FWD: Nose-cone for sale as Concorde goes under the hammer

Nose-cone for sale as Concorde goes under the hammer
Wed Sep 10, 9:37 AM ET

PARIS (AFP) - A nose-cone in the garden, a pilot's padded seat in the study,
or maybe a Machmeter as the perfect executive toy? Fans of Concorde will
have a rare opportunity when parts of the decommissioned airliner go on sale
in Paris in November.

Air France, which flew its last supersonic service in May, has asked
Christie's France to auction a number of pieces and mementos of the historic
jet in order to raise money for a children's charity that it runs.

Among the items to go on sale on November 15 are two Olympus 593 engines,
which powered the airliner at speeds of up to 2,200 kilometres (1,275 miles)
per hour and are widely considered as a triumph of engineering.

A radome -- the 3.5 metre cone at the end of the plane's nose -- is regarded
as the centre-piece of the auction with an estimated price of 10-15,000
euros (11,200-16.800 dollars). Various fins and ailerons are also on sale.

From inside the aircraft collectors can snap up parts from the instrument
panel, including the Machmeter or speedometer, as well crew seats and
kitchen items including sets of designer porcelain used for in-flight meal
service.

The sale also includes several scale models and photographs charting the
airliner's 27 years of commercial flying.

Air France and British Airways (BA) -- the only two airlines to fly
Concorde -- are stopping supersonic flights because of doubts about their
economic feasibility as the aircraft age. BA will fly its last service later
this year.

In July 2000 an Air France Concorde crashed outside Paris killing 113
people, and a technical flaw in the wing-based fuel tanks