning I was up with the sun, which isn’t hard to do on December the 7th. The day was clear and bright and I was as giddy as a child at Christmas. Cindy tells me that I had a smile on my face from the minute I woke up until we arrived at the airport and for hours beyond that. I know I was excited and I remember seeing the Concorde sitting at the gate as we approached British Air on the overpass and I could hardly believe that we were only 90 minutes from takeoff.
Check-in at the special Concorde area was as I would expect for a First Class cabin. Very professional, organized and - well, it was fun! The woman ahead of us had on a full-length sable coat and checked in nine Louis Vuitton bags, one of which was a hat bag. I haven’t seen hat bags in years, especially one by Louis Vuitton. We were given our boarding passes for the Concorde flight and our connecting flights to Frankfurt, along with directions to the Concorde Lounge. As we were heading for the lounge Cindy said that she didn’t think we were sitting together. I assured her, as only a very experienced traveler can, that of course we were sitting together, that I had made the reservations months ago and had requested row 11 so that we could be right in front of the Mach meter and told her to relax. She then reminded me of the alphabet and said that it seemed strange to her that a plane with only four seats in a row would have 11B next to 11C. Of course she was right! We were supposed to have seats 11 C/D so I brought this to the attention of the hostess in the Concorde lounge who checked the computer and found that in fact someone was already in seat 11D but she would do what she could to fix the situation and ushered us into the lounge. There another hostess was taking winter coats from passengers to store them on the Concorde for delivery at the door when deplaning in London. A nice touch given the limited storage space on the plane. Our carry-on luggage was sized and approved. Many passengers had their carry-on luggage tagged and checked since it was too big for the plane’s overhead compartments.
The Lounge was already filled with other Concorde passengers, mostly businessmen who were reading papers, working the phones and playing with computers. There were about fifteen couples that seemed to be going on holiday and they were grazing at the breakfast bar, which was plentiful. It was now 0800 and since no one was drinking I resisted the temptation to have a glass of something. I sat down with a glass of juice for Cindy and water for me and watched as Lord Andrew Lloyd-Weber sat next to us with his wife. I was tempted to ask him how Julian was doing but decided that I would respect his privacy since he was respecting mine. I called my Dad to thank him for preserving democracy, a ritual I perform on Pearl Harbor Day and D-Day. The hostess came over with our boarding passes indicating seats 11 C/D and soon it was time to begin the boarding process.
We were screened, x-rayed and patted down and checked for bomb residue before allowed onto the plane, a precaution that I most definitely supported. We could not see the plane from the boarding area, which disappointed me, but I had been looking at enough pictures of it and had seen two of them as we landed the day before. Entering the plane I could certainly see why they were so keen to take coats and large baggage. It is a small plane. It has about six feet of headroom and the width is only about seven feet. It is very tastefully decorated with shades of gray and silver. The seats are rounded on the top for better visibility and are very comfortable with their combination of leather and cloth. We were at the bulkhead and had foam pillows for our feet; other seats had small foot rests on the seats ahead of them to allow you to adjust your feet and legs during flight. Our tray tables were really well designed. You could unfold them in three stages allowing for a drinks tray, a writing tablet and a dining tray. Lots of room, comparatively, on the bulkhead. The real reason for wanting those seats however is the fact that the digital readout of Mach, altitude, temperature and distance to destination is on the bulkhead screen, and I wanted to be very sure that I had a good view.
In the seat pocket we each had headphones, with soft leather ear cups, the in- flight magazine, and a leather folder that contained our menu, wine list, stationery pad, official Concorde pen, leather note pad, Concorde Flight Certificate and Concorde fact book. Flight attendants came by to make sure we were all comfy and secure, took our drink order for after takeoff and gave us pillows and wool blankets if desired. At exactly 0845 we pushed back from the gate and began our journey. The Captain came on to welcome us and tell us our flight information and assure us that we would have a smooth and fast flight to London. We taxied out and had to wait a moment next to a 747-400, which looked enormous. The windows on the Concorde are very small, almost like portholes on a small boat so if you are on the aisle you need to lean very close to your neighbor to see anything. Fortunately Cindy is a very good sharer and we had no difficulty.
0905 and we are lined up on runway 22R and accelerating. The Mach meter was not yet on but the Captain had told us that the four afterburners would kick in somewhere between 75 and 80mph and our V1 speed (committed for flight) would be 185mph, and V2 speed which is wheels up would be 225mph. Almost immediately after takeoff we made a sharp bank to the right for noise control and began to climb. At +5min into the flight we were already at 11,000 ft and traveling 570mph or Mach.72 and the afterburners were turned off. We made one more turn towards the ocean and continued our climb to 25,000 feet and Mach .95 awaiting permission from Air Traffic Control to break the speed barrier. The Concorde is only allowed to do this when flying over water or deserts in order to minimize any damage or noise problems with civilian populations.
The Captain came on and told us that they would soon be receiving permission to break the sound barrier and he told us exactly what to expect. He said that first the outer two engines’ afterburners would be restarted followed by the two inner engines and that we would perhaps feel a bit of a ‘nudge’ as each set was ignited. He also told us some details that would bore most but had me intrigued. The whole process of having to transfer fuel from the forward tanks to the aft tanks prior to going supersonic was something I had never thought about. At +10mins into the flight ATC gave permission to go supersonic and we felt the two nudges and the Mach meter jumped to Mach 1 and we were at 28,500 feet. For the next five minutes we stayed at Mach 1.1 and climbed to 34,000 feet at which point the flight attendants began their service by presenting each of us with the drinks we had ordered. We had Dom Perignon 1990 and our own little one-ounce pot of beluga caviar complete with ivory spoon, lemon wedge and itty-bitty bread slices. This I think was the perfect moment, sitting next to my honey, traveling faster than the speed of sound and enjoying some of my favorite food groups. It was heavenly!!
We continued to climb and gain speed and the champagne continued to flow. At +28 minutes into the flight we were at Mach 1.96 and 50,000 feet. The outside temperature of –68C while the temperature on the nose of the Concorde was +100C, or boiling. This is why they have very little problem with corrosion since all moisture is boiled away on every flight. At +29 minutes into the flight we hit Mach 2 and leveled off at 52,000 feet so that the food service could begin in earnest and my oh my was it earnest.
The Brunch menu had us starting with wonderfully fresh fruit plates and warm rolls, banana and blueberry breads. Now what wine do you think would go with this course? If you said a 1991 Corton-Charlemgne Domaine Bonneau De Matray go to the head of the class! This is a classic French Chardonnay that Californians can only dream of. It was delightful and I truly think the second glass was even better.
We then had a choice of Entrées and Cindy choose the Maine Lobster and Cantaloupe melon with an apple, walnut, celery and sour cream salad while I opted for the lamb cutlets with minted gravy, rosemary and garlic mashed potatoes and sugar snap peas. This was not your normal airline food and it was prepared and presented with a great deal of care. Cindy stayed with the luscious white wine while I went right to the Charmes-Chambertain 1990, Domaine Taupenot-Merme, a wonderfully mature Burgundy Pinot Noir. Goodness it was tasty.
The cheese course consisted of Stilton and Double Gloucester, as you might expect on BA, and a very nice Chaumes with more fresh fruit. We both stayed with the Charmes-Chambertain rather than the Dows 1978 Reserve Tawny Port, although as I write I can’t for the life of me figure out why I didn’t at least try the Port. Oh, I remember, I was told that I could now go up the cockpit and with an offer like that, I would refuse almost anything else. I peeked at the Mach meter and found that we were still at Mach 2 and an altitude of 58,500 feet. I realized that we were flying at the very edge of the Stratosphere, high above any weather, which accounts for the incredibly smooth flight. Here you can see the edge of space and the deep, deep indigo that goes beyond our atmosphere. Some said you could see the curvature of the earth, but I did not detect this nor did Cindy, possibly due to the heavy cloud cover below.
The first thing that amazed me about the cockpit was the ancient technology. This was really early 1970’s stuff; the kind of thing you still find in DC-10’s, which were built around the same time as the Concorde. There was a check pilot in the jump seat and he was very gracious with his time and gave me all the information I requested and then some. He showed me the three-inch gap between electrical panels, the only place he said where you could see the expansion and contraction that takes place on the Concorde. On the ground there is no gap between these panels! I asked him about the nose, which drops on take off and landing and is flush with the rest of the fuselage during flight. He explained that with a Delta wing the angles of attack are rather great, 14 degrees, and if the nose did not come down 12.5 degrees then there would be no visibility from the cockpit. He also explained that with a Delta wing there was no need for flaps; they landed in ground effect on a cushion of air beneath the surface of the wings at a reasonable 170-mph. I asked a lot of questions about flight characteristics at supersonic speeds and other pilot stuff that I found interesting. I did find out that the cabin pressure was kept at the same pressure you would experience at 5,500 feet, which is lower than most other jet aircraft and accounted for the lack of ear popping so common on other flights. I asked why they had never upgraded the Concorde to include new avionics and electronics and was told that if they did that they would have to recertify the plane and that would take years and lots and lots of money.
I don’t know how long I was up there, but I was told that they had to prepare for landing and that I should return to my seat, which I did just in time for a pre-landing glass of Dom Perignon. The flight attendants had given us our Concorde gift, which was a leather bound Day-Timer with maps of the New York and London subway systems, nice touch. In the English twilight we had a lovely view of London and flew directly over the Thames affording us a view of Big Ben, the West End, Hyde Park and other London landmarks. We touched down at exactly 1727 local time for an elapsed flight time of 3 hours and 19 minutes.
The flight to Frankfurt on an Airbus 300 was rather anticlimactic but gave me a bit of time to think about our Concorde flight and the entire process of flying the Atlantic. There is something wrong with the progress or lack thereof that we have made in the past twenty years. It now takes longer to fly across the Atlantic in two engines, fuel efficient, small and uncomfortable jets then it did ten years ago when only three and four engine jets, that were big and comfortable, flew the routes. Why did we not improve on the Concorde? Why did we not make fly supersonic the only way to cross-large oceans? I’m sure the answer is involved with politics and economics but that doesn’t make it any less sad that we have allowed a technology to go undeveloped. The remaining 13 Concordes in service today will most likely be out of service by the year 2005 leaving a great record of service and speed that will surely be missed by folks like me. In the unlikely event that I might forget this trip, Cindy, during my absence while visiting the cockpit, purchased silver Concorde cufflinks, which she presented to me a week later on my birthday on the QE2. While I’m not absolutely sure, I do think that they make me stand straighter, look richer and feel like a million bucks!
