£14m to save Concorde says Opik
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Welsh MP who wants to see Concorde return to the skies above Britain claims it can be done for around £14m.
Montgomeryshire MP Lembit Öpik said the supersonic passenger jet was a symbol of pioneering British know-how.
He unveiled a 24,000-name petition by the Save Concorde Group, which is to discuss the bid with British Aerospace.
Mr Öpik said the £14m bill was "peanuts" to have a mascot plane operational by 2009 for the 40th anniversary of Concorde's first flight.
He said: "Future generations will not forgive us if we abandon the heritage of British technology which Concorde embodies."
"If we just abandon everything that is out of date, let's turn the Cutty Sark into firewood and demolish the National Railway Museum in York.
The Liberal Democrat MP, who has tabled an early day motion at Westminster hailing the formation of the group, said a re-flying Concorde would pay its own way with fees for flypasts and exhibitions
"Concorde was always a great ambassador. When Concorde flew over London, people would stop and look.
"I have been lucky enough to fly on Concorde a few times. It really was a marvellous experience," added Mr Öpik, a qualified pilot for 17 years who commutes by twin-engine plane from his mid Wales constituency.
He presented the group's case a press conference at Westminster with group chairman, Ross Mallett.
Mr Mallett said: "The British public feel huge affection for Concorde. It was, and remains, a cultural landmark."
Museum exhibits
He said one ambition was to have Concorde back in the air for the opening of the London 2012 Olympic Games.
He said: "I could think of no better way of kicking off the event than with a historic fly-past by the world's most famous plane."
Concorde made its last commercial flight in October 2003, ending 30 years of supersonic travel for British Airways and Air France passengers.
There were seven of the aircraft in the BA fleet, and most have now become museum exhibits.
The Save Concorde Group is to hold talks with British Aerospace, which is making the wings for the new Airbus super jumbo at its plant in Broughton in Deeside, on the detailed costs of saving a Concorde for flight.
The group claims about a dozen MPs back their campaign.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4734799.stm
