G-BBDG “Delta Golf”

G-BBDG, construction number 202, was the first production Concorde built on the British side. It was registered on 7 August 1973 and first flew on 13 February 1974. With the French aircraft F-WTSB it finalised the design and did most of the certification flying needed before airline service.

It was never used commercially. Instead it toured the world proving routes and showing the aircraft to prospective airlines. Its flying life ended on 24 December 1981, after 663 flights, 374 of them supersonic. It was then stored at Filton, initially still serviceable.

British Airways bought it in 1984 and used it as a source of spare parts for its seven-aircraft fleet. Its tail was removed while in storage. In 1995 its nose went to G-BOAF after that aircraft was damaged at Heathrow. In 2001 it served as a test-bed for reinforced cockpit doors.

When Concorde was retired in 2003, the aircraft was offered to Brooklands. Air Salvage International cut it into five main sections and it travelled by road, the major sections arriving in June 2004. More than 100 volunteers, including University of Surrey staff and students, then spent two years restoring it. Prince Michael of Kent opened it to the public on 26 July 2006. It remains on loan from British Airways.

Stands in the Aircraft Park. The 35-minute Concorde Experience (extra charge, maximum 16 per tour) takes you aboard for a simulated Mach 2 flight.