Museum of Flight – Concorde

The National Museum of Flight, which is part of the National Museums of Scotland and is located at East Fortune Airfield, allows you to step back in time. Having served in both the First and Second World War, the airfield is now home to a rare collection of civil and military aircraft.

FLN were first involved in providing an innovative warm air heating system to one of the WW1 hangars, which at that time housed the main collection. The heating system had to be sympathetic to the age of the building, revisable, and light in nature to be supported by the hangar’s structure. In addition the external of the building was as important as the internal space.

The solution was to provide an external mounted direct LPG fired warm air heater entering the building into a metal duct system, before being distributed throughout the hangar by means of a fabric duct supported be a wire rigging system.

This allowed the heating and fuel systems to be hidden behind the hangar structure, the ductwork to be incorporated into the mains areas of strength in the hangar while provide distribution to the space, while being a light weight fabric ducting and rigging system which is unobtrusive.

This innovative heating system for the first time in probably many years allowed the hangar to heated effectively both to preserve the aircraft contained within and to heat the visitors.

On the decommissioning of Concorde, one of the aircraft was promised to East Fortune.

FLN were again employed to assist in the intergration of Concorde into this hangar.

Due to the height of Concorde’s tail fin, for which the hangar steelwork had to be changed, FLN were required to rethink the warm air distribution system.

As can bee seen in the photographs the air duct was split in one section to the rear of Concorde to mirror the sweep of its majestic delta wing span. This also allowed air to be circulated below the vast wing structure allowing effective heating to all areas of the hangar.

FLN were involved in the design of the M&E services from conception to completion and handover of the heating system on both occasions. This included the production of feasibility studies, outline designs, detailed design, drawings, specification, tender documents, pre and post contract service including meetings, site inspection and acting as Lead Consultant and Contract Administrators.