French Aviation Society Plans to Auction Concorde Parts

The Aerotheque association in Tououse is planning to auction parts of a Concorde supersonic airliner to pay for a new museum displaying the history of Aerospatiale, the French joint-venture partner in the Concorde project. Credit: AP Photo/Winfried Rothermel

COLOMIERS, France (AP) - Anyone for Concorde landing gear? What about part of a cockpit from the obsolete supersonic plane?

Spare parts made for the needle-nosed jet - the world's only supersonic transport that remained in commercial service long-term- are to be auctioned in Toulouse in late September, organizers said Thursday.

The Aerotheque Association said it arranged the September 28-October 1 sale to generate funds for a planned airplane park in Toulouse.

The auction includes 835 lots, from hulking spare parts to paraphernalia and pilot uniforms, and is expected to bring in about euro250,000 (US$337,000), with most items going for $67-$400, the nonprofit association said.

Landing gear weighing 1.5 tons was expected to bring in $2,700-US$4,000, while a speedometer was likely to fetch $3,400-US$4,700, it said.

The auction would not include the Concorde's trademark needle nose. In another auction in Paris in 2003, such a nose was sold for $634,000, after having been valued at $13,000.

The Concorde made its maiden voyage 1969, but was retired in 2003 amid ballooning costs and dwindling ticket sales after a crash in 2000 that killed 113 people. The craft had been commercialized by Air France and British Airways.

The planned museum park, Aeroscopia, is to open in 2010 and will promote the history of Aerospatiale Toulouse, the joint maker of Concorde (along with the British Aircraft Corporation) and the precursor of giant plane-maker Airbus.

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