Review: the new Aerospace Bristol museum – Part 2 (Concorde)

This is part 2 of my review of the new Aerospace Bristol museum.  Part 1, which focuses on the main building and its exhibition on the history of aircraft manufacturing in Bristol, is here.

30 seconds walk from the main building – which has a decent cafe, before anyone asks – is the new purpose built Concorde hanger.

Every UK Concorde was assembled in Filton and first flown off its runway.  The last ever Concorde flight was the return of G-BOAF to Filton in 2003. 

So what do you get here?

Well, a Concorde in a big shed, basically.  A flight of stairs takes you up to a walkway from where you can walk through the plane from front to back.

Click on any of the pictures to enlarge.

This was not my first Concorde tour. I went inside an Air France one at the Airbus factory museum in Toulouse a couple of years ago.  I never flew in one.  I think my Dad did a little bit of work on the project at British Steel at some point.

What you first notice inside is that the plane is exceptionally low – the headroom is probably around 6’4′.

The 2 x 2 seating is also antiquated, and the leg room is not great.  It is more comfortable than a 4-hour British Airways Club Europe flight today, but not by a lot.

What I did like was this – two of the original 1960’s seats.  Let’s bring this sort of thing back.  There is a photo of this cabin in flight, with a drinks trolley well stacked with Martini.

There is a two-room exhibition on the upper level featuring a lot of Concorde memorabilia as well as the flight simulator (not working but lit) used in pilot training.

The museum has had access to the personal collection of chief UK test pilot Brian Trubshaw which turns this area into something better than a collection of souvenirs.

The other thing that the museum has done well is the ‘light and sound’ projections which occasionally come to life.  They are hard to explain but work well, projecting key engineering drawings and the like onto the fuselage.  My interior pictures are a little dark because they took place whilst this was going on!

There are no shortage of retired Concorde aircraft if you want to visit one.

20 were built, of which one crashed and one was broken up for spares.  Seven are in the UK, six in France, one in Germany and three in the US.  The best trip to visit one would be to Barbados, where there is one at the airport.  That said, there is something to be said for seeing one at the place where it assembled and from where it took its first (and in this case final) flight.

---

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (September 2024)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 26th September 2024, sign up for FREE Barclaycard Avios Mastercard and you will receive a sign-up bonus of 10,000 Avios. This is double the usual bonus! You only need to spend £1,000 within 90 days. Our full review is here. Click here to apply.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased to up to 80,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 80,000 Avios. You will receive 8 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased to up to 40,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 40,000 Avios. You will receive 4 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. The card is FREE for your first year. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.