Speedbird Designator.

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N1SQB

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Hello All!
I dont know why it never hit me before but today I heard Boston Air Center(BAC) talking to an aircraft calling them "speedbird 178 " and I started to think. Wasnt that the assigned name for the Concorde? Who then uses that name now and why? I thought the name said it all,speedbird. I dont know of any other commercial aircraft that flies that fast. Is it just a name thing now? It did sound like a Brittish accent on the pilots voice. Maybe the company just kept on using the name. I would appreciate some light on this guys if you could. I was always a fan of the Concorde.

Manny
 
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DaveNF2G

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A little searching would have gotten your answer without embarrassment.

Speedbird = British Airways

BAC = British Aircraft Corporation, a builder of small jetliners, which no longer exists.

ZBW = Boston ARTCC
 

N1SQB

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Hello!
I am not embarrassed as you say. Not knowing is not a bad thing. Now saying you know something for a fact and then being proven wrong, THAT is embarrassing. I am no expert in the aircraft monitoring field which is why I ask the questions. I simply chose to ask in the best place I knew to get the right answer, while looking around in other places. I was right to pick RR to ask this question. I figured BAC made sense but I guess I was wrong, oh well, I guess Im human after all, I'll have to remind my wife about that.....Thank You for your response. I do appreciate it.

Manny
 
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Jay911

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I believe the Concorde used whatever airline it was flying as at the moment. When the British Airways planes were up, they were Speedbird (whatever), and when the Air France planes were flying, they were Air France (such-and-such). Wasn't the one that crashed known as AF4590?
 
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DaveNF2G

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Yes, the only aircraft dependent part of a callsign is the "heavy" suffix. The airlines use their radio callsigns on all of their aircraft regardless of type - even SSTs.

And Manny, I'm glad you detected that my tongue was planted in my cheek while I was typing. I forgot to include the smiley face.
 

N1SQB

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Give And Take!

Dave!
No biggee man, really! In life you have to learn to take it as well as you give it. If you knew me at home, I give it a lot! My wife and kids will testify to that....;-) Anyway, it was something that had been bugging me for a while. Now I know. The speedbird callsign that I heard, now that I think about it, did have the "heavy" attatched to it. Very interesting....
Thanks again!

Manny!
 

Comint

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scanernutt said:
Wasnt that the assigned name for the Concorde? Who then uses that name now and why? I thought the name said it all,speedbird. I dont know of any other commercial aircraft that flies that fast. Is it just a name thing now?
British Airways (originally BOAC - British Overseas Airways Corporation) were the first to fly passenger JET aircraft (the Comet). and the 'Speedbird' title stems from that era.

--
Comint
 

N1BHH

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Actually the history goes back further than that, to Imperial Airlines, a predecessor of BOAC, in 1932. It appeared on the nose section of the company's aircraft. The logo became far more prominent under BOAC, appearing on the tailfin as well as the nose section, and later enlarged and colored gold during the 1960s. In 1974, BOAC was merged with British European Airways to form British Airways. As well as the callsign, the speedbird logo was retained unaltered, but returned to the nose section of the aircraft. A prominent Union Flag design now occupies the tailfin.

When British Concordes were flying their callsign appended the word "Concorde" to their Speedbird callsign (Speedbird Concorde 004, for instance) basically to alert air traffic controllers of it's requirements and restrictions. Concordes were flown by British Airways and Airfrans (correct spelling) only.
 
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nycrich

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British Airways Concords were SPEEDBIRD 01, 02, 03, 04, etc
Air France Concords was called Air France 01, 02, 03, 04, etc
However charter flts and extra flights not on the regular schedule had regular flt numbers.
 

N1SQB

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Well Then!
I've learned more than I thought I would! Thank you to all of you for the wonderful history lesson on this. It proves what I have always told my kids, you never know unless you ask. Thanks, I mean it!

Manny
 
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