A Concorde jet, once capable of supersonic speed, takes a sluggish trip from its home on Manhattan’s Pier 86 to Brooklyn early yesterday.The 203-foot, retired British Airways aircraft known as “Alpha Delta” was hauled by barge from the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, where it had been on display for two years, to its temporary post at Floyd Bennett Field in Mill Basin.
After touching down with the help of a crane, the jet was towed to the field’s new Aviator Sports and Recreation complex, where it’ll be on display for the 18-month renovation of the Intrepid’s Hudson River Pier.
The public will be given tours of jet, said Aviator’s general manager, Tom Wells. “Our goal is to turn it into an educational facility,” he said.
By RICH CALDER
NY POST
December 23, 2006
Concorde flies over water
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
A Concorde jet arrives at its temporary new home.
The Concorde jetliner that was a star attraction aboard the flight deck of the USS Intrepid arrived yesterday at its temporary new home in Brooklyn.The sleek white supersonic aircraft was moved by barge to historic Floyd Bennett Field, according to Intrepid museum officials. The plane will be open to visitors there during an 18-month rebuilding of the Intrepid’s Hudson River pier.
The barge towed the plane to the end of the field’s seaplane ramp, said museum spokeswoman Suzanne Halpin. From there, the Concorde was lifted by crane onto a runway and towed, on its own wheels, to the new location.
The one-time Mach 2 flier is the last major item to vacate Pier 86 in Manhattan, where the historic aircraft carrier USS Intrepid had been docked since it became a floating museum in 1982. The Intrepid was moved Dec. 6 to a Bayonne shipyard for an extensive overhaul. It was joined last week by the USS Growler, a 1960s-vintage missile submarine.
Museum officials said the renovation of the 64-year-old World War II carrier and the rebuilding of the Hudson River dock should take 18 months to two years.
The 203-foot Concorde jet is known as Alpha Delta. It once held the trans-Atlantic speed record of 2 hours, 53 minutes, set in 1996.
The world’s only supersonic transport, the Concorde began flying
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