A British Airways Concorde has found a permanent home at a new centre that is being built at Filton airfield in Bristol.
The Bristol Aero Collection Trust has been awarded a £4.7 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to create an Aerospace Centre at Filton airfield, one of the birthplaces of the British aviation industry.
The new centre will create a permanent home where people can access Concorde 216 – known as Alpha Foxtrot when it flew for British Airways. The aircraft was the last British Concorde assembled at the Filton site which led the design, testing and production of the supersonic airliner.
Neil Cottrell, Head of Planning, said: “We are very pleased that Concorde Alpha Foxtrot will be going to a permanent, purpose built home. She has been kept in excellent condition by Airbus in Filton but this will provide a fantastic opportunity for a wider audience to get up close and learn more about this iconic aircraft.”
The project will conserve 9.5 acres of Filton Airfield, along with two listed hangars dating back to World War 1 and described by English Heritage as ‘the most complete of any in existence’.
The atmospheric spaces will be refurbished to provide a first class aerospace industrial museum with hands-on ‘making and doing’ activities, interactive galleries, learning centre and workshops. The project will also provide an important focal point for the local community with facilities such as meeting places, outdoor play areas and event spaces.
The Concorde will be presented in an exciting and dynamic way in a major new building, along with a ‘futures’ technology exhibition, corporate facilities and lecture theatre.
The new centre will tell the story of Bristol’s aerospace industry from 1910 to the present day and into the future, displaying several important heritage collections.