Intrepid Museum

Concorde fans have only a handful of places in the world where they can still get up close to the supersonic jet. One of them lies in the middle of Manhattan, on the bank of the Hudson: on Pier 86, right next to a World War II aircraft carrier, stands the British Airways Concorde G-BOAD. No other example spent longer in the air, and none flew faster across the Atlantic. Around it, the Intrepid Museum offers a Space Shuttle, an A-12 Blackbird, an F-14 and a submarine. Here you learn what to expect, how to get inside the Concorde and what to watch for as a photographer.

An aircraft carrier as a museum

Before we get to the Concorde, a look at the largest exhibit: the USS Intrepid (CV-11). The Essex-class aircraft carrier was launched in April 1943 and commissioned in August of the same year. In the Pacific War it was hit by a torpedo, and later by several kamikaze aircraft. Because of its many shipyard stays, the crew gave it unflattering nicknames, but its missions also earned it the nickname “Fighting I.”

After the war the carrier was modernized several times, got an angled flight deck and flew missions in the Vietnam War. Important for space history: in 1962 the Intrepid recovered the astronaut Scott Carpenter with his Mercury capsule Aurora 7, and in 1965 the crew of Gemini 3. In March 1974 it was finally decommissioned.

A foundation established in the late 1970s saved the ship from scrapping. On August 3, 1982, it opened as the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum at Pier 86. Since 1986 the carrier has been protected as a National Historic Landmark. From October 2006 to November 2008 the museum was closed: the carrier – after first having to be dredged free of the silt at the pier – was towed to a shipyard and renovated, while the pier was rebuilt at the same time. In October 2023 the museum shortened its name to Intrepid Museum.

Concorde G-BOAD: the record aircraft

The Concorde was the joint project of British Aircraft Corporation and Aérospatiale. A total of 20 examples were built, of which only 14 flew in scheduled service – seven each with British Airways and Air France. The whole story of the supersonic airliner, from first flight to the end in 2003, is told in the article Concorde: history of the supersonic airliner.

Profile of a special aircraft

G-BOAD carries construction number 210 and flew for the first time on August 25, 1976, at Filton near Bristol in Britain. Where it was built you can trace today at Aerospace Bristol, where the last Concorde built is on display. G-BOAD belonged to the British Airways fleet and flew mainly the showcase route London Heathrow – New York JFK.

A curiosity: for a joint service of British Airways and Singapore Airlines between Bahrain and Singapore, G-BOAD wore a split livery for a few months in 1977 and then from 1979 to 1981 – on the left side in Singapore Airlines colors, on the right in British Airways colors. Photos from this period are coveted collectibles today.

The 1996 Atlantic record

On February 7, 1996, G-BOAD flew from New York JFK to London Heathrow in 2 hours, 52 minutes and 59 seconds. That is the fastest Atlantic crossing a Concorde ever managed in scheduled service. For comparison: a widebody jet today takes more than twice as long on the same route. This was made possible by a cruising speed of about Mach 2, cruising altitudes up to 60,000 feet and – on the way east – a strong tailwind.

With 23,397 flight hours, G-BOAD has by common account also spent more time in the air than any other Concorde. It completed its last scheduled flight on October 22, 2003, from New York to London.

From the last flight to the pier

On November 10, 2003, a few weeks after the end of Concorde operations at British Airways, G-BOAD left Heathrow for the last time and landed at New York JFK. There the engines were removed, and the aircraft was put on a barge that had previously transported external tanks of the Space Shuttle. The Concorde thus traveled past the Statue of Liberty and up the Hudson to the Intrepid – a sight that drew many onlookers in New York.

At first it stood on a barge next to the carrier. During the museum’s renovation, it moved temporarily to Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn in December 2006. There, at the end of June 2008, a truck hit its nose tip. After repair it returned in October 2008 and has stood directly on the pier ever since. In August 2023 it left Manhattan once more by barge for a restoration with a new livery and came back in March 2024.

The Concorde tour

You can already see the Concorde from outside as you walk along the pier. You get inside only with the guided Concorde tour. According to the museum (as of October 2026), the following applies:

Places are limited. It is best to book the tour together with your admission ticket for a fixed time slot, especially on weekends and during summer vacation.

What awaits you inside surprises many: the cabin is tight. Four seats per row, a narrow aisle, small windows – luxury on the Concorde meant above all saving time, not space. That is exactly why the view from inside is worth it. Afterward you understand better why the fuselage had to be so slim and how much technology was in this aircraft, such as the four Olympus 593 engines from Rolls-Royce and Snecma.

Space Shuttle Enterprise and the flight deck

The second big aviation and space highlight stands on top of the carrier: Space Shuttle Enterprise. The prototype never flew into space but served for glide and landing tests in the late 1970s. Riding piggyback on the Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, Enterprise came to JFK Airport in April 2012, followed in June 2012 by the trip by barge to the museum. Since July 2012 it has stood in the Space Shuttle Pavilion on the flight deck. At the end of October 2012, Hurricane Sandy damaged the pavilion and the museum had to close temporarily. The pavilion is included in regular admission.

On the flight deck and hangar deck there are also military aircraft, including:

• Lockheed A-12 – the CIA reconnaissance aircraft, predecessor of the SR-71 Blackbird; by common account the first production example
• Grumman F-14 Tomcat – an example that served as a prototype for the “Super Tomcat” in 1973
• General Dynamics F-16A, an early version of the F-16 Fighting Falcon
• Hawker Siddeley AV-8C Harrier of the US Marine Corps, a version of the Harrier vertical takeoff jet
• IAI Kfir from Israel
• a Goodyear FG-1D Corsair, a naval fighter from World War II

The lineup changes occasionally because aircraft go into restoration or are rearranged. If you are traveling for a specific exhibit, check the website beforehand. Next to the carrier also lies the submarine USS Growler, a Cold War boat that could carry Regulus nuclear cruise missiles. It was towed to the museum in late 1988 and has been open to visitors since 1989.

Photography at Pier 86

Photographically, the Intrepid is a hybrid. The Concorde and the aircraft on the flight deck stand in the open air, so daylight and sun position count. In the hangar deck, the shuttle pavilion and the Concorde cabin, on the other hand, you work with little and mixed artificial light.

The Concorde from outside

The Concorde stands on the pier, and you can walk around it. The pier runs from the shore west into the Hudson. In the late afternoon the sun is therefore roughly over the river and lights the surfaces facing the city, while in the morning the light comes more from the city side. Which side of the aircraft is in the light when depends on its exact placement – check on site or with the sun position planner. A special subject is the Concorde with parts of the Midtown skyline behind it.

For an overall shot of the long, slender fuselage you need a wide-angle lens or a standard zoom at the short end. If you are close, you find detail subjects: the drooped nose, the main landing gear, the distinctive shape of the delta wing from below. Which focal length suits what is explained in the article Wide-angle and standard lenses for spotting.

Planning your visit

Hours and tickets

According to the museum (as of October 2026), it is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. from October to March. From April to September the same applies on weekdays, and on weekends and holidays it is open until 6 p.m. Last admission is one hour before closing in each case. It is closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. The museum notes that times can change at short notice.

Tickets bought online are valid for a fixed 30-minute time slot. Regular admission costs $38 for adults according to the museum and includes the carrier, shuttle pavilion, Growler and special exhibitions. The Concorde tour and other add-ons cost extra. Children up to four, US veterans and active military personnel get in free. The Intrepid is also included in combination tickets such as the New York CityPASS.

Getting there

The museum is at Pier 86, at the corner of West 46th Street and 12th Avenue, on the west side of Midtown Manhattan. There is no visitor parking lot of its own, and driving in Manhattan is hardly worthwhile anyway. The nearest NYC Ferry landing is Midtown West at Pier 79; from there, according to the museum, you walk 10 to 15 minutes north along the river. Many visitors come on foot from the Times Square area. General tips on trip planning, from entry requirements to camera equipment in carry-on luggage, are collected in the article Plane spotting trip to the US.

Combining the museum and airports

The Intrepid is not a spotter’s location – you can’t count on seeing scheduled traffic from the pier. But it is ideally placed to combine a museum day with spotting at the region’s three big airports. At JFK Airport, where G-BOAD once began its record flights and landed for the last time in 2003, the TWA Hotel with its view of the apron is a popular starting point. For LaGuardia, Planeview Park in Queens is the classic, and on the other side of the Hudson lies Newark Airport. How to divide your days in New York is described in the article Plane spotting in New York.

If you want to go on a Concorde tour through the US, you will find two more examples: the Air France aircraft F-BVFA at the Udvar-Hazy Center at Washington Dulles Airport and G-BOAG at the Museum of Flight in Seattle. Military aviation on a completely different scale is offered by the National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton. And if you want to get to know the Soviet counterpart to the Concorde, read the article on the Tupolev Tu-144 – at the Technik Museum Sinsheim, both supersonic airliners stand side by side.

Conclusion

The Intrepid Museum is an unusual mix: an aircraft carrier with war and space history, a Space Shuttle on the flight deck and, on the pier next to it, one of the most famous Concordes of all. G-BOAD is not just any example but the aircraft with the most flight hours and the fastest Atlantic crossing of any Concorde – and you can board it.

Book the Concorde tour together with admission, arrive early and leave the tripod at the hotel. Then in a few hours you get pictures you can take in hardly any other place in the world – and still have time for a detour to the airport fence.