UK civil aviation has witnessed two "lasts", with the final flight of Concorde and the concluding delivery of the BAE Systems Avro RJ/BAe 146 family.
Concorde took off for the last time on 26 November on a positioning flight from London Heathrow to Filton near Bristol. This was nearly 35 years after its first flight in March 1969. Capt Les Brodie brought British Airways Concorde G-BOAF into Filton around 13:00 following a short supersonic flight over the Bay of Biscay.
It is estimated that over 20,000 people gathered for the supersonic airliner's final landing at the place where it was built and will now be displayed as part of a museum. Among the onlookers was Prince Andrew, who greeted the flight.
Meanwhile, BAE Regional Aircraft has handed over the final Avro RJ to Finland's Blue 1 (formerly Air Botnia), bringing to a close 22 years of BAe 146/Avro RJ production, and signalling the conclusion of airliner final assembly in the UK. The aircraft, an RJ85, was the last of a recent contract for four aircraft (two Avro RJ100s and two RJ85s), delivered to the airline. With Avro RJ/BAe 146 deliveries totalling 390 aircraft, the four-engined regional jet was the UK's most successful jet airliner.
Source: Flight International
