The Concorde Historic Monument! This has been done for a few weeks. The Air and Space Academy founded by André Turcat, the first Concorde pilot, had submitted the draft study for the protection of Concorde 01 to the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs in June 2023. After study, the The file was presented to the Regional Heritage and Architecture Commission in June 2024, which issued a favorable opinion on October 11, 2024. This is the first Concorde registered as a Historic Monument. Of the 20 Concorde aircraft built between 1967 and 1969, 18 remain to this day.
The Concorde 01 is distinguished by particular characteristics used to finalize the certification of aircraft for the transport of passengers (certificate of airworthiness obtained in 1975). It made three flights, the first on December 6, 1973 with André Turcat at the controls, the second on December 14, 1973 at Mach 2.05 and the last in April 1985. Concorde began carrying passengers in 1976 and was retired in 2003 after the terrible crash of 2001.
The Concorde inscription is precious because the three decades of the “Thirty Glorious Years” were quite damaging for the conservation of aeronautical heritage, with the disappearance of a certain number of aircraft. This is due to the“lack of awareness among French public opinion, but also among professionals, both public and private, regarding the techniques”underlines the project manager for technical heritage Luc Fournier in the Heritage review. It was not until the mid-1980s that the Ministry of Culture caught up in terms of protecting technical heritage. Since then, more than twenty-two aircraft have been classified as Historic Monuments.
The Concorde 01 should be presented to the National Commission for Heritage and Architecture (CNPA) in 2025 with a view to being classified as a Historic Monument, that is to say as an “object of public interest recognized on the national and international plans. The plane will also be celebrated during Concorde Days, March 1 and 2, 2025. It is currently on display near Toulouse, at the Aeroscopia museum in Blagnac.
