We did it again! The Brooklands Concorde, G-BBDG, is now the third Concorde in the world – and the second in the UK – with a fully functioning droop nose. We’re proud to have designed and supplied the bespoke hydraulic systems that powered both UK restorations, helping bring these iconic aircraft back to life.
Brooklands Concorde – Delta Golf’s Legacy
The first UK-based meeting to discuss Concorde took place at Brooklands aerodrome, where more than 30% of every Concorde airframe, British and French, was later manufactured. This makes Brooklands a foundational site in the story of supersonic flight – and the home of Brooklands Concorde, G-BBDG.
Known as “Delta Golf,” Concorde G-BBDG was the British pre-production aircraft built to finalise the Concorde design and secure certification for the fleet. She first flew on 13 February 1974 and became the first aircraft to carry 100 passengers at Mach 2 – 1,350 mph. Painted in British Airways livery, she logged 1,282 flight hours, including extensive testing.
On 24 December 1981, shortly after flying alongside the Red Arrows, G-BBDG made her final flight and was retired to Filton. Though she never entered commercial service, she played a vital role as a donor aircraft – providing spare parts to support the operational fleet.
Her nose, tail, engines, landing gear, and most hydraulic components were removed. Years later, the original nose was repaired at Brooklands and returned to Brooklands Concorde, completing a remarkable chapter in aviation preservation
The Rebuild of Brooklands Concorde
When British Airways and Air France retired their Concorde fleets in 2003, Brooklands Museum in Weybridge, Surrey, accepted Concorde G-BBDG – known as “Delta Golf” – as a permanent exhibit. To transport her to Brooklands, the aircraft had to be dismantled into five major sections, with structural disassembly and reassembly carried out by Air Salvage International.
Restoration began with a team of over 100 museum volunteers, supported by students from the University of Surrey. After three years and thousands of hours of dedicated work, the Brooklands Concorde was officially opened to the public on 26 July 2006. Visitors can now experience the “Concorde Experience,” which includes a virtual flight at speeds up to Mach 2.
In 2014, following an earlier request for support, Hydraulics Online partnered with the Heritage Concorde team – made up of enthusiasts and former Concorde engineers – to restore nose and visor movement on another aircraft. That project, known as Project Salute, made Concorde G-AXDN at Duxford the first UK Concorde to droop her nose since 2003, using a bespoke hydraulic system designed and supplied by Hydraulics Online.
The Unveiling
The restoration of the droop nose on Concorde G-AXDN made national headlines, featured on BBC News, ITV News, and across regional media. Inspired by this success, the team at Brooklands Museum began work on a similar restoration for Brooklands Concorde G-BBDG.
To achieve this, Hydraulics Online designed a bespoke hydraulic power pack – an external system compact enough to be housed within the aircraft and connected to G-BBDG’s original nose hydraulics. This allowed the visor and droop nose to be raised and lowered directly from the cockpit, just as they were during Concorde’s operational years.
On 26 July 2016 – exactly ten years after the launch of the Concorde Experience at Brooklands – Jodie Kidd, model, racing driver, and frequent Concorde passenger, unveiled the restored Brooklands Concorde and her iconic droop nose. Kidd had flown on Concorde’s final transatlantic flight from New York to London in October 2003, making her involvement a fitting tribute to the aircraft’s enduring glamour and legacy.
Bringing an Idea to Life
So, we’d done it again – brought an idea to life and made a dream come true. The successful restoration of the droop nose on Brooklands Concorde was a proud milestone for everyone involved. After the 10th anniversary celebrations, James Cullingham, who led the nose project at Brooklands, summed it up perfectly:
“You supplied exactly what I wanted.”
Whether you’re prototyping a new concept or refining an existing hydraulic system, our engineers have the expertise to help. At Hydraulics Online, we thrive on solving complex challenges – from fault-finding and diagnostics to bespoke system design. For us, it’s all in a day’s work.
“You reeled off figures and technical data that were way above my understanding, but explained things very well. You don’t just shift boxes; you know your business inside and out. A very big “thank you” from the whole team – I hope we can continue the great work.”
More of our work with Heritage Concorde…
The Concorde Story
Truly one of the most iconic aircraft in the history of aviation, the world’s first supersonic airliner, Concorde entered service in 1976 and continued commercial operations for British Airways and Air France until 2003.
Concorde landed and took-off with a very high angle of attack. A fixed, streamlined nose, whilst necessary to achieve bullet-like supersonic speeds, would have completely obscured the pilot’s view of the runway to about 5 degrees on take-off and landing. And so her “droop nose” was invented…
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Concorde G-AXDN
Duxford Aviation Society, owners of the British Airliner Collection, were keen to improve their display of Concorde 101 G-AXDN at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford.
In response, Heritage Concorde proposed making her the first UK Concorde since 2003 to be able to “droop” her nose. The hydraulic systems on Concorde 101 G-AXDN had not been used since she was retired in 1977 and so the team approached Hydraulics Online asking if we could help on “Project Salute”.
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Concorde G-BOAC
Concorde G-BOAC, aka “Alpha Charlie”, located at the Manchester Airport Runway Visitor Park, is the third Concorde in the country with a restored moving nose and visor, expertly engineered by our Cheshire-based engineers and the Heritage Concorde team.
The restoration coincided with the celebrations for Concorde’s golden jubilee on 2nd March 2019 – marking 50 years, to the minute, since the first Concorde flight which took off from Toulouse at 13:30 GMT on 2nd March 1969.
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