Concorde parts go under the hammer

Concorde parts are being auctioned in a four-day sale in France starting today.

A 1.2-ton landing gear is perhaps the standout piece among hundreds of spare parts from the now-defunct supersonic jet which will go under the hammer.

Other highlights of the 835 lots are a Mach-monitoring speedometer, a windshield and even a Concorde toilet seat.

“This sale is aimed at two types of buyers: collectors who are crazy about the Concorde, but also nostalgic people looking for a last souvenir of the supersonic jet,” said auctioneer Marc Labarbe.

The pieces “aren’t just mechanical parts, they also have an aesthetic dimension – all while bearing one of the best trademarks: Concorde”, he added.

Conspicuously absent will be the Concorde’s trademark needle nose.

Three of them were auctioned in London and Paris in 2003 and 2004 – the first of which went for more than half a million dollars.

The auction in the southwestern city of Toulouse, home to plane maker Airbus and its predecessor company behind the Concorde, has been organised by a group of former engineers and executives. Proceeds will go towards a planned an aeroplane museum and park in Toulouse.

Airbus sold the parts – half of which are new – in 2003 to the nonprofit Aerotheque association for the symbolic sum of one euro.

The auction is expected to reap about £170,000.

Most items have been valued at between £35 and £210.

Orders will also be taken by phone.

Cockpit gauges, including air speed indicators and horizontal situation indicators, will be sold along with lower-tech paraphernalia like a cabin oven or plate-and-silverware sets.

None of the items has a reserve price, meaning that they will be sold to the highest bidder no matter what the catalogue price, according to the auction web site.

The Concorde made its maiden voyage in 1969, but was retired in 2003 amid ballooning costs and sagging ticket sales after a crash in 2000 that killed 113 people.

The plane was commercialised by Air France and British Airways.

The Concorde was once the ultimate symbol of jet-set glamour, whisking celebrities and high-powered executives across the Atlantic.

With its cruising speed of 2,170 kilometres (1,350 miles) per hour, westbound travellers on board got to New York more than 90 minutes before they left Europe.

But the plane was also a noisy fuel-guzzler that never became economical.