The Intrepid's iconic Concorde was just lifted back onto the museum's deck
If you’re an aviation nerd, then you’ve probably really missed the Concorde, the iconic supersonic jet that was on display at the Intrepid Museum in Hell's Kitchen before it was taken down.
On Thursday morning, the famous jet was lifted by 300-foot crane back onto Pier 86 after a months-long restoration project at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
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The Concorde, or the British Airways Concorde G-BOAD (Alpha Delta) if you want to be really official, holds the record for having flown the fastest transatlantic crossing by a passenger aircraft at a speed of 1,350 mph and an altitude of 60,000 feet. That's so high that passengers could see the curvature of the earth when they were on it, per the Intrepid Museum’s website. In February 1996, the Concorde completed a flight between New York City and London in just 2 hours, 52 minutes, and 59 seconds, compared to the average 7-hour flight time between the two cities on a regular commercial plane.
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Although it was an iconic plane, the Concorde was discontinued from commercial use in 2003 for a number of reasons, including the fact that it was way too expensive and noisy to operate, as well as a tragic Air France Concorde crash in 2000 that killed 109 people on board and four people on the ground.
During its hiatus from Pier 86, the Concorde’s restoration included paint coating, sanding, and recoating to make it look closer to the way it did in its heyday. Before its return to the Pier 86, The Concorde traveled on a barge up the Hudson River past the Statue of Liberty, One World Trade Center, and Hudson Yards. Although you can now see the plane in its former home, you won’t be able to tour the inside of it until April 4. Make sure to check out the museum’s website for tickets.
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