Concorde Project Salute | Hydraulics Online

Duxford Aviation Society, custodians of the British Airliner Collection, sought to enhance their display of Concorde 101 G-AXDN at the Imperial War Museum Duxford. In response, Heritage Concorde proposed a bold initiative: to make her the first UK Concorde since 2003 with a fully operational droop nose. This marked the beginning of Concorde Project Salute, and Hydraulics Online was invited to help bring the vision to life.

Concorde 101 G-AXDN was one of two pre-production aircraft built to refine the final design of Concorde – and the first of its kind to fly. Her maiden flight took place on 17 December 1971 from Filton, Bristol. After completing 269 flights (totalling 632 hours, including 168 supersonic missions), she was retired to Duxford on 20 August 1977, where she remains on display at the Imperial War Museum.

Her hydraulic systems had remained dormant since retirement. But through the combined expertise of Heritage Concorde and Hydraulics Online, a plan was launched to restore her droop nose functionality – marking the beginning of Concorde Project Salute…

Concorde ‘Project Salute’

As a pre-production aircraft, Concorde 101 G-AXDN had not used its hydraulic nose system since the 1980s – when the droop nose was last lowered via the emergency free-fall mechanism, following a failed hydraulic attempt. While support for the restoration was strong, Concorde Project Salute required careful planning to avoid any damage and meet strict Health & Safety standards.

Heritage Concorde supplied the technical specifications for the nose and visor systems, and began inspecting the aircraft’s wiring and control units. Concorde’s nose is operated by two hydraulic systems: the green system for normal use and the yellow system as standby. For this restoration, only the green system was activated – fully isolated from the rest of the aircraft’s hydraulics.

Bespoke Hydraulic System Design

As part of Concorde Project Salute, Hydraulics Online designed and built a bespoke hydraulic power pack to interface with the original nose systems on Concorde 101 G-AXDN. This custom unit enabled the visor and droop nose to be raised and lowered on demand, and included key safety features such as a pressure gauge and hydraulic pressure valve.

With the aircraft systems dormant since 1977, the Heritage Concorde team undertook the painstaking task of cleaning and preparing the nose mechanism, while also inspecting the cockpit’s electrical controls.

Before installation, the hydraulic power pack was subjected to rigorous testing. Once connected, specialist hydraulic mineral oil was added, and the system was bled and flushed to remove any residual debris – ensuring safe and reliable operation.

Hydraulics Online Concorde Project Salute Power Pack

After 18 months the project was successfully completed and G-AXDN was the first Concorde in the UK with an operational nose and visor. Graham Cahill, Director of Projects at Heritage Concorde commented:

It has been a real pleasure dealing with the team at Hydraulics Online; they have been very accommodating throughout the project, giving expert advice and technical support… We really couldn’t have asked for more.

Concorde "Project Salute" – Hitting the headlines

David Garside, Chairman of Duxford Aviation Society, unveiled G-AXDN’s droop nose at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford on 24th October, 2014 – timed to coincide with, and “Salute”, the 11th anniversary of the last commercial flight by Concorde. He added:

It is 37 years since Concorde G-AXDN was flown to Duxford and since the hydraulic and electrical systems were last in operation. The restoration projects have required the servicing and overhaul of many intricate components and considerable patience and determination has been required over a two year period to ensure their successful completion… We gratefully acknowledge the generous sponsorship and support from Hydraulics Online Ltd and for designing and supplying the hydraulic power pack.

Mark Tonks, Managing Director of Hydraulics Online Ltd said:

We were absolutely thrilled when Heritage Concorde asked if we could help on ‘Project Salute’. Our customer base is global, we’re always involved with a vast range of projects and systems design work and we deal with some big household names… but Concorde is in a different league. Seeing G-AXDN’s nose and visor moving again, knowing that we were part of the team that made it happen, is very special indeed.

The unveiling of Concorde G-AXDN and her restored droop nose captured national attention, making headlines on BBC News, ITV News, and across local and regional media. It marked a proud moment in aviation preservation and a milestone for Concorde Project Salute.

If you’re near Duxford, why not witness this engineering marvel in person? You can view the public schedule for nose movements and plan your visit to the Imperial War Museum Duxford – where Concorde 101 G-AXDN is proudly displayed.

In the meantime, here’s a video that showcases the nose and visor in motion, offering a look at this remarkable restoration:

Two years later, Graham Cahill at Heritage Concorde reflected on the relationship with Hydraulics Online:

I have just been reminded that we have been working with Hydraulics Online for two years now – since we approached asking if you could help with the nose project on Concorde G-AXDN at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford. I am extremely pleased to have met such a good team who have supported Concorde and Heritage Concorde so well… you deserve a medal! I was amazed; Mark reeled off figures and technical data that were way above my understanding, but he 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.

Return to our Concorde home page

Concorde

More about 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…

Concorde G-BBDG

G-BBDG (known as Delta Golf, pictured) was the British pre-production Concorde built to finalise the design and to allow the Concorde fleet to receive certification before the other aircraft entered passenger service.

Now residing at the Brooklands Museum this important piece of aviation history has a fully functioning droop-nose and visor – the second Concorde to receive a custom-made power pack from Hydraulics Online!

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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