Speaking Of . . .: Time Travel at E3 & the Concorde

One of the more interesting aspects of covering the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo each year is how time suddenly ceases to retain its otherwise predictable and well-defined nature, and for a brief period lasting (usually a week) however long that it does, takes on an entirely new and largely unpredictable form.

Seriously, while a lot of the underlying motivation for the way time changes has much to do with the various tasks you have no choice but to complete, in many ways it is the logical schedule that you are forced to follow that above all other elements contributes to the mushy flexibility of time and how often you end up breaking the rules of time and physics that cannot be broken.

The annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) event held in Los Angeles each summer (it was not always held in LA actually, just as CES was not always held in Las Vegas, but that is a set of stories for a different time and a different post, trust me on that) has a well-established (hence the use of words like “traditional”) order by which its well-attended pre-event press briefings are held that members of the games press are rarely confused as to the order, needing just the time and location to make their way to the events.

These events come in two basic flavors - the press briefings for console makers, and the press briefings for game studios and publishers. In addition to the briefings there are appointments for game and hardware presentations, private briefings, and interviews on-site and off-site that are generally managed by the PR folks.

Preference is given to these events based upon their type (console or game) and the importance of the information being conveyed (meaning that in years in which specific AAA titles are being released games journalists are more likely to assign a higher importance to studios and publishers than they might otherwise have done.

The established and traditional order for these very important pre-event events dictates which after-event events that members of the games press are likely to cover as well...

In many ways if you fail to plan your E3 schedule in advance and properly, and pay attention to what it is that your editors actually expect you to turn up for and write about, your E3 experience can feel a lot like an episode of Here Comes Honey Boo-Boo... Just saying...

The General E3 Calendar

Most journos define E3 in terms of pre-event, event, and post-event schedules when making appointments and planning their arrival and departure in LA, while during E3 week they define the daily calendars as Pre-Show, Show, and After-Show in terms of scheduling.

You only have to cover E3 a few times before this language and its structure grow to be second nature.

For example, when the official calendar for E3 has the first official day falling on the Tuesday of E3 Week, that Monday is usually defined as “Day 00” of the event; the days that come before Day 00 are Day -1, -2, etc. with the number climbing backwards, while the days that follow climb forward, as Day +1, Day +2 etc. And you should easily get the idea.

Depending on how busy an E3 the year's E3 will be, it is often necessary for studios and publishers to hold a number of pre-event events, and when that situation prevails, as it did for the 2013 Electronic Entertainment Expo, a special calender is created with the following dates and specifications:

Day -3: Friday 7 June -Welcome Dinner***

Day -2: Saturday 8 June -BIO Lunch / The Infamous Pool Party**

Day -1: Sunday 9 June - BIO Dinner*

Day 00: Monday 10 June -Microsoft / Sony / Ubisoft / EA

Day 01: Tuesday 11 June - Nintendo/ AAA Games

Day 02: Wednesday 12 June - AAA Games

Day 03: Thursday 13 June -AAA Games

Day +1: Friday 14 June -Special one-on-one AAA Games

Day +2: Saturday 15 June -Special one-on-one AAA Games

This is not the Hulk you were looking for...

The Weighting of Events

While the pre-event press briefings are generally a command performance for most journos (their editors tend to insist that they attend those) the selections of which game briefings and previews that a games journo attends is largely a product of the editorial voice and direction that their respective publications plan to take in the months following E3.

Remember that in addition to serving as the launch event for many of the AAA games that will become the games for the upcoming gaming season, the previews, reveals, and the interviews that take place at E3 make up the lion's share of the coverage that will make up what appears both as by-lines and feature content during the very slow low period of summer.

It is very important that all of that be taken into consideration - just saying...

While we are on the subject of Time Travel, there is no way to avoid bringing up the Concorde, especially if, like us, you happen to be a fan of flight simulation gaming and flight simulators... So now that we have dealt with the nuts-and-bolts of E3 (the idea of this post being to put that information out there so that later posts that rely on you understanding it all means that you have a reference source we can point you to and you can seek out yourself, and there you have it!

So that officially ends the official part of this post - save for the footnotes below - so after you read those and assuming you are a flight sim gamer, continue on to the sections below that deal with the Concorde won't you?

Footnotes for the above post may be found below:

* The By-Invitation-Only Dinner that is traditionally held by a major PR Firm who shall remain nameless at which time special presentations for specific AAA titles are made between the courses. This event is held at a private conference facility across the street and just down from the Staples Center, and is one of those pre and post events where more information is passed to journos than is actually passed during all three days of the official event.

** If not the best known PR-hosted event of E3 than certainly one of the top-5 such events, games journos are invited to an informal pool party at a large compound that is owned by a particular game publisher, and this fully catered event includes what is likely to be the first hands-on access to the AAA titles from that publisher that games journos based east of the Mississippi River will have had who do not have day-trip access to Boston and New York City.

*** The unofficial Welcome to E3 Dinner put on each year by the now merged Association of Games Journalists and Union of Games Guide Writers (AGJ-UGGW), which maintains a loosely structured but semi-official network of "Locals" throughout the world that are responsible for organizing official gatherings (invariably in the form of a pub-crawl if not an official dinner that results in a pub-crawl afterwards).

The modern AGJ-UGGW began as the Association of Committed Games Journalists which was formed partially in defense of the massive (and largely disliked) changes as a reaction to the infamous and widely covered/celebrated events at E3 2005 and 2006 resulting in a backlash that manifested itself as the E3 Media and Business Summit (2007–2008) and if you were not there for those years you simply cannot understand the circumstances behind it.

Issues relating to Time Travel and the Like :)

You cannot possibly have a conversation about time travel without Aérospatiale and British Aircraft Corporation's Concorde SST being raised in that conversation, largely due to the fact that it was pretty much the only commercially available aeroplane in the history of the world (so far) in which you arrived at your destination before you departed from your departure point. Seriously!

Concorde G-BOAD airframe number 210 landing at JFK

The Concorde

The total flight time (for its best flight of record) and the record setting fastest transatlantic commercial flight was set by Concorde G-BOAD (210) which crossed the Atlantic from New York to London in 1996 at a record-breaking speed of two hours, 52 minutes and 59 seconds.

Some interesting (and also frightening or even sobering) facts about flying on the SST commonly known as the “Concorde” was that it was only one of two commercially designated supersonic aeroplanes ever created and put into service by a commercial airline -- the other SST to enjoy commercial service was the Soviet Union's state-sponsored Tupolev Tu-144, which was nicknamed "Concordski" by Western Europeans for its outward similarity to Concorde.

Jointly developed and produced by Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) under an Anglo-French treaty, the Concorde was first flown in 1969, and then entered commercial service in 1976, continuing in that status for 27 years until its forced retirement by British Airways on 24 October 2003, as the indirect result of the loss of Concorde Flight 4590.

Concorde Flight 4590 (Reg. F-BTSC) crashed in the village of Gonesse, France, after departing from Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) en route to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York City, killing all 100 passengers and nine crew members on board the flight, as well as four people on the ground.

It should be emphasized that the loss of Flight 4590 was the only fatal accident involving a Concorde in its entire service history.

For Flight Sim enthusiasts the following is the full list of the airframes manufactured for the aeroplane commonly known as the “Concorde” along with their associated airframe number and other useful information you may like to have for re-creating said aircraft in your flight sim software of choice (I prefer Microsoft Flight Simulator in its many forms).

Note that a special package under the title “Concorde Flight Simulator” was created for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX) and Flight Simulator 2004 (FS2004) as an expansion to Microsoft Flight Simulator that included all 20 Concordes: 10 French and 10 British. A variety of liveries documenting the history of Concorde including British Airways, Air France, BOAC and Aérospatiale were built into the expansion.

You may find it of interest to know that there was an actual formal naming protocol created by British Airways with respect to the proper naming of their aircraft that used the following designations:

Airbus A320 - UK Islands
BAe ATP - Prefix of “Strath”
Boeing 737 - UK Rivers
Boeing 747-100 - English and Welsh Lakes
Beoing 747-200 - UK cities
Boeing 747-400 - UK cities
Boeing 757-200 - UK castles
Boeing 767-300 - European Capital and Major Cities
Boeing 777-200 - Famous Aviators
Douglas DC-10 - UK Forests
H.S. 748 - Scottish Glens
Lockheed TriStars - UK Bays

While BA no longer names their aircraft, for maintenance purposes each aircraft in the BA fleet does have an unofficial name, generally either the class or radio call sign class followed by its airframe number, so for example G-BOAC would be listed on the maintenance records as “Speedbird 204” which means Fast and Heavy Class with frame number 204.

This applies only to the Concorde, as aircraft from its official “Heavy” catalog were listed in maintenance records by registration - like HBNLE for Heavy-BNLE (BNLE is a Boeing 747-436).

If you want to build your own Concorde, the following fleet list and information may be helpful to you:

F-BTSC (Airframe #203)

Serial Number: 100-003

Production Variant No.: 100 (Converted to 101 for Air France Sale)

First Official Flight: 31 January 1975, Toulouse, France.

Final Official Flight: As Flight 4590, Crashed on 25 July 2000.

Official Airline Delivery Date: 6 January 1976.

Total in-flight clock: 11,989 hours.

Total Number of Landings: 3,978.

Registration History: This aeroplane has the following official registrations / changes as per the records of the Civil Aviation Authority of the United Kingdom and any other governmental aircraft registration agencies that may or may not apply.

F-WTSC - January 1975, Aerospatiale.
F-BTSC - 28 May 1975, Aerospatiale.
F-BTSC - 6 January 1976, Air France.

Special Notes: This airframe was originally built for Pan Am Airways, with specific modifications that were requested by Pan Am (they canceled the purchase before the plane was completed due to financial issues). In 1978-79 this Aircraft was used in the film "Airport '79 The Concorde."

Disposition Notes: Remains stored at Le Bourget Airport, following further judicial inquiry.

G-BOAC (Airframe #204) - Speedbird 204.

Serial Number: 100-004.

Production Variant No.: 102 (unmodified).

First Official Flight: 27 February 1975 from Filton UK.

Final Official Flight: 31 October 2003 London Heathrow (LHR) to Manchester Airport (MAN).

Official Airline Delivery Date: 13 February 1976.

Total in-flight clock: 22,260 hours 11minutes.

Total Number of Landings: 7,730.

G-BOAC - 3 April 1974, British Aircraft Corporation Ltd.
G-N81AC - 5 January 1979, British Airways.
N81AC - 5 January 1979, Braniff Airways.
G-BOAC - 11 August 1980, British Airways.
De-Registered - 4th May 2004 Official.

Special Notes: Flagship of the BOAC Concorde Fleet. Used by BAC to complete Certificate of Airworthiness. Primarily based in Bahrain, this aerocraft also flew routes out of Singapore. G-BOAC was returned to BAC in 1976 after completing 141 flights to be refurbished for airliner service. G-BOAC was then chosen to launch the London to Washington service on the 26th of May 1976.

Disposition Notes: Static display in retired capacity within a special "glass hangar" specially built for its display at Manchester Airport.

F-BVFA (Airframe #205)

Serial Number: 100-005

Production Variant No.: 101

First Official Flight: 27 October 1975, Toulouse, France.

Final Official Flight: 30 May 2003, AF001 New York JFK - Paris Charles De Gaulle.

Official Airline Delivery Date: 19 December 1975.

Total in-flight clock: 17,824 hours.

Total Number of Landings: 6,780.

F-BVFA - 19 December 1975, Air France.
N94FA - 12 January 1979, Air France / Braniff Airways.
F-BVFA - 1st June 1980, Air France.

Special Notes: Air France Concorde Launch Services to Rio, Washington and New York in 1976 and 1977. Around-the-world trip in 1998 of 41 hours, 27 minutes.

Final Disposition Notes: Retired from service to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum at Dulles Airport, Washington DC, USA.

G-BOAA (Airframe #206) - Speedbird 206.

Serial Number: 100-006.

Production Variant No.: 102 (unmodified).

First Official flight: 5 November 1975 from Filton UK.

Final Official flight: 12 August 2000 as BA002 from New York JFK to London Heathrow.

Official Airline Delivery Date: 14 January 1976.

Total In-Flight Clock: 22,768 hours 56 minutes.

Total Number of Landings: 8,064.

G-BOAA - 3 March 1974, British Aircraft Corporation Ltd.
G-N94AA - 12 January 1979, British Airways.
N94AA - 12 January 1979, Braniff Airways.
G-BOAA - 28th July 1980, British Airways.
De-Registered - 4th May 2004 Official.

Special Notes: First Concorde to be delivered to British Airways on 14 Jan 1976, with a 42 minute hop from RAF Fairford. Served the inaugural BA Concorde service to Bahrain beginning 21 of Jan 1976, Norman Todd, Captain. London to New York services beginning 22 November 1977, Brian Walpole, Captain. Flew in formation with RAF Red Arrows exhibition team at Heathrow in celebration of 50th anniversary of the west London Airport, Mike Bannister, Captain.

Final Disposition Notes: Transported to the National Museum of Flight, East Fortune, Edinburgh, via land on special trucks to the River Thames, where it was loaded onto a specially modified barge and taken by sea to Torness, then over land again to the National Museum of Flight. Total transport time for its final disposition spanned 8 April 2004 to 19 April 2004.

F-BVFB (Airframe #207)

Serial Number: 100-007.

Production Variant No.: 101.

First Official Flight: 6th March 1976, Toulouse, France.

Final Official Flight: 31 May 2003, AF4332 Paris Charles De Gaulle Charter.

Official Airline Delivery Date: 8 April 1976.

Total in-flight clock: 14,771 hours.

Total Number of Landings: 5,473.

F-BVFB - March 1976, Air France.
N94FB - 12th January 1979, Air France / Braniff Airways.
F-BVFB - 1 June 1980, Air France.

Special Notes: Due to low utilization it was placed in storage from June 1990 to May 1997.

Final Disposition Notes: Retired from service to Sinsheim Auto & Technik Museum, South West Germany.

G-BOAB (Airframe #208) - Speedbird 208.

Serial Number: 100-008.

Production Variant No.: 102 (unmodified).

First Official flight: 18 May 1976 from Filton UK.

Final Official flight: 15 August 2000 as BA002P from New York JFK to London Heathrow.

Official Airline Delivery Date: 30th September 1976.

Total In-Flight Clock: 22,296 hours 55 minutes.

Total Number of Landings: 7,810.

G-BOAB - 3 April 1974, British Aircraft Corporation Ltd.
G-N94AB - 12 January 1979, British Airways.
N94AB - 12 January 1979, Braniff Airways.
G-BOAB - 17 September 1980, British Airways.
De-Registered - 4th May 2004 Official.

Special Notes: The third Concorde delivered to BA.

Disposition Notes: Concorde G-BOAB is present in storage at London Heathrow Airport, following the end of all Concorde flights for eventual static display at LHR.

F-BVFC (Airframe #209)

Serial Number: 100-009.

Production Variant No.: 101.

First Official Flight: 9 July 1976, Toulouse, France.

Final Official Flight: 27 June 2003, AF6903 Paris Charles De Gaulle - Toulouse.

Official Airline Delivery Date: 3 August 1976.

Total in-flight clock: 14,332 hours.

Total Number of Landings: 4,358.

F-BVFC - August 1976, Air France.
N94FC - 12th January 1979, Air France / Braniff Airways
F-BVFC - 1 June 1980, Air France.

Special Notes: Following the fatal crash in France, the aircraft was kept on the ground at JFK in New York for 3 months, before making a ferry flight back to its home base.

Final Disposition Notes: Retired from service to the Airbus Factory at Toulouse, France.

G-BOAD (Airframe #210) - Speedbird 210

Serial Number: 100-010.

Production Variant No.: 102 (unmodified)

First Official flight: 25 August 1975 from Filton UK.

Final Official flight: 10 November 2003 from London Heathrow to New York JFK.

Official Airline Delivery Date: 6th December 1976

Total In-Flight Clock: 23,397 hours and 25 minutes.

Total Number of Landings: 8,406.

G-BOAD - 9 May 1975, British Aircraft Corporation Ltd.
G-N94AD - 5 January 1979, British Airways.
N94AD - 5 January 1979, Braniff Airways.
G-BOAD - 19 June 1980, British Airways.
De-Registered - 4 May 2004 Official.

Special Notes: This aeroplane holds the distinction of being the only aerocraft of its class and type to have been painted with another airline livery; a custom livery was added to it for Singapore Airlines on its port side, and British Airways livery on its starboard side for joint service in partnership between the two airlines for its service between Bahrain and Singapore International Airport for three months in 1977, and from variously between 1979 to 1981 as required.

G-BOAD was the Concorde used for the Queen's Golden Jubilee Flypast in on June 4th 2002.

Disposition Notes: Immediately following its final flight on 10 November 2003, G-BOAD was taken by a specially modified barge that was normally used to transport the external fuel tanks for NASA's Space Shuttle, and delivered to the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum in New York City, where it is permanent static display.

F-BVFD (Airframe #211)

Serial Number: 100-011.

Production Variant No.: 101.

First Official Flight: 10 February 1977, Toulouse, France.

Final Official Flight: 27 May 1982 Ferry Flight.

Official Airline Delivery Date: 26 March 1977.

Total in-flight clock: 5,814 hours.

Total Number of Landings: 1,929.

F-BVFD - March 1977, Air France.
N94FD - 12 January 1979, Air France / Braniff Airways.
F-BVFD - 1 June 1980, Air France.

Special Notes: Broken up for parts in 1994 at Charles de Gaulle, Paris, France. Note that the nose section and cockpit were purchased by a private collector in the USA for approximately $45K.

Final Disposition Notes: Withdrawn from service and mothballed following the closure of the Paris-Dakar-Rio route.

G-BOAE (Airframe #212) - Speedbird 212

Serial Number: 100-012.

Production Variant No.: 102 (unmodified)

First Official flight: 17 March 1977 from Filton UK.

Final Official flight: 17 November 2003 London Heathrow to Grantley Adams Airport, Barbados.

Official Airline Delivery Date: 20 July 1977.

Total In-Flight Clock: 23,376 hours 7 minutes.

Total Number of Landings: 8,383.

G-BOAE - 9 May 1975, British Aircraft Corporation Ltd.
G-N94AE - 5 January 1979, British Airways.
N94AE - 5 January 1979, Braniff Airways.
G-BOAE - 1 July 1980, British Airways.
De-Registered - 4 May 2004 Official.

Special Notes: On 1 July 1999 it flew in formation with the Red Arrows to mark the opening of the Scottish Parliament. Its final official flight was to Grantley Adams Airport, Barbados on 17 November 2003; on board were 70 members of BA staff.

Disposition Notes: Exhibition space was constructed to house the aircraft on the east end of Grantley Adams Airport, Barbados, within the lands belonging to the old Spencer Plantation.

F-BTSD (Airframe #213)

Serial Number: 100-013.

Production Variant No.: 101.

First Official Flight: 26 June 1978, Toulouse, France.

Final Official Flight: 31 May 2003, AF001 New York JFK - Paris Charles De Gaulle.

Official Airline Delivery Date: 18 September 1978.

Total in-flight clock: 12,974 hours.

Total Number of Landings: 5,135.

F-WJAM - June 1978, Aerospatiale.
F-BTSD - 14 September 1978, Aerospatiale.
F-BTSD - 18 September 1978, Air France.
N94SD - 12 January 1979, Air France / Braniff Airways.
F-BTSD - 12th March 1979, Aerospatiale.
F-BTSD - 23 October 1980, Air France.

Special Notes: Holds world records for fastest flights around the world in both directions; Westbound RTW 12-13 October 1992, 32 hours 49 minutes 03 seconds - Lisbon-Santo Domingo-Acapulco-Honolulu-Guam-Bangkok- Bahrain-Lisbon; Eastbound RTW 15-16 August 1995, 31 hours 27 minutes 49 seconds - New York/JFK-Toulouse-Dubai-Bangkok-Guam (Andersen AFB)- Honolulu-Acapulco-New York/JFK.

Final Disposition Notes: Retired from service to Le Bourget Air and Space Museum, Paris, France.

G-BOAG (Airframe #214) - Speedbird 214

Serial Number: 100-014

Production Variant No.: 102 (unmodified)

First Official flight: 21 April 1978 from Filton UK.

Final Official flight: Retired from passenger service to Museum of flight, Seattle, Washington.

Official Airline Delivery Date: 6 February 1980.

Total In-Flight Clock: 16,239 hours 27minutes.

Total Number of Landings: 5,633.

G-BFKW - 27 January 1978, British Aerospace.
G-BOAG - 9 February 1981, British Airways.
De-Registered - 4 May 2004 Official.

Special Notes: This Concorde began its service life as G-BFKW after no buyer was found after it rolled off of the assembly line, when it was loaned to BA while G-BOAC was being repaired at Filton. Due to initial and expensive mechanical issues, this airframe was taken out of service and used for spare parts until 1984, when it was given an expensive but complete overhaul and returned to service.

Disposition Notes: Flying as the final Speedbird 2 service to New York from Heathrow, after a one-day layover in NYC, it completed its final on 5 November 2003 as a scheduled ferry flight from New York JFK to Boeing Field, Seattle, Washington, where it is presently a static display at the Museum of Flight, in the company of the first Boeing 707 (which served as Air Force One) and the prototype Boeing 747.

F-BVFF (Airframe #215)

Serial Number: 100-015.

Production Variant No.: 101.

First Official Flight: 26 December 1978, Toulouse, France.

Final Official Flight: 11 June 2000 as AF4586 (Charter Flight).

Official Airline Delivery Date: 23 October 1980.

Total in-flight clock: 12,421 hours.

Total Number of Landings: 4,259.

F-WJAN - December 1978, Aerospatiale.
F-BVFF - 23 October 1980, Air France.

Special Notes: Holds the distinction of being the first Air France Concorde to travel around the world as a Charter flight. Some people clearly have too much money.

Final Disposition Notes: Withdrawn from service prior to suspension of Concorde service to be used as parts frame; mothballed at AF CDG Paris Maintenance Facility.

G-BOAF (Airframe #216) - Speedbird 216

Serial Number: 100-016.

Production Variant No.: 102 (modified)

First Official flight: 20 April 1979 from Filton UK.

Final Official flight: 26 November 2003 London Heathrow to Filton.

Official Airline Delivery Date: 9 June 1980.

Total In-Flight Clock: 18, 257 hours.

Total Number of Landings: 6.045.

G-BFKX - 27 January 1978, British Aerospace.
G-N94AF - 14 December 1979, British Aerospace.
G-BOAF - 14 December 1979, British Aerospace.
G-BOAF - 12th June 1980, British Airways.
De-Registered - 4 May 2004 Official.

Special Notes: This aircraft was purchased by BA as their 6th Concorde, and is noted as also having completed the final flight (ever) for a Concorde when it flew from LHR to Filton Airfiled, Bristol.

On 12 April 1989, while flying from Christchurch, NZ to Sydney, AU, this was the first Concorde to experience an issue later designated as “rudder separation failure” in which part of the upper rudder section was lost in flight.

Among the other notable “firsts” that this aircraft has recorded is the first to be fitted out with all leather seats, the first to receive the fully refurbished interiors, and it was the first to be painted in the (then) new BA 'Utopia Livery' scheme.

Concorde 216 was chosen by BA to be its lead aircraft in their “Return to Flight” program following the crash of Flight 4590, being fitted with Kevlar-Rubber fuel tank liners and electrical wiring around the landing gear being strengthened.

Disposition Notes: In storage at Filton pending the construction of an Air Museum at that location, where it is intended to be placed on static display.

Speaking Of . . .

Friday, June 14, 2013

Time Travel at E3 & the Concorde

The General E3 Calendar

Issues relating to Time Travel and the Like :)

The Concorde

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