Aerospatiale-BAC Concorde
supersonic_transport (SST) is one of only two supersonic passenger airliners that have ever seen commercial service. The Concorde has a cruising speed of Mach 2.04 and a cruise altitude of 56,000 feet (17,000 meters) with a delta_wing configuration and an evolution of the afterburner-equipped engines originally developed for the Avro_Vulcan strategic bomber. It is 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. Britain's Bristol_Aeroplane_Company and France's Sud_Aviation were both working on designs; 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. 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 one who 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 era. Pan_Am, BOAC and Air_France were the launch customers with six Concordes each. 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 program of the first development aircraft progressed as planned, 001 started of on a sales and demo tour beginning on September 4th, 1971. Not until June 2nd of 1972 did 002 follow suit with a sales tour of the Middle and Far East. This lead to a massive influx of orders for over 70 aircraft. However, a combination of factors, 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 caused a sudden cascade of order cancellations. 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. 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 of not being able to propose a viable competitor. Both European airlines operated demonstration and test flights to various destinations from 1974 onwards. The testing of Concorde set records which are still unsurpassed; 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.Scheduled flights
Scheduled flights started on January_21, 1976 on the London-Bahrain and Paris-Rio routes. The United_States_Congress had just banned Concorde landings in the US, mainly due to citizen protest over sonic_booms, preventing launch on the coveted transatlantic routes. When the US ban was lifted in February for over-water supersonic flight, New_York quickly followed by banning Concorde locally. Left with little choice on the destination, AF and BA started transatlantic services to Washington_D.C. on May_24. Finally, in late 1977, the noise concerns of New York residents gave way to the advantages of Concorde traffic, and scheduled service from Paris and London to New York's John F. Kennedy airport started on November_22, 1977. The average flight time on either route was just under 3.5 hours. Up to 2003, both Air France and British Airways continued to operate the New York services daily. Additionally, Concorde flew to Barbados during the winter holiday season and, occasionally, to charter destinations such as Rovaniemi, Finland. On November 1, 1986, a chartered Concorde circumnavigated the world in 31 hours and 51 minutes. For a brief period in prevented the Concorde from reaching supersonic speeds in Indian airspace, so the route was eventually declared inviable. From 1979 to 1980, Braniff_International leased two Concordes, one from both British_Airways and Air_France. These were used on flights from Dallas-Fort Worth to JFK, feeding BA and AF's routes to London and Paris. The aircraft were registered in both the United States and their home countries, for legal reasons: a sticker would cover up each aircraft's European registration while it was being operated by Braniff. On DFW-JFK flights, the Concordes had Braniff flight crews, although they maintained their native airline livery. However, the flights were not profitable for Braniff and were usually less than 25% booked, which forced Braniff to end its term as the only U.S. Concorde operator.Passenger Experience
Compared to other commercial airliners, Concorde provided an unusual passenger experience. Both British Airways and Air France configured the passenger cabin as a single class with around 100 seats — four seats across with a central aisle. Despite being a nominally exclusive luxury class, most passengers were surprised to find how cramped the cabin was. Headroom in the central isle was barely six foot (1.8 m), and the leather seats were unusually narrow with legroom comparable to coach class on other planes. In the 1990s many features which were common in the first class and business class cabins of a long haul Boeing_747 flight such as video entertainment, rotating or reclining seats, perambulatory areas, were completely absent from Concorde. The only video entertainment was a plasma display at the front of the cabin showing either the altitude, the air temperature or current speed in mach_number. With no room for overhead storage, even carry on luggage was severely restricted. Meals were served using specially designed compact Wedgwood crockery with short silver cutlery. The ratio of cabin crew and lavatories per passenger was also considerably lower than typical for a first class cabin. These privations were offset by the much shorter flight time. ''Air France Concorde'' The unique experience of passing through the sound_barrier was less dramatic than would be expected given the turbulent history of supersonic flight. The moment would be announced by one of the pilots, otherwise the slight surge in acceleration could easily be missed. At twice the normal cruising altitude, turbulence was rare and the view from the windows clearly showed the curvature of the Earth. During the supersonic cruise, although the outside air temperature was typically -60°C, air friction would heat the external skin at the front of the plane to around +120°C making the windows warm to the touch and producing a noticeable temperature gradient along the length of the cabin. Most remarkably Concorde was the only plane able to overtake the terminator. On certain early evening transatlantic flights departing from Heathrow or Paris, it was possible to take off at night and catch up with the sun — from the cockpit you could see the sun rise in the west.Paris crash
''Air_France Flight 4590 on fire, prior to crash'' The Concorde was the safest airliner in the world according to passenger deaths per distance travelled until the 25_July 2000 crash of Air_France_Flight_4590 in Gonesse, France. All of the people on board the flight perished, as well as five people on the ground. The incident would make way for modifications to be made to the Concorde. After safety updates on sufficient aircraft, including more secure electrical controls, Kevlar lining to the fuel tanks, and specially developed, burst-resistant tyres, both routes were re-opened on November_7, 2001. The new style tires would be yet another contribution from the Concorde programme to future aircraft development.Withdrawal from service
On April_10, 2003 British Airways and Air France simultaneously announced that they would retire the Concorde later that year. They cited low passenger numbers following the July_25, 2000 crash and rising maintenance costs. That same day Sir Richard_Branson offered to buy British Airways' Concordes for £1 each for service with his Virgin_Atlantic_Airways, but was refused. He later wrote to ''The_Economist'' (23_October 2003) that his final offer was "over £5 million" and that he had intended to operate the fleet "for many years to come".Air France
Air France made its final Concorde landing in the United_States in New_York_City from Paris on May_30, 2003. Firetrucks sprayed the traditional arcs of water above the aircraft on the tarmac of John F. Kennedy airport. It made its final commercial flight back to Paris the following day. The end of Air France's Concorde services was also marked by a charter around the Bay_of_Biscay. An auction of Concorde parts and memorabilia for Air France was held at Christie's in Paris, on November_15, 2003. 1,300 people attended, and several lots exceeded their predicted values by ten or more times.British Airways
BA's last Concorde departure from Barbados was on August_30, 2003. A final week of farewell flights saw Concorde visiting Birmingham on October_20, Belfast on October_21, Manchester on October_22, Cardiff on October_23, and Edinburgh on October_24. Each day the aircraft made a return flight out and back into Heathrow to the cities concerned, often overflying those cities at relatively low altitude. Over 650 competition winners and 350 special guests were carried. On the evening of October_23, 2003, the Queen consented to the illumination of Windsor_Castle, as Concorde's last ever west- bound commercial flight departed London, and flew overhead. This is an honour normally restricted to major state events and visiting dignitaries. British Airways retired its aircraft the next day, , followed at 4:05 by the one from New York. All three aircraft then spent 45 minutes taxiing around the airport before finally disembarking the last supersonic fare-paying passengers. The pilot of the New York to London flight was Mike_Bannister, who had also piloted the first British Concorde commercial flight in 1976. Passengers on the final transatlantic flight included:Aircraft Histories
Only 20 Concordes were built, six for development and 14 for commercial service. These were:Prototypes
Pre-Production Aircraft
Non-commercial Production Aircraft
French Production Aircraft
Air France had seven production aircraft in commercial service:British Production Aircraft
BA also had seven production aircraft in commercial service:Cultural and political impacts
The aeroplane remains a powerful symbol of ultra-modern technology although 34 years old, and many people appreciate its sculptural shape. It is a symbol of national pride to many in Britain and France - in France it was thought of as a French aircraft, in Britain as British. The reaction of people to the prospect of severe overflying noise also represented a socially important change. Prior to Concorde's flight trials the developments made by the civil aviation industry were largely accepted by developed democratic governments and their electors. The popular backlash (particularly on the eastern seaboard of the USA) against the noise of Concorde represented a political turning point and thereafter scientists and technologists in many industries began to take environmental and societal impacts more seriously, accepting that scientists, powerful investors and governments could not always dictate the parameters of debate and allow their narrow economic or career interests to prevail. From this perspective, Concorde's great technical leap forward can be viewed as triggering a cultural leap forward and a boost to the public's (and the media's) understanding of conflicts between technology and natural ecosystems that continues to reverberate around the world. Thus, the fact that many larger jetliners now produce fewer harmful emissions and smaller noise footprints than Concorde is, perhaps, part of the Concorde's legacy. In France the use of acoustic fencing alongside TGV tracks may be another outcome that might not have been achieved without the 1970's furore over aircraft noise. In Britain the CPRE have issued tranquility maps since 1990 and public agencies are starting to do likewise. A regular ticket on Concorde was a privilege of the rich, but special circular (non-landing) or one-way (with return by coach or ship) charter flights were arranged to bring a trip within the means of moderately well-off enthusiasts. An over-flying example was usually referred to by the British as simply "Concorde" and the French as "the Concorde" (rather than "a Concorde"), as if there was only one. A plane from the BA fleet made occasional flypasts at selected Royal events, major airshows and other special occasions, sometimes in formation with the Red_Arrows. On the final day of commercial service, grandstands were erected at London Heathrow for the public to watch the final arrivals, and there was extensive media coverage.Dimensions and specifications
Of a typical production-type aircraft. There are some variations.Possible replacement
In November 2003, European aviation company European_Aeronautic_Defence_and_Space_Company (EADS, the company behind Airbus) announced that it was considering working with Japanese companies to develop a larger, faster replacement for Concorde
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