Concorde

The Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde supersonic transport (SST) was one of only two models of supersonic passenger airliners to have seen commercial service. Concorde had a cruise speed of Mach 2.04 and a cruise altitude of 60,000 feet (17,700 metres) with a delta wing configuration and an evolution of the reheat-equipped engines originally developed for the Avro Vulcan strategic bomber. It was the first civil airliner to be equipped with an analogue fly-by-wire flight control system. Commercial flights, operated by British Airways and Air France, began on January 21 1976 and ended on October 24 2003, with the last "retirement" flight on November 26 that year.

Origins

In the late 1950s the British, French, Americans and Soviets were all interested in developing supersonic transport.

Related Topics:
1950s - British - French - Americans - Soviets - Supersonic transport

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Britain's Bristol Aeroplane Company and France's Sud Aviation were both working on designs, called the Type 233 and Super-Caravelle respectively. Both were largely funded by their respective governments as a way of gaining some foothold in the aircraft market that was until then dominated by the United States.

Related Topics:
Bristol Aeroplane Company - Sud Aviation - Type 233 - Super-Caravelle - United States

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The designs were both ready to start into prototype construction in the early 1960s, but the cost was so great that the companies (and governments) decided to join forces. The development project was negotiated as an international treaty between Britain and France rather than a commercial agreement between companies. This included a clause, originally asked for by Britain, on penalties for cancellation (it turned out that Britain was the country that tried to get out). A draft treaty was signed on November 28 1962. By this time both companies had been merged into new ones, and the Concorde project was thus a part of the British Aircraft Corporation and Aerospatiale. The consortium secured orders for over 100 new airliners from the leading airlines of the time. Pan Am, BOAC and Air France were the launch customers with six Concordes each. Some of the airlines in the order book included: Japan Airlines, Lufthansa, American Airlines, United Airlines, Air Canada, Braniff, Iran Air , Qantas, CAAC, Middle East Airlines and TWA .

Related Topics:
1960s - Treaty - November 28 - 1962 - British Aircraft Corporation - Aerospatiale - Pan Am - BOAC - Air France - Middle East Airlines

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The aircraft was initially referred to in Britain as "Concord". In 1967 the British Government announced that it would change the spelling to "Concorde" to match the French. This created an uproar but it died down after a government minister stated that the suffixed "e" was for excellence.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Concorde 001 took off for the first test flight from Toulouse on March 2 1969 and the first supersonic flight followed on October 1. As the flight programme of the first development aircraft progressed, 001 started off on a sales and demonstration tour beginning on September 4 1971. Concorde 002 followed suit in June 2 1972 with a sales tour of the Middle and Far East. Concorde 002 made the first visit to the United States in 1973, landing at the new Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport to commemorate its opening. These trips led to an influx of orders for over 70 aircraft. However, a combination of factors caused a sudden cascade of order cancellations, including the 1970s oil crisis, acute financial difficulties of the partner airlines, a spectacular crash of the competing Soviet Tupolev Tu-144, and environmental issues such as sonic boom noise and pollution. Air France and British Airways ended up as the only buyers. The aircraft and parts were later sold to them for the nominal price of one British pound apiece- however the governments continued to take a cut of any profits.

Related Topics:
Toulouse - March 2 - 1969 - October 1 - September 4 - 1971 - June 2 - 1972 - United States - 1973 - Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport - 1970s - Tupolev Tu-144 - Sonic boom - Air France - British Airways - British pound

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The United States had cancelled its supersonic (SST) program in 1971. Two designs had originally been submitted; the Lockheed L-2000, looking like a scaled-up Concorde, lost out to the Boeing 2707, which had originally been intended to be faster, carry 300 passengers, and feature a swing-wing design. It was suggested in France and the United Kingdom that part of the American opposition to Concorde on grounds of noise pollution was in fact orchestrated or at least encouraged by the United States Government out of spite at not being able to propose a viable competitor. However, other countries, such as Malaysia, also ruled out Concorde supersonic overflights due to noise issues.

Related Topics:
United States - SST - 1971 - Lockheed L-2000 - Boeing 2707 - Swing-wing - France - United Kingdom - United States Government

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Both European airlines operated demonstration and test flights to various destinations from 1974 onwards. The testing of Concorde set records which are still not surpassed; it undertook 5,335 flight hours in the prototype, preproduction, and first production aircrafts alone. A total of 2,000 test hours were supersonic. This equates to approximately four times as many as for similarly sized subsonic commercial aircraft.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~