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{{Short description|British–French supersonic airliner}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Other uses}}
{{EngvarB|date=April 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Good article}}
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Note: This article uses British English, since it covers a Franco-British aircraft. Please do not attempt to change it to another variety of English. For details on Wikipedia's policies on this subject, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style#National_varieties_of_English or [[MOS:ENGVAR]]. Also by convention, the aircraft name is simply "Concorde", without an article. The article adheres to this convention throughout.
Note: This article uses British English since it covers a Franco-British airliner. Please don't attempt to change it to another variety of English. For details on Wikipedia's policies on this subject, see: [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style#National varieties of English]] or [[MOS:ENGVAR]]. Also by convention, the aircraft's name is simply "Concorde", without an article. The article adheres to this convention throughout. -->
{{Infobox aircraft
-->
| name = Concorde
{|{{Infobox aircraft begin
|name= Concorde
| image = British Airways Concorde G-BOAC 03.jpg
|image= File:British Airways Concorde G-BOAC 03.jpg
| image_caption = British Airways Concorde in flight in 1986
| alt = Concorde against a clear blue sky, seen from below. Its wheels are lowered.
|caption= British Airways Concorde in 1986
| aircraft_type = [[Supersonic airliner]]
|alt=
| manufacturer = {{plainlist|
}}{{Infobox aircraft type
* [[British Aircraft Corporation]] (later [[British Aerospace]] and [[BAE Systems]])
|type= [[Supersonic transport]]
|manufacturer= [[British Aircraft Corporation|BAC]] <small>(later [[British Aerospace|BAe]] and [[BAE Systems]])</small><br/>[[Sud Aviation]] <small>(later [[Aérospatiale]] and [[Airbus]])</small>
* [[Sud Aviation]] (later [[Aérospatiale]] and [[Airbus]])}}
|designer=
| designer =
|first flight= 2 March 1969
| first_flight = 2 March 1969
|introduction= 21 January 1976
| introduction = 21 January 1976
| national_origin = France and United Kingdom
|national origin= United Kingdom and France
|retired= 24 October 2003<ref name="jlfin"/><!-- final flight, empty, to Filton came a month later --->
| retired = {{ubl|{{Start date and age|24 October 2003}} (last commercial flight)|{{Start date and age|26 November 2003}} (final flight to [[Bristol Filton Airport]])<ref name="jlfin" />}}
|status= Retired
| status = Retired
|primary user= [[British Airways]] <!--Limit one (1) primary user. Top 4 users listed in 'primary user' and 'more users' fields based on number of their fleets. -->
| primary_user = [[British Airways]] <!--Limit one (1) main user. Top 4 users listed in 'primary user' and 'more users' fields based on number of their fleets. -->
|more users= [[Air France]] <br>See ''[[#Operators|Operators]]'' below for others <!-- Limit is three (3) in 'more users' field, four (4) total users with primary user. Please separate with <br />.-->
| more_users = [[Air France]]<br/>See ''[[#Operators|Operators]]'' below for others <!-- Limit is three (3) in 'more users' field, four (4) total users with primary user. Please separate with a list inside {{plainlist}}. -->
|produced= 1965–1979
| produced = 1965–1979
|number built= 20 (inc. 6 non-commercial aircraft){{sfn|Towey|2007|p=359}}<ref>{{cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/850899.stm |title= Ageing luxury jet |publisher=''BBC News'', 25 July 2000 |date= 25 July 2000}}</ref>
| number_built = 20 (including 6 non-commercial aircraft){{sfn|Towey|2007|p=359}}<ref name=BBC_July2000>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/850899.stm |title=Ageing luxury jet |work=BBC News |date=25 July 2000 |access-date=13 November 2006 |archive-date=14 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090314020636/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/850899.stm |url-status=live}}</ref>
| variants =
|program cost=[[Pound sterling|£]]1.3&nbsp;billion<ref name=endofdream>{{cite news |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1352927/Is-this-the-end-of-the-Concorde-dream.html |location=London |publisher=''The Daily Telegraph'', 16 August 2000 |first=Paul |last=Marston |title=Is this the end of the Concorde dream? |date=16 August 2000}}</ref>
|unit cost= £23&nbsp;million in 1977
|variants with their own articles=
}}
}}
|}


'''Concorde''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|ɒ|ŋ|k|ɔr|d}}) is<!-- Use "is", NOT "was", as the aircraft still exists in museums. Read end of sentence for retired part. --> a retired Anglo-French [[supersonic airliner]] jointly developed and manufactured by [[Sud Aviation]] (later [[Aérospatiale]]) and the [[British Aircraft Corporation]] (BAC).
[[Aérospatiale]]/[[British Aircraft Corporation|BAC]] '''Concorde''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|ɒ|n|k|ɔr|d}}) is a British-French [[turbojet]]-powered [[supersonic aircraft|supersonic]] passenger [[jet airliner]] that was operated until 2003. It had a maximum speed over twice the [[speed of sound]] at Mach 2.04 ({{convert|1354|mph|km/h|sigfig=3|abbr=on|disp=or}} at cruise altitude), with seating for 92 to 128 passengers. First flown in 1969, Concorde entered service in 1976 and continued flying for the next 27 years. It is one of only two [[supersonic transport]]s to have been operated commercially; the other is the Soviet-built [[Tupolev Tu-144]], which was operated for a much shorter period.
<!--development-->
Studies started in 1954, and France and the United Kingdom signed a [[treaty]] establishing the development project on 29 November 1962, as the programme cost was estimated at £70&nbsp;million (£{{Format price|{{Inflation|UK-GDP|70000000|1962}}}} in {{Inflation/year|UK}}).
Construction of the six [[prototype]]s began in February 1965, and the [[first flight]] took off from [[Toulouse]] on 2 March 1969.
<!--market-->
The [[Market (economics)|market]] was predicted for 350 aircraft, and the manufacturers received up to 100 option orders from many major [[airline]]s.
On 9 October 1975, it received its French [[Certificate of Airworthiness]], and from the [[Civil Aviation Authority (United Kingdom)|UK CAA]] on 5 December.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.flightglobal.com/concorde-special-concorde-timeline/51042.article |title= Concorde Special – Concorde timeline
|date= 21 October 2003 |work= FlightGlobal}}</ref>


<!--design-->
Concorde was jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) under an Anglo-French treaty. Twenty aircraft were built, including six prototypes and development aircraft. [[Air France]] (AF) and [[British Airways]] (BA) were the only airlines to purchase and fly Concorde. The aircraft was primarily used by wealthy passengers who could afford to pay a high price in exchange for Concorde's speed and luxury service. Among other [[#Scheduled flights|destinations]], Concorde flew regular [[transatlantic flight]]s from London's [[Heathrow Airport]] and Paris's [[Charles de Gaulle Airport]] to [[John F. Kennedy International Airport]] in New York, [[Washington Dulles International Airport]] and [[Grantley Adams International Airport]] in Barbados; it flew these routes in less than half the time of other airliners.
Concorde is a [[tailless aircraft]] design with a narrow [[fuselage]] permitting 4-abreast seating for 92 to 128 passengers, an [[ogival]] [[delta wing]] and a [[Droop nose (aeronautics)|droop nose]] for landing visibility.
It is powered by four [[Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593]] [[turbojet]]s with variable engine [[intake ramp]]s, and [[reheat]] for take-off and acceleration to supersonic speed.
Constructed out of [[aluminium]], it was the first airliner to have analogue [[fly-by-wire]] flight controls.
<!--performance-->
The airliner had transatlantic range while [[supercruise|supercruising]] at twice the speed of sound for 75% of the distance.<ref>https://www.icas.org/ICAS_ARCHIVE/ICAS1976/1976.php, Operational Experience On Concorde,McKinlay et al.,Fig.5 'Typical flight profile'</ref>


<!--operational history-->
Concorde's name, meaning "harmony" or "union", was chosen to reflect the co-operation on the project between the United Kingdom and France. In the UK, any or all of the type are known simply as ''Concorde'', with no definite article ''the''. Concorde won the 2006 Great British Design Quest organised by the BBC and the [[Design Museum]], beating other well-known designs such as the [[BMC Mini]], the [[miniskirt]], the [[Jaguar E-Type]], the [[London Tube map]] and the [[Supermarine Spitfire]]. The type was retired in 2003, three years after the crash of [[Air France Flight 4590]], in which all passengers and crew were killed. The general downturn in the commercial aviation industry after the [[September 11 attacks]] in 2001 and the end of maintenance support for Concorde by [[Airbus]] (the successor company of both Aérospatiale and BAC) also contributed.<ref name="BBC Concorde Grounded">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2934257.stm |title=UK &#124; Concorde grounded for good |publisher=BBC News |date=10 April 2003 |accessdate=15 June 2013}}</ref>
Delays and [[cost overrun]]s increased the programme cost to £1.5–2.1 billion in 1976, (£{{Format price|{{Inflation|UK-GDP|1.5|1976}}|0}}–{{Format price|{{Inflation|UK-GDP|2100000000|1976}}|1}} in {{Inflation/year|UK}}).
Concorde entered service on 21 January 1976 with [[Air France]] from [[Paris-Roissy]] and [[British Airways]] from [[Heathrow Airport|London Heathrow]].
[[Transatlantic flight]]s were the main market, to [[Washington Dulles]] from 24 May, and to [[New York JFK]] from 17 October 1977.
Air France and British Airways remained the sole customers with [[Concorde aircraft histories|seven airframes each]], for a total production of twenty.
[[Supersonic flight]] more than halved travel times, but [[sonic boom]]s over the ground limited it to transoceanic flights only.

<!--competition-->
Its only competitor was the [[Tupolev Tu-144]], carrying passengers from November 1977 until a [[1978 Yegoryevsk Tu-144 crash|May 1978 crash]], while a potential competitor, the [[Boeing 2707]], was cancelled in 1971 before any prototypes were built.

<!--Accidents-->
On 25 July 2000, [[Air France Flight 4590]] crashed shortly after take-off with all 109 occupants and four on the ground killed. This was the only fatal incident involving Concorde; commercial service was suspended until November 2001. The surviving aircraft were retired in 2003, 27 years after commercial operations had begun. All but 2 of the 20 aircraft built have been preserved and are on display across Europe and North America.


==Development==
==Development==


===Early studies===
===Early studies===
The origins of the Concorde project date to the early 1950s, when [[Arnold Hall]], director of the [[Royal Aircraft Establishment]] (RAE) asked [[Morien Morgan]] to form a committee to study the supersonic transport (SST) concept. The group met for the first time in February 1954 and delivered their first report in April 1955.{{sfn|Owen|2001|p=35}}
In the early 1950s, [[Arnold Hall]], director of the [[Royal Aircraft Establishment]] (RAE), asked [[Morien Morgan]] to form a committee to study [[supersonic transport]]. The group met in February 1954 and delivered their first report in April 1955.{{sfn|Owen|2001|p=35}} [[Robert Thomas Jones (engineer)|Robert T. Jones]]' work at [[NACA]] had demonstrated that the drag at supersonic speeds was strongly related to the span of the wing.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/langley/robert-t-jones/|title=Robert T. Jones|date=10 August 2015|website=NASA}}</ref> This led to the use of short-span, thin trapezoidal wings such as those seen on the control surfaces of many missiles, or aircraft such as the [[Lockheed F-104 Starfighter]] interceptor or the planned [[Avro 730]] strategic bomber that the team studied. The team outlined a baseline configuration that resembled an enlarged Avro 730.{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=67}}

At the time it was known that the drag at supersonic speeds was strongly related to the span of the wing.<ref group=N>In particular, R. T. Jones' work at NACA demonstrated this in depth.</ref> This led to the use of very short-span, very thin rectangular wings such as those seen on the control surfaces of many missiles, or in aircraft like the [[Lockheed F-104 Starfighter]] or the [[Avro 730]] that the team studied. The team outlined a baseline configuration that looked like an enlarged Avro 730.{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=67}}


This same short span produced very little lift at low speed, which resulted in extremely long take-off runs and frighteningly high landing speeds.<ref>Jan Meyer, [http://starfighter.no/web/hi-alt.html "High altitude flying with F-104"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103071113/http://www.starfighter.no/web/hi-alt.html |date=3 January 2014 }}, Starfighterens veneer Norge</ref> In an SST design, this would have required enormous engine power to lift off from existing runways, and to provide the fuel needed, "some horribly large aeroplanes" resulted.{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=67}} Based on this, the group considered the concept of an SST infeasible, and instead suggested continued low-level studies into supersonic aerodynamics.{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=67}}
This short wingspan produced little lift at low speed, resulting in long take-off runs and high landing speeds.<ref>Meyer, Jan. [http://starfighter.no/web/hi-alt.html "High altitude flying with F-104"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103071113/http://www.starfighter.no/web/hi-alt.html |date=3 January 2014}}, Starfighterens veneer Norge.</ref> In an SST design, this would have required enormous engine power to lift off from existing runways and, to provide the fuel needed, "some horribly large aeroplanes" resulted.{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=67}} Based on this, the group considered the concept of an SST infeasible, and instead suggested continued low-level studies into supersonic aerodynamics.{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=67}}


===Slender deltas===
===Slender deltas===
Soon after, [[Johanna Weber]] and [[Dietrich Küchemann]] at the RAE published a series of reports on a new wing [[Planform (aeronautics)|planform]], known in the UK as the "slender delta" concept.<ref name='deltawing'>{{cite journal |url=http://md1.csa.com/partners/viewrecord.php?requester=gs&collection=TRD&recid=A6825061AH&q=Concorde+Delta&uid=788872723&setcookie=yes |title=The development of the slender delta concept |journal=Aircraft Engineering |author=Maltby, R.L. |volume=40, 1968 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130526165008/http://md1.csa.com/partners/viewrecord.php?requester=gs&collection=TRD&recid=A6825061AH&q=Concorde+Delta&uid=788872723&setcookie=yes |archivedate=26 May 2013 |df= }}</ref><ref name=aerosoc>{{cite web|url=http://aerosociety.com/News/Society-News/2742/OBITUARY-DR-JOHANNA-WEBER|title=Obituary: Dr Johanna Weber|publisher=[[Royal Aeronautical Society]]|date=12 January 2015|last=Green|first=John}}</ref> The team, including Eric Maskell whose report "Flow Separation in Three Dimensions" contributed to an understanding of the physical nature of separated flow,<ref>Three Centuries To Concorde, Charles Burnet, Mechanical Engineering Publications Limited, {{ISBN|0 85298 412 X}}, p.236</ref> worked with the fact that [[delta wing]]s can produce strong [[vortex]]es on their upper surfaces at high [[angle of attack|angles of attack]].{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=67}} The vortex will lower the air pressure and cause lift to be greatly increased. This effect had been noticed earlier, notably by [[Chuck Yeager]] in the [[Convair XF-92]], but its qualities had not been fully appreciated. Weber suggested that this was no mere curiosity, and the effect could be deliberately used to improve low speed performance.<ref name=aerosoc/>{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=67}}
Soon after, [[Johanna Weber]] and [[Dietrich Küchemann]] at the RAE published a series of reports on a new wing [[Planform (aeronautics)|planform]], known in the UK as the "slender delta".<ref name='deltawing'>{{cite journal |url=http://md1.csa.com/partners/viewrecord.php?requester=gs&collection=TRD&recid=A6825061AH&q=Concorde+Delta&uid=788872723|title=The development of the slender delta concept|journal=Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology|author=Maltby, R.L.|volume=40|issue=3 |pages=12–17|date=1968|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130526165008/http://md1.csa.com/partners/viewrecord.php?requester=gs&collection=TRD&recid=A6825061AH&q=Concorde+Delta&uid=788872723&setcookie=yes|archive-date=26 May 2013|doi=10.1108/eb034350|issn=0002-2667}}</ref><ref name=aerosoc>{{cite web|url=http://aerosociety.com/News/Society-News/2742/OBITUARY-DR-JOHANNA-WEBER|title=Obituary: Dr Johanna Weber|publisher=[[Royal Aeronautical Society]]|date=12 January 2015|last=Green|first=John|access-date=16 July 2015|archive-date=13 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713072633/http://aerosociety.com/News/Society-News/2742/OBITUARY-DR-JOHANNA-WEBER|url-status=live}}</ref> The team, including Eric Maskell whose report "Flow Separation in Three Dimensions" contributed to an understanding of separated flow,<ref>''Three Centuries To Concorde'', Charles Burnet, Mechanical Engineering Publications Ltd., {{ISBN|0 85298 412 X}}, p. 236</ref> worked with the fact that [[delta wing]]s can produce strong [[vortex|vortices]] on their upper surfaces at high [[angle of attack|angles of attack]].{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=67}} The vortex will lower the air pressure and cause lift. This had been noticed by [[Chuck Yeager]] in the [[Convair XF-92]], but its qualities had not been fully appreciated. Weber suggested that the effect could be used to improve low speed performance.<ref name=aerosoc />{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=67}}


Küchemann's and Weber's papers changed the entire nature of supersonic design almost overnight. Although the delta had already been used on aircraft prior to this point, these designs used planforms that were not much different from a [[swept wing]] of the same span.<ref group=N>Consider especially the [[English Electric Lightning]], whose wing can be considered either a highly swept rectangle, or a delta with a notch cut out of the root.</ref> Weber noted that the lift from the vortex was increased by the length of the wing it had to operate over, which suggested that the effect would be maximised by extending the wing along the fuselage as far as possible. Such a layout would still have good supersonic performance inherent to the short span, while also offering reasonable take-off and landing speeds using vortex generation.<ref name=aerosoc/> The only downside to such a design is that the aircraft would have to take off and land very "nose high" to generate the required vortex lift, which led to questions about the low speed handling qualities of such a design.<ref name=brown/> It would also need to have long [[landing gear]] to produce the required angle of attack while still on the runway.
Küchemann's and Weber's papers changed the entire nature of supersonic design. The delta had already been used on aircraft, but these designs used planforms that were not much different from a [[swept wing]] of the same span. Weber noted that the lift from the vortex was increased by the length of the wing it had to operate over, which suggested that the effect would be maximised by extending the wing along the fuselage as far as possible. Such a layout would still have good supersonic performance, but also have reasonable take-off and landing speeds using vortex generation.<ref name=aerosoc /> The aircraft would have to take off and land very "nose high" to generate the required [[vortex lift]], which led to questions about the low speed handling qualities of such a design.<ref name=brown />


Küchemann presented the idea at a meeting where Morgan was also present. Test pilot [[Eric Brown (pilot)|Eric Brown]] recalls Morgan's reaction to the presentation, saying that he immediately seized on it as the solution to the SST problem. Brown considers this moment as being the true birth of the Concorde project.<ref name=brown>Eric Brown, [https://books.google.com/books?id=MMEK1jwD03AC&pg=PT121 "Wings On My Sleeve"], Hachette UK, 2008, end of Chapter 12</ref>
Küchemann presented the idea at a meeting where Morgan was also present. Test pilot [[Eric Brown (pilot)|Eric Brown]] recalls Morgan's reaction to the presentation, saying that he immediately seized on it as the solution to the SST problem. Brown considers this moment as being the birth of the Concorde project.<ref name=brown>Eric Brown, [https://books.google.com/books?id=MMEK1jwD03AC&pg=PT121 "Wings On My Sleeve"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161122100612/https://books.google.com/books?id=MMEK1jwD03AC&pg=PT121 |date=22 November 2016}}, Hachette UK, 2008, end of Chapter 12</ref>


===Supersonic Transport Advisory Committee===
===Supersonic Transport Aircraft Committee===
[[File:HP.115.gif|thumb|right|The HP.115 tested the low-speed performance of the slender delta layout.]]
[[File:HP.115.gif|thumb|The HP.115 tested the low-speed performance of the slender delta layout.]]


On 1 October 1956 the [[Ministry of Supply]] asked Morgan to form a new study group, the ''Supersonic Transport Advisory Committee'' (''STAC''),{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=39}} with the explicit goal of developing a practical SST design and finding industry partners to build it. At the very first meeting, on 5 November 1956, the decision was made to fund the development of a test bed aircraft to examine the low-speed performance of the slender delta, a contract that eventually produced the [[Handley Page HP.115]].<ref name=brown/> This aircraft would ultimately demonstrate safe control at speeds as low as 69&nbsp;mph, about that of the F-104 Starfighter.{{sfn|Winchester|2005b|p=134}}
On 1 October 1956 the [[Ministry of Supply]] asked Morgan to form a new study group, the Supersonic Transport Aircraft Committee (STAC){{sfn|Conway|2005|p=39}} (sometimes referred to as the Supersonic Transport Advisory Committee), to develop a practical SST design and find industry partners to build it. At the first meeting, on 5 November 1956, the decision was made to fund the development of a test-bed aircraft to examine the low-speed performance of the slender delta, a contract that eventually produced the [[Handley Page HP.115]].<ref name=brown /> This aircraft demonstrated safe control at speeds as low as {{convert|69|mph|abbr=on}}, about one third that of the F-104 Starfighter.{{sfn|Winchester|2005b|p=134}}


STAC stated that an SST would have economic performance similar to existing subsonic types.{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=67}} Although they would burn more fuel in cruise, they would be able to fly more [[sorties]] in a given period of time, so fewer aircraft would be needed to service a particular route. This would remain economically advantageous as long as fuel represented a small percentage of operational costs, as it did at the time.{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=67}}
STAC stated that an SST would have economic performance similar to existing subsonic types.{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=67}} Lift is not generated the same way at supersonic and subsonic speeds, with the [[lift-to-drag ratio]] for supersonic designs being about half that of subsonic designs.<ref>{{cite tech report |url=https://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trcircular/333/333-004.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331221930/https://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trcircular/333/333-004.pdf |archive-date=31 March 2022 |url-status=live |page=43 |title= The Impact of Emerging Technologies of an Advanced Supersonic Transport |first1=Cornelius |last1=Driver |first2=Domenic |last2=Maglieri}}</ref> The aircraft would need more thrust than a subsonic design of the same size. But although they would use more fuel in cruise, they would be able to fly more revenue-earning flights in a given time, so fewer aircraft would be needed to service a particular route. This would remain economically advantageous as long as fuel represented a small percentage of operational costs.{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=67}}


STAC suggested that two designs naturally fell out of their work, a transatlantic model flying at about Mach 2, and a shorter-range version flying at perhaps Mach 1.2. Morgan suggested that a 150-passenger transatlantic SST would cost about £75 to £90&nbsp;million to develop, and be in service in 1970. The smaller 100 passenger short-range version would cost perhaps £50 to £80&nbsp;million, and be ready for service in 1968. To meet this schedule, development would need to begin in 1960, with production contracts let in 1962.{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=67}} Morgan strongly suggested that the US was already involved in a similar project, and that if the UK failed to respond it would be locked out of an airliner market that he believed would be dominated by SST aircraft.{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=68}}
STAC suggested that two designs naturally fell out of their work, a transatlantic model flying at about Mach 2, and a shorter-range version flying at Mach 1.2. Morgan suggested that a 150-passenger transatlantic SST would cost about £75 to £90&nbsp;million to develop, and be in service in 1970. The smaller 100-passenger short-range version would cost perhaps £50 to £80&nbsp;million, and be ready for service in 1968. To meet this schedule, development would need to begin in 1960, with production contracts let in 1962.{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=67}} Morgan suggested that the US was already involved in a similar project, and that if the UK failed to respond it would be locked out of an airliner market that he believed would be dominated by SST aircraft.{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=68}}


In 1959, a study contract was awarded to [[Hawker Siddeley]] and [[Bristol Aeroplane Company|Bristol]] for preliminary designs based on the slender delta concept,{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=69}} which developed as the [[Hawker Siddeley HSA.1000|HSA.1000]] and [[Bristol 223|Bristol 198]]. [[Armstrong Whitworth]] also responded with an internal design, the ''M-Wing'', for the lower-speed shorter-range category. Even at this early time, both the STAC group and the government were looking for partners to develop the designs. In September 1959, Hawker approached [[Lockheed Corporation|Lockheed]], and after the creation of [[British Aircraft Corporation]] in 1960, the former Bristol team immediately started talks with [[Boeing]], [[General Dynamics]], [[Douglas Aircraft]] and [[Sud Aviation]].{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=69}}
In 1959, a study contract was awarded to [[Hawker Siddeley]] and [[Bristol Aeroplane Company|Bristol]] for preliminary designs based on the slender delta,{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=69}} which developed as the [[Hawker Siddeley HSA.1000|HSA.1000]] and [[Bristol Type 223#STAC|Bristol 198]]. [[Armstrong Whitworth]] also responded with an internal design, the M-Wing, for the lower-speed shorter-range category. Both the STAC group and the government were looking for partners to develop the designs. In September 1959, Hawker approached [[Lockheed Corporation|Lockheed]], and after the creation of [[British Aircraft Corporation]] in 1960, the former Bristol team immediately started talks with [[Boeing]], [[General Dynamics]], [[Douglas Aircraft]], and [[Sud Aviation]].{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=69}}


===Ogee planform selected===
===Ogee planform selected===
Küchemann and others at the RAE continued their work on the slender delta throughout, considering three basic shapes; the classic straight-edge delta, the "gothic delta" that was rounded outwards to appear like a [[Gothic architecture#Equilateral arch|gothic arch]], and the "[[ogive|ogival]] wing" that was compound-rounded into the shape of an [[ogee]]. Each of these planforms had its own advantages and disadvantages in terms of aerodynamics. As they worked with these shapes, a practical concern grew to become so important that it forced selection of one of these designs.{{sfn|Owen|2001|p=40}}
Küchemann and others at the RAE continued their work on the slender delta throughout this period, considering three basic shapes; the classic straight-edge delta, the "gothic delta" that was rounded outward to appear like a [[Gothic architecture#Equilateral arch|gothic arch]], and the "[[ogive|ogival]] wing" that was compound-rounded into the shape of an [[ogee]]. Each of these planforms had advantages and disadvantages. As they worked with these shapes, a practical concern grew to become so important that it forced selection of one of these designs.{{sfn|Owen|2001|p=40}}
[[File:Bristol Type 223 top-view silhouette.png|thumb|Plan-view silhouette of the Bristol Type 223 SST project]]
Generally the wing's [[Center of pressure (fluid mechanics)|centre of pressure]] (CP, or "lift point") should be close to the aircraft's [[centre of gravity]] (CG, or "balance point") to reduce the amount of control force required to [[Pitch axis (kinematics)|pitch]] the aircraft. As the aircraft layout changes during the design phase, it is common for the CG to move fore or aft. With a normal wing design this can be addressed by moving the wing slightly fore or aft to account for this. With a delta wing running most of the length of the fuselage, this was no longer easy; moving the wing would leave it in front of the nose or behind the tail. Studying the various layouts in terms of CG changes, both during design and changes due to fuel use during flight, the ogee planform immediately came to the fore.{{sfn|Owen|2001|p=40}}


To test the new wing, NASA assisted the team by modifying a [[Douglas F5D Skylancer]] to mimic the wing selection. In 1965 the NASA test aircraft successfully tested the wing, and found that it reduced landing speeds noticeably over the standard delta wing. NASA also ran simulations at Ames that showed the aircraft would exhibit a sudden change in pitch when entering ground effect. Ames test pilots later participated in a joint cooperative test with the French and British test pilots and found that the simulations had been correct, and this information was added to pilot training.<ref>Memoirs of an aeronautical engineer: flight testing at Ames Research Center. Seth B. Anderson, United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. History Office, Ames Research Center. p. 38</ref>
Generally one wants to have the wing's [[Center of pressure (fluid mechanics)|centre of pressure]] (CP, or "lift point") close to the aircraft's [[centre of gravity]] (CG, or "balance point") to reduce the amount of control force required to [[Pitch axis (kinematics)|pitch]] the aircraft. As the aircraft layout changes during the design phase, it is common for the CG to move fore or aft. With a normal wing design this can be addressed by moving the wing slightly fore or aft to account for this.<ref group=N>Or, more rarely, "bent" back into position. Examples include the [[Douglas DC-3]] and [[Messerschmitt Me 262]].</ref> With a delta wing running most of the length of the fuselage, this was no longer easy; moving the wing would leave it in front of the nose or behind the tail. Studying the various layouts in terms of CG changes, both during design and changes due to fuel use during flight, the ogee planform immediately came to the fore.{{sfn|Owen|2001|p=40}}
[[File:Bristol Type 223 top-view silhouette.png|thumb|200px|right|Plan-view silhouette of the Bristol Type 223 SST project]]
While the wing planform was evolving, so was the basic SST concept. Bristol's original Type 198 was a small design with an almost pure slender delta wing,<ref>J. S. Thompson and R. A. Fail, [http://naca.central.cranfield.ac.uk/reports/arc/cp/0815.pdf "Measurements of Oscillatory Derivatives at Mach Numbers up to 2.6 on a Model of a Supersonic Transport Design Study (Bristol Type 198)"], RAE Bedford, 1964.</ref> but evolved into the larger [[Bristol Type 223|Type 223]].


===Partnership with Sud Aviation===
===Partnership with Sud Aviation===
By this time similar political and economic concerns in France<!-- do not link major countries--> had led to their own SST plans. In the late 1950s the government requested designs from both the government-owned Sud Aviation and [[Nord Aviation]], as well as [[Dassault]].<ref group=N>This apparently took place some time in 1957, according to Conway's unclear statement about "the following year" which apparently references the first STAC meeting in late 1956.</ref> All three returned designs based on Küchemann and Weber's slender delta; Nord suggested a [[ramjet]] powered design flying at Mach 3, the other two were jet powered Mach 2 designs that were similar to each other. Of the three, the [[Sud Aviation Super-Caravelle]] won the design contest with a medium-range design deliberately sized to avoid competition with transatlantic US designs they assumed were already on the drawing board.{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=70}}
France<!-- do not link major countries--> had its own SST plans. In the late 1950s, the government requested designs from the government-owned Sud Aviation and [[Nord Aviation]], as well as [[Dassault]]. All three returned designs based on Küchemann and Weber's slender delta; Nord suggested a [[ramjet]] powered design flying at Mach 3, and the other two were jet-powered Mach 2 designs that were similar to each other. Of the three, the [[Sud Aviation Super-Caravelle]] won the design contest with a medium-range design deliberately sized to avoid competition with transatlantic US designs they assumed were already on the drawing board.{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=70}}


As soon as the design was complete, in April 1960, Pierre Satre, the company's technical director, was sent to Bristol to discuss a partnership. Bristol was surprised to find that the Sud team had designed a very similar aircraft after considering the SST problem and coming to the very same conclusions as the Bristol and STAC teams in terms of economics. It was later revealed that the original STAC report, marked "For UK Eyes Only", had secretly been passed to the French to win political favour. Sud made minor changes to the paper, and presented it as their own work.{{sfn|Owen|2001|p=49}}
As soon as the design was complete, in April 1960, [[Pierre Satre]], the company's technical director, was sent to Bristol to discuss a partnership. Bristol was surprised to find that the Sud team had designed a similar aircraft after considering the SST problem and coming to the same conclusions as the Bristol and STAC teams in terms of economics. It was later revealed that the original STAC report, marked "For UK Eyes Only", had secretly been passed to France to win political favour. Sud made minor changes to the paper and presented it as their own work.{{sfn|Owen|2001|p=49}}


Unsurprisingly, the two teams found much to agree on. The French had no modern large jet engines, and had already concluded they would buy a British design anyway (as they had on the earlier subsonic [[Sud Aviation Caravelle|Caravelle]]).{{sfn|Owen|2001|p=47}} As neither company had experience in the use of high-heat metals for airframes, a maximum speed of around Mach 2 was selected so aluminium could be used&nbsp;– above this speed the friction with the air warms the metal so much that aluminium begins to soften. This lower speed would also speed development and allow their design to fly before the Americans. Finally, everyone involved agreed that Küchemann's ogee shaped wing was the right one.{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=70}}
France had no modern large jet engines and had already decided to buy a British design (as they had on the earlier subsonic [[Sud Aviation Caravelle|Caravelle]]).{{sfn|Owen|2001|p=47}} As neither company had experience in the use of heat-resistant metals for airframes, a maximum speed of around Mach 2 was selected so aluminium could be used&nbsp;– above this speed, the friction with the air heats the metal so much that it begins to soften. This lower speed would also speed development and allow their design to fly before the Americans. Everyone involved agreed that Küchemann's ogee-shaped wing was the right one.{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=70}}


The only disagreements were over the size and range. The UK team was still focused on a 150-passenger design serving transatlantic routes, while the French were deliberately avoiding these. However, this proved not to be the barrier it might seem; common components could be used in both designs, with the shorter range version using a clipped fuselage and four engines, the longer one with a stretched fuselage and six engines, leaving only the wing to be extensively re-designed.{{sfn|Owen|2001|p=41}} The teams continued to meet through 1961, and by this time it was clear that the two aircraft would be considerably more similar in spite of different range and seating arrangements. A single design emerged that differed primarily in fuel load. More powerful [[Rolls-Royce Olympus|Bristol Siddeley Olympus]] engines, being developed for the [[TSR-2]], allowed either design to be powered by only four engines.{{sfn|Owen|2001|p=50}}
The British team was still focused on a 150-passenger design serving transatlantic routes, while France was deliberately avoiding these. Common components could be used in both designs, with the shorter range version using a clipped fuselage and four engines, and the longer one a stretched fuselage and six engines, leaving only the wing to be extensively re-designed.{{sfn|Owen|2001|p=41}} The teams continued to meet in 1961, and by this time it was clear that the two aircraft would be very similar in spite of different ranges and seating arrangements. A single design emerged that differed mainly in fuel load. More powerful [[Rolls-Royce Olympus|Bristol Siddeley Olympus]] engines, being developed for the [[TSR-2]], allowed either design to be powered by only four engines.{{sfn|Owen|2001|p=50}}


===Cabinet response, treaty===
===Cabinet response, treaty===
While the development teams met, French Minister of Public Works and Transport [[Robert Buron]] was meeting with the UK Minister of Aviation [[Peter Thorneycroft]], and Thorneycroft soon revealed to the cabinet that the French were much more serious about a partnership than any of the US companies.{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=71}} The various US companies had proved uninterested in such a venture, likely due to the belief that the government would be funding development and would frown on any partnership with a European company, and the risk of "giving away" US technological leadership to a European partner.{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=69}}
While the development teams met, the French Minister of Public Works and Transport [[Robert Buron]] was meeting with the UK Minister of Aviation [[Peter Thorneycroft]], and Thorneycroft told the cabinet that France was much more serious about a partnership than any of the US companies.{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=71}} The various US companies had proved uninterested, likely due to the belief that the government would be funding development and would frown on any partnership with a European company, and the risk of "giving away" US technological leadership to a European partner.{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=69}}


When the STAC plans were presented to the UK cabinet, a very negative reaction resulted. The economic considerations were considered highly questionable, especially as these were based on development costs, now estimated to be £150&nbsp;million, which were repeatedly overrun in the industry. The Treasury Ministry in particular presented a very negative view, suggesting that there was no way the project would have any positive financial returns for the government, especially in light that "the industry's past record of over-optimistic estimating (including the recent history of the TSR.2) suggests that it would be prudent to consider the £150&nbsp;million [cost] to turn out much too low."{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=71}}
When the STAC plans were presented to the UK cabinet, the economic considerations were considered highly questionable, especially as these were based on development costs, now estimated to be {{GBPConvert|150|m|year=1961|lk=on|showdate=no|mode=historical}}, which were repeatedly overrun in the industry. The Treasury Ministry presented a negative view, suggesting that there was no way the project would have any positive financial returns for the government, especially in light that "the industry's past record of over-optimistic estimating (including the recent history of the TSR.2) suggests that it would be prudent to consider" the cost "to turn out much too low."{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=71}}


This concern led to an independent review of the project by the Committee on Civil Scientific Research and Development, which met on topic between July and September 1962. The Committee ultimately rejected the economic arguments, including considerations of supporting the industry made by Thorneycroft. Their report in October stated that it was unlikely there would be any direct positive economic outcome, but that the project should still be considered for the simple reason that everyone else was going supersonic, and they were concerned they would be locked out of future markets. Conversely, it appeared the project would not be likely to significantly impact other, more important, research efforts.{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=71}}
This led to an independent review of the project by the Committee on Civil Scientific Research and Development, which met on the topic between July and September 1962. The committee rejected the economic arguments, including considerations of supporting the industry made by Thorneycroft. Their report in October stated that it was unlikely there would be any direct positive economic outcome, but that the project should still be considered because everyone else was going supersonic, and they were concerned they would be locked out of future markets. It appeared the project would not be likely to significantly affect other, more important, research efforts.{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=71}}


At the time, the UK was pressing for admission to the [[European Economic Community]], and this became the main rationale for moving ahead with the aircraft.{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=66}} The development project was negotiated as an international treaty between the two countries rather than a commercial agreement between companies and included a clause, originally asked for by the UK government, imposing heavy penalties for cancellation. This treaty was signed on 29 November 1962.<ref name="earlyhist">{{cite web |url=http://www.concordesst.com/history/eh1.html#a |title=Early History |work=Concorde History |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110124174147/http://concordesst.com/history/eh1.html#a |archive-date=24 January 2011 |access-date=8 September 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Charles de Gaulle]] vetoed the UK's entry into the European Community in a speech on 25 January 1963.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hollingworth |first1=Clare |last2=Prittie |first2=Terence |date=25 January 2018 |title=French determined to block Britain's entry to Common Market – archive, 1963 |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/25/french-france-block-britain-entry-common-market-de-gaulle-1963 |access-date=28 February 2021 |url-status=live |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414095431/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/25/french-france-block-britain-entry-common-market-de-gaulle-1963}}</ref>
After considerable argument, the decision to proceed ultimately fell to an unlikely political expediency. At the time, the UK was pressing for admission to the [[European Common Market]], which was being controlled by [[Charles de Gaulle]] who felt the UK's [[Special Relationship]] with the US made them unacceptable in a pan-European group. Cabinet felt that signing a deal with Sud would pave the way for Common Market entry, and this became the main deciding reason for moving ahead with the deal.{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=66}} It was this belief that had led the original STAC documents being leaked to the French. However, De Gaulle spoke of the European origin of the design, and continued to block the UK's entry into the Common Market.{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=66}}

The development project was negotiated as an international treaty between the two countries rather than a commercial agreement between companies and included a clause, originally asked for by the UK, imposing heavy penalties for cancellation. A draft treaty was signed on 29 November 1962.<ref name="earlyhist">[http://www.concordesst.com/history/eh1.html#a "Early History."] ''concordesst.com''. Retrieved 8 September 2007.</ref>


===Naming===
===Naming===
Reflecting the treaty between the British and French governments that led to Concorde's construction, the name ''Concorde'' is from the French word ''[[wikt:concorde#French|concorde]]'' ({{IPA-fr|kɔ̃kɔʁd|IPA}}), which has an English equivalent, ''[[wikt:concord#English|concord]]''. Both words mean ''agreement'', ''harmony'' or ''union''. The name was officially changed to ''Concord'' by [[Harold Macmillan]] in response to a perceived slight by [[Charles de Gaulle]]. At the French roll-out in [[Toulouse]] in late 1967,<ref name=ssccunv>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=50ExAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xRAEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5265%2C2127687 |newspaper=Milwaukee Sentinel |agency=Associated Press |title=Supersonic Concorde unveiled |date=12 December 1967 |page=3, part 1 }}</ref> the British Government [[Minister for Technology]], [[Tony Benn]], announced that he would change the spelling back to ''Concorde''.<ref name="Benn">{{cite news |url= https://www.theguardian.com/g2/story/0,3604,1064752,00.html |title= Sonic booms and that 'e' on the end: Tony Benn remembers his role in getting Concorde off the ground |first= Tony |last= Benn |work=The Guardian |location=London |date= 17 October 2003}}</ref> This created a nationalist uproar that died down when Benn stated that the suffixed "e" represented "Excellence, England, Europe and [[Entente Cordiale|Entente (Cordiale)]]". In his memoirs, he recounts a tale of a letter from an irate Scotsman claiming: "[Y]ou talk about 'E' for England, but part of it is made in Scotland." Given Scotland's contribution of providing the nose cone for the aircraft, Benn replied, "[I]t was also 'E' for 'Écosse' (the French name for Scotland)&nbsp;– and I might have added 'e' for extravagance and 'e' for escalation as well!"{{sfn|McIntyre|1992|p=20}}
At Charles de Gaulle's January 1963 press conference the aircraft was first called 'Concorde'.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Myddelton |first=David R. |title=They Meant Well, Government Project Disasters |publisher=The Institute of Economic Affairs |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-255-36601-4 |edition=1st |location=London, UK |pages=110 |language=English}}</ref> The name was suggested by the eighteen-year-old son of F.G. Clark, the publicity manager at BAC's Filton plant.<ref name=":2" /> Reflecting the treaty between the British and French governments that led to Concorde's construction, the name ''Concorde'' is from the French word ''[[wikt:concorde#French|concorde]]'' ({{IPA|fr|kɔ̃kɔʁd|IPA}}), which has an English equivalent, ''[[wikt:concord#English|concord]]''. Both words mean ''agreement'', ''harmony'', or ''union''. The name was changed to ''Concord'' by [[Harold Macmillan]] in response to a perceived slight by de Gaulle. At the French roll-out in [[Toulouse]] in late 1967,<ref name="ssccunv">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KSdJAQAAMAAJ |title=Astronautics and Aeronautics, 1967 Chronology on Science, Technology, and Policy |date=1968 |page=373 |language=en}}</ref> the British [[Minister of Technology]], [[Tony Benn]], announced that he would change the spelling back to ''Concorde''.<ref name="Benn">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/g2/story/0,3604,1064752,00.html |title=Sonic booms and that 'e' on the end: Tony Benn remembers his role in getting Concorde off the ground |first=Tony |last=Benn |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |location=London |date=17 October 2003 |access-date=14 December 2016 |archive-date=25 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125024459/https://www.theguardian.com/business/2003/oct/17/theairlineindustry.g21 |url-status=live}}</ref> This created a nationalist uproar that died down when Benn stated that the suffixed "e" represented "Excellence, England, Europe, and [[Entente Cordiale|Entente (Cordiale)]]". In his memoirs, he recounted a letter from a Scotsman claiming, "you talk about 'E' for England, but part of it is made in Scotland." Given Scotland's contribution of providing the nose cone for the aircraft, Benn replied, "it was also 'E' for 'Écosse' (the French name for Scotland)&nbsp;– and I might have added 'e' for extravagance and 'e' for escalation as well!"{{sfn|McIntyre|1992|p=20}}


Concorde also acquired an unusual [[nomenclature]] for an aircraft. In common usage in the United Kingdom, the type is known as ''Concorde'' without an [[article (grammar)|article]], rather than '''''the''' Concorde'' or '''''a''' Concorde''.<ref>Note this British convention is used throughout this article: {{cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/uk/2003/concorde_retirement/default.stm |title= In depth: Farewell to Concorde |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=15 August 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.britishairways.com/concorde/aboutconcorde.html |title= About Concorde&nbsp;– main page |publisher=British Airways |accessdate=11 January 2010}}</ref>
In common usage in the United Kingdom, the type is known as "Concorde" without an [[article (grammar)|article]], rather than "{{em|the}} Concorde" or "{{em|a}} Concorde".<ref>Note this British convention is used throughout this article: {{cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/uk/2003/concorde_retirement/default.stm |title= In depth: Farewell to Concorde |work= [[BBC News]] |date= 15 August 2007 |access-date= 4 October 2007 |archive-date= 27 October 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071027143003/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/uk/2003/concorde_retirement/default.stm |url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.britishairways.com/concorde/aboutconcorde.html |title= About Concorde&nbsp;– main page |publisher= British Airways |access-date= 11 January 2010 |archive-date= 11 March 2009 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090311003638/http://www.britishairways.com/concorde/aboutconcorde.html |url-status= live}}</ref>


===Sales efforts===
===Sales efforts===
[[File:British Concorde.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.15|[[British Airways]] Concorde in early BA livery at [[London-Heathrow Airport]], in the early 1980s]]
[[File:British Concorde.jpg|thumb|[[British Airways]] Concorde in early BA livery at [[Heathrow Airport|London-Heathrow Airport]] in the early 1980s]]

Described by ''[[Flight International]]'' as an "aviation icon" and "one of aerospace's most ambitious but commercially flawed projects",<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/2003/2003%20-%202360.html |title=concorde - 2003 - 2360 - Flight Archive |work=Flight International |publisher=Reed Business Information }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Concorde Special – Flawed Icon |date=21 October 2003 |work=Flight Global |publisher=Reed Business Information |url=https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/concorde-special-flawed-icon-172669/}}</ref> Concorde failed to meet its original sales targets, despite initial interest from several airlines.

At first, the new consortium intended to produce one long-range and one short-range version. However, prospective customers showed no interest in the short-range version and it was dropped.<ref name="earlyhist"/>


An advertisement covering two full pages, promoting Concorde, ran in the 29 May 1967 issue of ''Aviation Week & Space Technology''. The advertisement predicted a market for 350 aircraft by 1980 and boasted of Concorde's head start over the United States' SST project.<ref>48 years ago in AW&ST, Aviation Week & Space Technology, 25 May – 7 June 2015, p.14</ref>
Advertisements for Concorde during the late 1960s placed in publications such as ''Aviation Week & Space Technology'' predicted a market for 350 aircraft by 1980.<ref>48 years ago in AW&ST, Aviation Week & Space Technology, 25 May – 7 June 2015, p. 14.</ref> The new consortium intended to produce one long-range and one short-range version, but prospective customers showed no interest in the short-range version, thus it was later dropped.<ref name="earlyhist" />


Concorde had considerable difficulties that led to its dismal sales performance. Costs had spiralled during development to more than six times the original projections, arriving at a unit cost of £23&nbsp;million in 1977 (equivalent to £{{Inflation|UK|23|1977|r=2}} million in {{Inflation-year|UK}}).<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1352927/Is-this-the-end-of-the-Concorde-dream.html |title= Is this the end of the Concorde dream? |publisher=''Daily Telegraph,'' 16 August 2000 |first= Paul |last= Marston |date= 16 August 2000 |location=London}}</ref> Its sonic boom made travelling supersonic over land impossible without causing complaints from citizens.<ref name="Concordes limited to 16">{{cite news |title= Concordes limited to 16 |publisher=''Virgin Islands Daily News,'' 5 June 1976}}</ref> World events had also dampened Concorde sales prospects, the [[1973-74 stock market crash]] and the [[1973 oil crisis]] had made many airlines cautious about aircraft with high fuel consumption rates; and new [[wide-body aircraft]], such as the [[Boeing 747]], had recently made subsonic aircraft significantly more efficient and presented a low-risk option for airlines.{{sfn|Ross|1978|pp=47–49}} While carrying a full load, Concorde achieved 15.8 [[passenger miles per gallon]] of fuel, while the [[Boeing 707]] reached 33.3&nbsp;pm/g, the Boeing 747 46.4&nbsp;pm/g, and the [[McDonnell Douglas DC-10]] 53.6&nbsp;pm/g.{{sfn|Ross|1978|p=49}} An emerging trend in the industry in favour of cheaper airline tickets had also caused airlines such as Qantas to question Concorde's market suitability.<ref>Gunn 2010, p. 45.</ref>
Concorde's costs spiralled during development to more than six times the original projections, arriving at a unit cost of £23&nbsp;million in 1977 (equivalent to £{{Inflation|UK|23|1977|r=2}} million in {{Inflation-year|UK}}).<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1352927/Is-this-the-end-of-the-Concorde-dream.html |url-access=subscription |title=Is this the end of the Concorde dream? | publisher=The Daily Telegraph |first=Paul |last=Marston |date=16 August 2000 }}</ref> Its sonic boom made travelling supersonically over land impossible without causing complaints from citizens.<ref name="Concordes limited to 16">{{cite news |title=Concordes limited to 16 | publisher=Virgin Islands Daily News|date=5 June 1976}}</ref> World events also dampened Concorde sales prospects; the [[1973–74 stock market crash]] and the [[1973 oil crisis]] had made airlines cautious about aircraft with high fuel consumption, and new [[wide-body aircraft]], such as the [[Boeing 747]], had recently made subsonic aircraft significantly more efficient and presented a low-risk option for airlines.{{sfn|Ross|1978|pp=47–49}} While carrying a full load, Concorde achieved 15.8 [[passenger miles per gallon]] of fuel, while the [[Boeing 707]] reached 33.3&nbsp;pm/g, the Boeing 747 46.4&nbsp;pm/g, and the [[McDonnell Douglas DC-10]] 53.6&nbsp;pm/g.{{sfn|Ross|1978|p=49}} A trend in favour of cheaper airline tickets also caused airlines such as [[Qantas]] to question Concorde's market suitability.{{sfn|Gunn|2010|p=45}} During the early 2000s, ''[[Flight International]]'' described Concorde as being "one of aerospace's most ambitious but commercially flawed projects",<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/2003/2003%20-%202360.html |title=Concorde – 2003–2360 – Flight Archive |publisher=Flight International |access-date=12 November 2016 |archive-date=12 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161112212240/https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/2003/2003%20-%202360.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Concorde Special – Flawed Icon |date=21 October 2003 |publisher=Flight Global |url=https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/concorde-special-flawed-icon-172669/ |access-date=12 November 2016 |archive-date=12 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161112211651/https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/concorde-special-flawed-icon-172669/ |url-status=live}}</ref>


The consortium secured orders (i.e., non-binding options) for over 100 of the long-range version from the major airlines of the day: [[Pan American World Airways|Pan Am]], [[British Overseas Airways Corporation|BOAC]], and Air France were the launch customers, with six Concordes each. Other airlines in the order book included [[Panair do Brasil]], [[Continental Airlines]], [[Japan Airlines]], [[Lufthansa]], [[American Airlines]], [[United Airlines]], [[Air India]], [[Air Canada]], [[Braniff International Airways|Braniff]], [[Singapore Airlines]], [[Iran Air]], [[Olympic Airways]], [[Qantas]], [[Civil Aviation Administration of China|CAAC]], [[Middle East Airlines]], and [[Trans World Airlines|TWA]].<ref name="earlyhist"/><ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,903850,00.html |title= Aerospace: Pan Am's Concorde Retreat |publisher=''Time'', 12 February 1973 |date= 12 February 1973}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Vertrag mit Luken|url=http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-46437753.html|publisher=[[Der Spiegel]]|date=13 March 1967|accessdate=6 November 2012}}</ref> At the time of the first flight the options list contained 74 options from 16 airlines:
The consortium received orders (non-binding options) for more than 100 of the long-range version from the major airlines of the day: [[Pan American World Airways|Pan Am]], [[British Overseas Airways Corporation|BOAC]], and Air France were the launch customers, with six aircraft each. Other airlines in the order book included [[Panair do Brasil]], [[Continental Airlines]], [[Japan Airlines]], [[Lufthansa]], [[American Airlines]], [[United Airlines]], [[Air India]], [[Air Canada]], [[Braniff International Airways|Braniff]], [[Singapore Airlines]], [[Iran Air]], [[Olympic Airways]], [[Qantas]], [[CAAC Airlines]], [[Middle East Airlines]], and [[Trans World Airlines|TWA]].<ref name="earlyhist" /><ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,903850,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050116102945/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,903850,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 January 2005 |title=Aerospace: Pan Am's Concorde Retreat |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=12 February 1973}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Vertrag mit Luken |trans-title=Contract with escape hatches |magazine=Der Spiegel |volume=12 |url=http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-46437753.html |date=13 March 1967 |access-date=6 November 2012 |archive-date=3 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203050949/http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-46437753.html |url-status=live}}</ref> At the time of the first flight, the options list contained 74 options from 16 airlines:<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.heritageconcorde.com/concorde-orders-and-options |title=Concorde orders and options |website=heritage-concorde |access-date=18 September 2020 |archive-date=29 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929093832/https://www.heritageconcorde.com/concorde-orders-and-options |url-status=live}}</ref>


{| class="wikitable sortable"
{| class="wikitable sortable"
Line 115: Line 130:
! Remarks
! Remarks
|-
|-
| [[Pan Am]] || 6 || 3 June 1963 || 31 January 1973 || 2 extra options in 1964
| Panair do Brasil<!-- these are all linked in the paragraph above --> || 3 || Oct 1961 || 10 February 1965 ||
|-
|-
| Pan Am || 6 || 3 June 1963 || 31 January 1973 || 2 extra options in 1964
| [[Air France]] || 6 || 3 June 1963 || || 2 extra options in 1964
|-
|-
| Air France || 6 || 3 June 1963 || || 2 extra options in 1964
| [[BOAC]] || 6 || 3 June 1963 || || 2 extra options in 1964
|-
|-
| BOAC || 6 || 3 June 1963 || || 2 extra options in 1964
| [[Continental Airlines]] || 3 || 24 July 1963 || March 1973 ||
|-
|-
| Continental Airlines || 3 || 24 July 1963 || Mar 1973 ||
| [[American Airlines]] || 4 || 7 October 1963 || February 1973 || 2 extra options in 1965
|-
|-
| American Airlines || 4 || 7 October 1963 || Feb 1973 || 2 extra options in 1965
| [[TWA]] || 4 || 16 October 1963 || 31 January 1973 || 2 extra options in 1965
|-
|-
| TWA || 4 || 16 October 1963 || 31 January 1973 || 2 extra options in 1965
| [[Middle East Airlines]] || 2 || 4 December 1963 || February 1973 ||
|-
|-
| [[Qantas]] || 6 || 19 March 1964 || June 1973<ref>{{cite web |last1=Chamberlin |first1=Chris |date=16 May 2020 |title=Supersonic dreams: how Qantas almost flew the Concorde |url=https://www.executivetraveller.com/news/qantas-concorde-supersonic |website=Executive Traveller |access-date=14 September 2020}}</ref> || 2 cancelled in May 1966
| Middle East Airlines || 2 || 4 December 1963 || Feb 1973 ||
|-
|-
| Qantas || 6 || 19 March 1964 || || 2 cancelled in May 1966
| [[Air India]] || 2 || 15 July 1964 || February 1975 ||
|-
|-
| Air India || 2 || 15 July 1964 || Feb 1975 ||
| [[Japan Airlines]] || 3 || 30 September 1965 || 1973 ||
|-
|-
| Japan Airlines || 3 || 30 September 1965 || 1973 ||
| [[Sabena]] || 2 || 1 December 1965 || February 1973 ||
|-
|-
| [[Eastern Airlines]] || 2 || 28 June 1966 || February 1973 || 2 extra options on 15 August 1966 <br/>2 other extra options on 28 April 1967
| Sabena || 2 || 1 December 1965 || Feb 1973 ||
|-
|-
| Eastern Airlines || 2 || 28 June 1966 || Feb 1973 || 2 extra options on 15 August 1966<br/> 2 other extra options on 28 April 1967
| [[United Airlines]] || 6 || 29 June 1966 || 26 October 1972 ||
|-
|-
| United Airlines || 6 || 29 June 1966 || 26 October 1972 ||
| [[Braniff]] || 3 || 1 September 1966 || February 1973 ||
|-
|-
| Braniff || 3 || 1 September 1966 || Feb 1973 ||
| [[Lufthansa]] || 3 || 16 February 1967 || April 1973 ||
|-
|-
| [[Air Canada]] || 4 || 1 March 1967 || 6 June 1972<ref>Peter Pigott: ''Air Canada, the History''. 2014 {{ISBN|978-1-4597-1952-1}}. p. 104</ref> ||
| Lufthansa || 3 || 16 February 1967 || Apr 1973 ||
|-
|-
| [[CAAC Airlines|CAAC]] || 2 || 24 July 1972 || December 1979<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.heritageconcorde.com/concorde-orders-and-options|title=Concorde orders and options|website=Heritage Concorde|access-date=18 September 2020|archive-date=29 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929093832/https://www.heritageconcorde.com/concorde-orders-and-options|url-status=live}}</ref> ||
| Air Canada || 4 || 1 March 1967 || 6 June 1972<ref>Peter Pigott: ''Air Canada, the History''. 2014 {{ISBN|978-1-4597-1952-1}}. page 104</ref> ||
|-
| [[Iran Air]] || 2 || 8 October 1972 || February 1980 ||
|}
|}


===Testing===
===Testing===
[[File:02.03.69 1er vol de Concorde (1969) - 53Fi1931 - cropped.jpg|thumb|Concorde 001 first flight in 1969]]
The design work was supported by a preceding research programme studying the flight characteristics of low ratio [[delta wing]]s. A supersonic [[Fairey Delta 2]] was modified to carry the ogee planform, and, renamed as the BAC 221, used for flight tests of the high speed flight envelope,{{sfn|Taylor|1965|p=130}} the [[Handley Page HP.115]] also provided valuable information on low speed performance.{{sfn|Winchester|2005a|p=134}}

The design work was supported by a research programme studying the flight characteristics of low ratio [[delta wing]]s. A supersonic [[Fairey Delta 2]] was modified to carry the ogee planform, and, renamed as the BAC 221, used for tests of the high-speed flight envelope;{{sfn|Taylor|1965|p=130}} the [[Handley Page HP.115]] also provided valuable information on low-speed performance.{{sfn|Winchester|2005a|p=134}}

Construction of two prototypes began in February 1965: 001, built by Aérospatiale at Toulouse, and 002, by BAC at [[Filton]], Bristol. 001 made its first test flight from Toulouse on 2 March 1969, piloted by [[André Turcat]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Pilot Says Concorde Flight 'Perfect'|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KXoyAAAAIBAJ&pg=6573,360672 |access-date=30 June 2011 |work=Montreal Gazette |date=1 March 1969 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414095431/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KXoyAAAAIBAJ&pg=6573,360672 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> and first went supersonic on 1 October.{{sfn|Olivier|2018|p=11}}<ref>{{cite news |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30C1EFC3454127B93C0A9178BD95F4D8685F9 |title=Concorde Tops Speed of Sound for 9 Minutes on a Test Flight |work=The New York Times |date=2 October 1969 |access-date=22 March 2010 |archive-date=7 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120107234836/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30C1EFC3454127B93C0A9178BD95F4D8685F9 |url-status=live}}</ref> The first UK-built Concorde flew from Filton to [[RAF Fairford]] on 9 April 1969, piloted by [[Brian Trubshaw]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/2/newsid_2514000/2514535.stm |title=1969: Concorde flies for the first time |work=BBC News |access-date=8 July 2007 |date=2 March 1969 |archive-date=3 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903062944/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/2/newsid_2514000/2514535.stm |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/584606362.html?dids=584606362:584606362&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Apr+10%2C+1969&author=&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=Concorde+002+Makes+1st+Flight&pqatl=google |title=Concorde 002 Makes 1st Flight |work=Chicago Tribune |first=Edward |last=Rohrbach |access-date=30 June 2011 |date=10 April 1969 |archive-date=25 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120725063900/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/584606362.html?dids=584606362:584606362&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Apr+10%2C+1969&author=&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=Concorde+002+Makes+1st+Flight&pqatl=google |url-status=dead}}</ref> Both prototypes were presented to the public on 7–8 June 1969 at the [[Paris Air Show]]. As the flight programme progressed, 001 embarked on a sales and demonstration tour on 4 September 1971, which was also the first transatlantic crossing of Concorde.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/597531692.html?dids=597531692:597531692&FMT=CITE&FMTS=CITE:AI&type=historic&date=Sep+05%2C+1971&author=&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=Concorde+001+Makes+Its+First+Atlantic+Crossing&pqatl=google |title=Concorde 001 Makes Its First Atlantic Crossing |work=Chicago Tribune |access-date=30 June 2011 |date=5 September 1971 |archive-date=6 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120106122156/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/597531692.html?dids=597531692:597531692&FMT=CITE&FMTS=CITE:AI&type=historic&date=Sep+05%2C+1971&author=&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=Concorde+001+Makes+Its+First+Atlantic+Crossing&pqatl=google |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Anglo-French Concorde Lands in Brazil to begin Week of Demonstration Flights |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VCY0AAAAIBAJ&pg=2521,1962837 |work=Bangor Daily News |date=7 September 1971 |access-date=28 November 2020 |url-status=live |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414131208/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VCY0AAAAIBAJ&pg=2521,1962837}}</ref> Concorde 002 followed on 2 June 1972 with a tour of the Middle and Far East.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70D10F73B591A7493C1A9178DD85F468785F9 |title=Concorde Prototype Begins 10-Nation Tour; Britain Shows Optimism For Supersonic Aircraft |work=The New York Times |first=Michael |last=Stern |date=3 June 1972 |access-date=30 June 2011 |url-status=live |archive-date=7 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120107234925/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70D10F73B591A7493C1A9178DD85F468785F9}}</ref> Concorde 002 made the first visit to the United States in 1973, landing at [[Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport|Dallas/Fort Worth Regional Airport]] to mark the airport's opening.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0E16FB3A54137A93C3AB1782D85F478785F9 |first=Richard |last=Witkin |date=21 September 1973 |title=A Supersonic Concorde Lands in Texas |work=The New York Times |access-date=30 June 2011 |archive-date=3 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103103438/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0E16FB3A54137A93C3AB1782D85F478785F9 |url-status=live}}</ref>


[[File:Concorde first visit Heathrow Fitzgerald.jpg|thumb|Concorde on early visit to Heathrow Airport on 1 July 1972]]
Construction of two prototypes began in February 1965: 001, built by Aérospatiale at Toulouse, and 002, by BAC at [[Filton]], Bristol. Concorde 001 made its first test flight from Toulouse on 2 March 1969, piloted by [[André Turcat]],<ref>{{cite web |url= https://news.google.co.uk/newspapers?id=KXoyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GLkFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6573,360672&dq=concorde&hl=en |title= Pilot Says Concorde Flight "Perfect" |publisher=''Montreal Gazette,'' |accessdate=30 June 2011 |date=1 March 1969 }}</ref> and first went supersonic on 1 October.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30C1EFC3454127B93C0A9178BD95F4D8685F9 |title= Concorde Tops Speed of Sound for 9 Minutes on a Test Flight |publisher=''The New York Times,'' 2 October 1969 |date= 2 October 1969}}</ref> The first UK-built Concorde flew from Filton to [[RAF Fairford]] on 9 April 1969, piloted by [[Brian Trubshaw]].<ref>{{cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/2/newsid_2514000/2514535.stm |title= 1969: Concorde flies for the first time |publisher=''BBC News,'' 2 March 1969 |accessdate=8 July 2007 |date=2 March 1969}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/584606362.html?dids=584606362:584606362&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Apr+10%2C+1969&author=&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=Concorde+002+Makes+1st+Flight&pqatl=google |title= Concorde 002 Makes 1st Flight |publisher=''Chicago Tribune,'' 10 April 1969 |first=Edward |last=Rohrbach |accessdate=30 June 2011 |date=10 April 1969}}</ref> Both prototypes were presented to the public for the first time on 7–8 June 1969 at the [[Paris Air Show]]. As the flight programme progressed, 001 embarked on a sales and demonstration tour on 4 September 1971, which was also the first transatlantic crossing of Concorde.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/597531692.html?dids=597531692:597531692&FMT=CITE&FMTS=CITE:AI&type=historic&date=Sep+05%2C+1971&author=&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=Concorde+001+Makes+Its+First+Atlantic+Crossing&pqatl=google |title= Concorde 001 Makes Its First Atlantic Crossing |publisher=''Chicago Tribune,'' 5 September 1971 |accessdate=30 June 2011 |date=5 September 1971}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://news.google.co.uk/newspapers?id=VCY0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=2uAIAAAAIBAJ&pg=2521,1962837&dq=concorde&hl=en |title= Anglo-French Concorde Lands in Brazil to begin Week of Demonstration Flights |publisher=Bangor Daily News |date= 7 September 1971}}</ref> Concorde 002 followed suit on 2 June 1972 with a tour of the Middle and Far East.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70D10F73B591A7493C1A9178DD85F468785F9 |title= Concorde Prototype Begins 10-Nation Tour; Britain Shows Optimism For Supersonic Aircraft |publisher='' The New York Times,'' 3 June 1972 |first=Michael |last=Stern |accessdate=30 June 2011 |date=3 June 1972}}</ref> Concorde 002 made the first visit to the United States in 1973, landing at the new [[Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport|Dallas/Fort Worth Regional Airport]] to mark that airport's opening.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0E16FB3A54137A93C3AB1782D85F478785F9 |title= A Supersonic Concorde Lands in Texas |publisher=''The New York Times,'' 21 September 1973 |first=Richard |last=Witkin |accessdate=30 June 2011 |date=21 September 1973}}</ref>
Concorde had initially held a great deal of customer interest, but the project was hit by order cancellations. The [[1973 Paris Air Show crash|Paris Le Bourget air show crash]] of the competing Soviet [[Tupolev Tu-144]] had shocked potential buyers, and public concern over the environmental issues of supersonic aircraft{{snd}}the [[sonic boom]], take-off noise and pollution{{snd}}had produced a change in the public opinion of SSTs. By 1976 the remaining buyers were from four countries: Britain, France, China, and Iran.<ref name="Concordes limited to 16" /> Only Air France and British Airways (the successor to BOAC) took up their orders, with the two governments taking a cut of any profits.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britishairways.com/concorde/faq.html#6 |title=Payments for Concorde |publisher=British Airways |access-date=2 December 2009 |archive-date=19 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091219154117/http://www.britishairways.com/concorde/faq.html#6 |url-status=live}}</ref>


The US government cut federal funding for the [[Boeing 2707]], its supersonic transport programme, in 1971; Boeing did not complete its two 2707 prototypes. The US, India, and Malaysia all ruled out Concorde supersonic flights over the noise concern, although some of these restrictions were later relaxed.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70813F83F5511728DDDAE0994DA415B888BF1D3 |title=Malaysia lifting ban on the use of its Airspace by the Concorde |work=The New York Times |access-date=30 June 2011 |date=17 December 1978 |archive-date=7 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120107234822/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70813F83F5511728DDDAE0994DA415B888BF1D3 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xTMsAAAAIBAJ&pg=6855,2298265 |title=News from around the world |work=Herald-Journal |date=13 January 1978 |access-date=30 June 2011 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414125644/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xTMsAAAAIBAJ&pg=6855,2298265 |url-status=live}}</ref> Professor Douglas Ross characterised restrictions placed upon Concorde operations by President [[Jimmy Carter]]'s administration as having been an act of [[protectionism]] of American aircraft manufacturers.{{sfn|Ross|1978|p=46}}
[[File:Concorde first visit Heathrow Fitzgerald.jpg|thumb|left|Concorde on early visit to Heathrow Airport on 1 July 1972]]
While Concorde had initially held a great deal of customer interest, the project was hit by a large number of order cancellations. The [[1973 Paris Air Show crash|Paris Le Bourget air show crash]] of the competing Soviet [[Tupolev Tu-144]] had shocked potential buyers, and public concern over the environmental issues presented by a supersonic aircraft&nbsp;– the [[sonic boom]], take-off noise and pollution&nbsp;– had produced a shift in public opinion of SSTs. By 1976 four nations remained as prospective buyers: Britain, France, China, and Iran.<ref name="Concordes limited to 16"/> Only Air France and British Airways (the successor to BOAC) took up their orders, with the two governments taking a cut of any profits made.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.britishairways.com/concorde/faq.html#6 |title= Payments for Concorde |publisher=''British Airways'' |accessdate=2 December 2009}}</ref>


===Programme cost===
The United States cancelled the [[Boeing 2707]], its rival supersonic transport programme, in 1971. Observers have suggested that opposition to Concorde on grounds of noise pollution had been encouraged by the United States Government, as it lacked its own competitor.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50D16F93C54137A93C0A81789D85F478785F9 |title= Britain and France have wasted billions on the Concorde |publisher=''The New York Times,'' 12 February 1973 |first= Anthony |last= Lewis |date= 12 February 1973}}</ref> The US, India, and Malaysia all ruled out Concorde supersonic flights over the noise concern, although some of these restrictions were later relaxed.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70813F83F5511728DDDAE0994DA415B888BF1D3 |title= Malaysia lifting ban on the use of its Airspace by the Concorde |publisher='' The New York Times,'' 17 December 1978 |accessdate=30 June 2011 |date=17 December 1978}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://news.google.co.uk/newspapers?id=xTMsAAAAIBAJ&sjid=48sEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6855,2298265&dq=india+concorde&hl=en |title= News from around the world |publisher=''Herald-Journal,'' 13 January 1978 |accessdate=30 June 2011}}</ref> Professor Douglas Ross characterised restrictions placed upon Concorde operations by President [[Jimmy Carter]]'s administration as having been an act of [[protectionism]] of American aircraft manufacturers.{{sfn|Ross|1978|p=46}} Concorde flew to an altitude of 68,000&nbsp;ft (20,700&nbsp;m) during a test flight in June 1973.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.concordesst.com/01.html|title=Concorde SST : Development Fleet : 01. G-AXDN|publisher=concordesst.com|accessdate=19 January 2016}}</ref>
The original programme cost estimate was £70&nbsp;million in 1962,<ref>{{Citation |title=Concorde |work=BBC Timewatch documentary |date=2003 |quote=By 1962, the cost estimates had already soared from 70 to 150 million pounds."<br/>"[By 1964], costs had doubled yet again to nearly 300 million pounds. <!--The documentary goes on to explain how the international treaty had been written in such a way that if either party wished to back out, the cost penalty for doing so would be exorbitant. (Whereas neither the US nor USSR had such barriers to cancelling their SST programmes, which both countries eventually did.)-->}}</ref> (£{{Format price|{{Inflation|UK-GDP|70000000|1962|r=3}}}} in {{Inflation/year|UK-GDP}}).{{Inflation-fn|UK-GDP}} After [[cost overrun]]s and delays the programme eventually cost between £1.5 and £2.1 billion in 1976,<ref>{{cite book | first=A. R. |last=Seebass |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F2D_CAAAQBAJ&pg=PA3 |chapter=The Prospects for Commercial Supersonic Transport |title=New Design Concepts for High Speed Air Transport |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604114554/https://books.google.com/books?id=F2D_CAAAQBAJ&pg=PA3 |archive-date=4 June 2020 |editor-first=H. |editor-last= Sobieczky |orig-year=1997 |publisher=Springer |url-status=live |isbn=9783709126585 |year=2014 |version=ebook|quote=The programme's cost, through March 1976, was put at between 1.5 and 2.1 billion in 1976 pounds sterling, or between 3.6 and 5.1 billion in 1977 U.S. dollars (yearly weighted exchange rates)}}</ref> (£{{Format price|{{Inflation|UK-GDP|1500000000|1976|r=2}}}} – {{Format price|{{Inflation|UK-GDP|2100000000|1976|r=2}}}} in {{Inflation/year|UK-GDP}}).{{Inflation-fn|UK-GDP}} This cost was the main reason the production run was much smaller than expected.<ref>In ''Concorde'' (BBC Timewatch, 2003) Chris Benjamin, Concorde Administrator (UK) 1971–74 said: "It's really a matter of great regret that an enormous amount of creativity, effort and resources were used to produce this aeroplane which has actually no sustainable benefit at all."</ref>


==Design==
==Design==
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===General features===
===General features===
Concorde is an [[ogival delta]] winged aircraft with four [[Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593|Olympus]] engines based on those employed in the RAF's [[Avro Vulcan]] [[strategic bomber]]. It is one of the few commercial aircraft to employ a [[tailless aircraft|tailless design]] (the [[Tupolev Tu-144]] being another). Concorde was the first airliner to have a (in this case, analogue) [[fly-by-wire]] flight-control system; the [[avionics]] system the Concorde used was unique because it was the first commercial aircraft to employ [[Hybrid integrated circuit|hybrid circuits]].<ref name='elecflybywire' /> The principal designer for the project was Pierre Satre, with [[Archibald Russell|Sir Archibald Russell]] as his deputy.<ref>{{cite news |first= Peter |last= Masefield |title= Obituary: Sir Archibald Russell |publisher=''The Independent,'' 1 July 1995 |location=UK }}</ref>
Concorde is an [[Delta wing#ogival delta|ogival delta]] winged aircraft with four [[Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593|Olympus]] engines based on those employed in the RAF's [[Avro Vulcan]] [[strategic bomber]]. It has an unusual [[tailless aircraft|tailless configuration]] for a commercial aircraft, as does the [[Tupolev Tu-144]]. Concorde was the first airliner to have a [[fly-by-wire]] flight-control system (in this case, analogue); the [[avionics]] system Concorde used was unique because it was the first commercial aircraft to employ [[Hybrid integrated circuit|hybrid circuits]].<ref name='elecflybywire' /> The principal designer for the project was Pierre Satre, with [[Archibald Russell|Sir Archibald Russell]] as his deputy.<ref>{{cite news |first=Peter |last=Masefield |title=Obituary: Sir Archibald Russell |work=The Independent |date=1 July 1995 |location=UK}}</ref>


Concorde pioneered the following technologies:
Concorde pioneered the following technologies:


For high speed and optimisation of flight:
For high speed and optimisation of flight:
* [[Double delta]] ([[ogee]]/ogival) shaped wings<ref name= 'deltawing'/>
* [[Double delta]] ([[ogee]]/ogival) shaped wings<ref name= 'deltawing' />
* Variable engine air [[intake ramp]] system controlled by [[digital computer]]s<ref name=nova>{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/3203_concorde.html |title=NOVA transcript: Supersonic Dream |publisher=PBS |date=18 January 2005 |quote=Jock Lowe (Concorde Chief Pilot): We did some research which showed that the Concorde passengers actually didn't know how much the fare was. When we asked them to guess how much it was, they guessed that it was higher than it actually was, so we just started to charge them what they thought they were paying anyway. |access-date=26 August 2017 |archive-date=5 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110405035636/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/3203_concorde.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
* Variable engine air [[intake ramp]] system controlled by [[digital computer]]s<ref name=nova/>
* [[Supercruise]] capability<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.janes.com/transport/news/jae/jae000725_1_n.shtml |title=Rolls-Royce Snecma Olympus |publisher=Janes |date=25 July 2000 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100806140324/http://www.janes.com/transport/news/jae/jae000725_1_n.shtml |archivedate=6 August 2010 }}</ref>
* [[Supercruise]] capability<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.janes.com/transport/news/jae/jae000725_1_n.shtml |title=Rolls-Royce Snecma Olympus |publisher=Janes |date=25 July 2000 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100806140324/http://www.janes.com/transport/news/jae/jae000725_1_n.shtml |archive-date=6 August 2010}}</ref>
* Thrust-by-wire engines, predecessor of today's [[FADEC]]-controlled engines<ref name=nova/>
* [[Droop-nose]] section for better landing visibility


For weight-saving and enhanced performance:
For weight-saving and enhanced performance:
* [[Mach number|Mach]] 2.04 (~{{convert|2179|km/h|mph|disp=or|abbr=on}}) cruising speed{{sfn|Frawley|2003|p=14}} for optimum fuel consumption (supersonic drag minimum and turbojet engines are more efficient at higher speed<ref>{{cite web |url= http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/16/16.unified/propulsionS04/UnifiedPropulsion8/UnifiedPropulsion8.htm |title= Unified propulsion 8 |publisher=MIT |accessdate=8 December 2010}}</ref>) Fuel consumption at Mach 2.0 and at altitude of 60,000 feet (18,000 m) was 4,800 gallons per hour (22,000 L/h).<ref>Allen, Roy, Concorde The Magnificent, Airliner Classics, July 2012, p.65</ref>
* [[Mach number|Mach]] 2.02 (~{{convert|2154|km/h|mph|disp=or|abbr=on}}) cruising speed{{sfn|Frawley|2003|p=14}} for optimum fuel consumption (supersonic drag minimum and turbojet engines are more efficient at higher speed);<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/16/16.unified/propulsionS04/UnifiedPropulsion8/UnifiedPropulsion8.htm |title=Unified propulsion 8 |publisher=MIT |access-date=8 December 2010 |archive-date=18 June 2012 |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20120618175121/http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/16/16.unified/propulsionS04/UnifiedPropulsion8/UnifiedPropulsion8.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> fuel consumption at {{convert|2|Mach|altitude_ft=60000|sigfig=3}} and at altitude of {{convert|60000|ft}} was {{convert|4800|gal/h|L/h}}.<ref>Allen, Roy, Concorde The Magnificent, Airliner Classics, July 2012, p. 65</ref>
* Mainly aluminium construction using a high temperature alloy similar to that developed for aero-engine pistons.<ref>The Development of Piston Aero Engines, Bill Gunston 1999, second edition, Patrick Stephens Limited, {{ISBN|1 85260 599 5}}, p.58</ref> This material gave low weight and allowed conventional manufacture (higher speeds would have ruled out aluminium)<ref>{{cite journal |url= http://md1.csa.com/partners/viewrecord.php?requester=gs&collection=TRD&recid=A6424111AH&q=Concorde+aluminium+construction&uid=789267644&setcookie=yes |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120822230903/http://md1.csa.com/partners/viewrecord.php?requester=gs&collection=TRD&recid=A6424111AH&q=Concorde+aluminium+construction&uid=789267644&setcookie=yes |dead-url= yes |archive-date= 2012-08-22 |title= ''Concorde''&nbsp;– Choice of a light alloy for the construction of the first supersonic commercial aircraft |journal= Revue de l'Aluminium |issue= 316 |date= March 1964 |pages= 111–119 }}</ref>
* Mainly aluminium construction using a high-temperature alloy similar to that developed for aero-engine pistons.<ref>The Development of Piston Aero Engines, Bill Gunston 1999, 2nd ed., Patrick Stephens Limited, {{ISBN|1 85260 599 5}}, p. 58</ref> This material gave low weight and allowed conventional manufacture (higher speeds would have ruled out aluminium)<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://md1.csa.com/partners/viewrecord.php?requester=gs&collection=TRD&recid=A6424111AH&q=Concorde+aluminium+construction&uid=789267644&setcookie=yes |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120822230903/http://md1.csa.com/partners/viewrecord.php?requester=gs&collection=TRD&recid=A6424111AH&q=Concorde+aluminium+construction&uid=789267644&setcookie=yes |url-status=dead |archive-date=22 August 2012 |title=''Concorde''&nbsp;– Choice of a light alloy for the construction of the first supersonic commercial aircraft |journal=Revue de l'Aluminium |issue=316 |date=March 1964 |pages=111–19}}</ref>
* Full-regime [[autopilot]] and [[autothrottle]]<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1681566&show=pdf |title=The Concorde Automatic Flight Control System: A description of the automatic flight control system for the Anglo/French SST and its development to date |first=B.S. |last=Wolfe |journal=Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology |year= 1967 |volume=39 |issue=5 |page=40 |issn=0002-2667 |publisher=MCB UP |doi=10.1108/eb034268}}</ref> allowing "hands off" control of the aircraft from climb out to landing
* Full-regime [[autopilot]] and [[autothrottle]]<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Concorde Automatic Flight Control System: A description of the automatic flight control system for the Anglo/French SST and its development to date |first=B.S. |last=Wolfe |journal=Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology |year=1967 |volume=39 |issue=5 |page=40 |issn=0002-2667 |doi=10.1108/eb034268}}</ref> allowing "hands off" control of the aircraft from climb out to landing
* Fully electrically controlled analogue [[Aircraft flight control system#Fly-by-wire control systems|fly-by-wire]] flight controls systems<ref name= 'elecflybywire'>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/?id=DbUhEnlI3OkC&pg=PA211&dq=wire+Concorde#v=onepage&q=wire%20Concorde&f=false |title= Advances in aircraft flight control |editor= Mark B. Tischler |author=Favre, C. |year= 1996 |isbn= 0-7484-0479-1 |page= 219 |publisher=CRC Press |accessdate=30 June 2011}}</ref>
* Fully electrically controlled analogue [[Aircraft flight control system#Fly-by-wire control systems|fly-by-wire]] flight controls systems<ref name='elecflybywire'>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DbUhEnlI3OkC&pg=PA211 |title=Advances in aircraft flight control |editor=Mark B. Tischler |author=Favre, C. |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-7484-0479-7 |page=219 |publisher=CRC Press |access-date=28 November 2020 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414103603/https://books.google.com/books?id=DbUhEnlI3OkC&pg=PA211 |url-status=live}}</ref>
* High-pressure hydraulic system using 28 MPa (4,000&nbsp;lbf/in²) for lighter hydraulic components,<ref>{{cite journal |url= http://md1.csa.com/partners/viewrecord.php?requester=gs&collection=TRD&recid=A7716749AH&q=Concorde+hydraulic&uid=788858323&setcookie=yes |title= Concorde has designed-in reliability |author=Schefer, L.J. |journal=Hydraulics and Pneumatics |volume= 29, 1976 |pages= 51–55}}</ref> tripled independent systems ("Blue", "Green", and "Yellow") for redundancy, with an emergency [[ram air turbine]] (RAT) stored in the port-inner elevon jack fairing supplying "Green" and "Yellow" as backup.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Collard|first1=D.|title=Concorde Airframe Design and Development|url=http://www.svfw.ch/Archiv/ConcordeDev.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030309020149/http://svfw.ch/Archiv/ConcordeDev.pdf|dead-url=yes|archive-date=9 March 2003|publisher=Swiss Association of Aeronautical Services|accessdate=19 January 2016}}</ref>
* High-pressure hydraulic system using {{cvt|28|MPa}} for lighter hydraulic components.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://md1.csa.com/partners/viewrecord.php?requester=gs&collection=TRD&recid=A7716749AH&q=Concorde+hydraulic&uid=788858323&setcookie=yes |title=Concorde has designed-in reliability |author=Schefer, L.J. |journal=Hydraulics and Pneumatics|volume=29|date=1976 |pages=51–55|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120823182306/http://md1.csa.com/partners/viewrecord.php?requester=gs&collection=TRD&recid=A7716749AH&q=Concorde+hydraulic&uid=788858323&setcookie=yes|archive-date=23 August 2012}}</ref>
* Complex [[Air data computer]] (ADC) for the automated monitoring and transmission of aerodynamic measurements (total pressure, [[static pressure]], [[angle of attack]], side-slip).{{sfn|Owen|2001|p=101}}
* [[Air data computer]] (ADC) for the automated monitoring and transmission of aerodynamic measurements (total pressure, [[static pressure]], [[angle of attack]], side-slip).{{sfn|Owen|2001|p=101}}
* Fully electrically controlled analogue [[brake-by-wire]] system<ref>{{cite journal |doi= 10.1108/eb035278 |url= http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do?contentType=Article&hdAction=lnkpdf&contentId=1682576 |title= Aircraft Stopping Systems |journal=Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology |year= 1975 |volume= 47 |issue= 10 |issn= 0002-2667 |page= 18 |publisher=MCB UP}}</ref>
* Fully electrically controlled analogue [[brake-by-wire]] system<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1108/eb035278 |title=Aircraft Stopping Systems |journal=Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology |year=1975 |volume=47 |issue=10 |issn=0002-2667 |page=18}}</ref>
* No [[auxiliary power unit]], as Concorde would only visit large airports where [[Ground support equipment#Air start unit|ground air start carts]] were available.{{sfn|Owen|2001|p=206}}
* Pitch trim by shifting fuel fore-and-aft for [[Center of mass#Center of gravity|centre-of-gravity]] (CofG) control at the approach to Mach 1 and above with no drag penalty.<ref>{{cite journal |doi= 10.1108/eb034738 |url= http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do?contentType=Article&contentId=1682044 |title= Fuel Management for Concorde: A brief account of the fuel system and the fuel pumps developed for the aircraft |first= H.G. |last= Turner |journal=Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology |publisher=MCB Ltd |issn= 0002-2667 |year= 1971 |volume= 43 |issue= 3 |pages= 36–39}}</ref> Pitch trimming by fuel transfer had been used since 1958 on the [[B-58]] supersonic bomber.<ref>Bombers of the West,Bill Gunston, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, SBN 684-13623-6, p.204</ref>
* Parts made using "[[Milling machine|sculpture milling]]", reducing the part count while saving weight and adding strength.<ref>{{cite journal |doi= 10.1108/eb033911 |url= http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do?contentType=Article&hdAction=lnkpdf&contentId=1681209 |title= British Contribution to Concord Production in France |journal=Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology |year= 1964 |volume= 36 |issue= 8 |pages= 232–237 |issn= 0002-2667 |publisher=MCB Ltd}}</ref>
* No [[auxiliary power unit]], as Concorde would only visit large airports where [[Ground support equipment#Air Start Unit (ASU)|ground air start carts]] are available.{{sfn|Owen|2001|p=206}}


===Powerplant===
===Powerplant===
[[File:Concorde.highup.arp.750pix.jpg|thumb|The four powerplants mounted in two nacelles under the wings.]]
[[File:Concorde Ramp.jpg|thumb|Twin air intake assembly for each nacelle.]]
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|image1= Concordeintake.svg
|image_caption1= Concorde's [[intake ramp]] system schematics
|caption1= Close up of engine nozzles of production Concorde G-AXDN. The nozzle consists of tilting cups.
|image2= Concordeintake.gif
|caption2= Concorde's [[intake ramp]] system schematics
|image3= Concorde Ramp.jpg
|caption3= Concorde's intake ramp system
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{{Main article|Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593}}
[[File:Rolls-Royce-Snecma Olympus - Musée Safran.jpg|thumb|Engines and twin exhaust system for each nacelle.]]
{{Main|Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593}}


A symposium titled "Supersonic-Transport Implications" was hosted by the [[Royal Aeronautical Society]] in 1960. Various views were put forward on the likely type of powerplant for a supersonic transport, such as podded or buried installation and turbojet or ducted-fan engines.<ref>https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1960/1960%20-%203039.html?search=supersonic%20transport%20implications</ref><ref>https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1960/1960%20-%203108.html?search=supersonic%20transport%20implications</ref> Boundary layer management in the podded installation was put forward as simpler with only an inlet cone but Dr. Seddon of the RAE saw "a future in a more sophisticated integration of shapes" in a buried installation. Another concern highlighted the case with two or more engines situated behind a single intake. An intake failure could lead to a double or triple engine failure. The advantage of the ducted fan over the turbojet was reduced airport noise but with considerable economic penalties with its larger cross-section producing excessive drag.<ref>Birtles, Philip. ''Concorde'', pp. 62–63. Vergennes, Vermont: Plymouth Press, 2000. {{ISBN|1-882663-44-6}}.</ref> At that time it was considered that the noise from a turbojet optimised for supersonic cruise could be reduced to an acceptable level using noise suppressors as used on subsonic jets.
A symposium titled "Supersonic-Transport Implications" was hosted by the [[Royal Aeronautical Society]] on 8 December 1960. Various views were put forward on the likely type of powerplant for a supersonic transport, such as podded or buried installation and turbojet or ducted-fan engines.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Supersonic – Transport Implications |magazine=Flight International |date=23 December 1960 |page=971 |url=https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1960/1960%20-%203039.html |via=FlightGlobal Archive |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171222052952/https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1960/1960%20-%203039.html |archive-date=22 December 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=Flight International |date=30 December 1960 |page=1024 |url=https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1960/1960%20-%203108.html?search=supersonic%20transport%20implications |title=Supersonic – Transport Implications |via=FlightGlobal Archive |access-date=26 February 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170226132358/https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1960/1960%20-%203108.html |archive-date=26 February 2017}}</ref> Concorde needed to fly long distances to be economically viable; this required high efficiency from the powerplant. [[Turbofan]] engines were rejected due to their larger cross-section producing excessive drag (but would be studied for future SSTs). Olympus turbojet technology was already available for development to meet the design requirements.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://papers.sae.org/760891/Olympus |title=SAE International mobility engineering |website=Papers.sae.org|access-date=21 December 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801033212/http://papers.sae.org/760891/Olympus/ |archive-date=1 August 2017}}</ref> Rolls-Royce proposed developing the RB.169 to power Concorde during its initial design phase,<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Aero Engines 1962 |magazine=Flight International |date=28 June 1962 |page=1018 |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1962/1962%20-%201020.html |access-date=29 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231002631/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1962/1962%20-%201020.html |archive-date=31 December 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> but developing a wholly-new engine for a single aircraft would have been extremely costly,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Parker |first1=R. |title=Aircraft engines: a proud heritage and an exciting future |journal=The Aeronautical Journal |date=2016 |volume=120 |issue=1223 |pages=131–69 |doi=10.1017/aer.2015.6 |s2cid=18375144}}</ref> so the existing BSEL [[Rolls-Royce Olympus variants#Bristol Olympus (BOl) 22R (Mk. 320)|Olympus Mk 320]] turbojet engine, which was already flying in the [[BAC TSR-2]] supersonic strike bomber prototype, was chosen instead.{{sfn|Owen|2001|p=50}}


Boundary layer management in the podded installation was put forward as simpler with only an inlet cone, however, Dr. Seddon of the RAE favoured a more integrated buried installation. One concern of placing two or more engines behind a single intake was that an intake failure could lead to a double or triple engine failure. While a ducted fan over the turbojet would reduce noise, its larger cross-section also incurred more drag.<ref>{{cite book |last=Birtles |first=Philip |title=Concorde |pages=62–63 |place=Vergennes, Vermont |publisher=Plymouth Press |year=2000 |isbn=1-882663-44-6}}</ref> Acoustics specialists were confident that a turbojet's noise could be reduced and SNECMA made advances in silencer design during the programme.<ref>{{citation |magazine=Flight International |url=https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1971/1971%20-%200616.html |year=1971 |title=Noise and Environment |page=xxi |via=FlightGlobal Archive |access-date=26 February 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170226212746/https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1971/1971%20-%200616.html |archive-date=26 February 2017}}</ref> The Olympus Mk.622 with reduced jet velocity was proposed to reduce the noise<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=Flight International |url=https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1974/1974%20-%200593.html |title=Up to date with Rolls-Royce Bristol |date=11 April 1974 |page=463 |via=FlightGlobal Archive |access-date=26 February 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170226132427/https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1974/1974%20-%200593.html |archive-date=26 February 2017}}</ref> but was not pursued. By 1974, the spade silencers which projected into the exhaust were reported to be ineffective but "entry-into-service aircraft are likely to meet their noise guarantees".<ref>{{citation |magazine=Flight International |url=https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1974/1974%20-%201690.html |title=Commercial Aircraft of the World |via=FlightGlobal Archive |page=546 |date= 24 October 1974 |access-date=26 February 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170226132353/https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1974/1974%20-%201690.html |archive-date=26 February 2017}}</ref>
The powerplant configuration selected for Concorde, and its development to a certificated design, can be seen in light of the above symposium topics (which highlighted airfield noise, boundary layer management and interactions between adjacent engines) and the requirement that the powerplant, at Mach 2, tolerate combinations of pushovers, sideslips, pull-ups and throttle slamming without surging.<ref name=talbot/>{{rp|p.131}} Extensive development testing with design changes and changes to intake and engine control laws would address most of the issues except airfield noise and the interaction between adjacent powerplants at speeds above Mach 1.6 which meant Concorde "had to be certified aerodynamically as a twin-engined aircraft above Mach 1.6".<ref name=talbot>Concorde A Designer's Life The Journey To Mach 2, Ted Talbot 2013, The History Press, {{ISBN|978 0 7524 8928 5}}, p.48</ref>


The powerplant configuration selected for Concorde highlighted airfield noise, boundary layer management and interactions between adjacent engines and the requirement that the powerplant, at Mach 2, tolerate pushovers, sideslips, pull-ups and throttle slamming without surging.{{sfn|Talbot|2013|p=131}} Extensive development testing with design changes and changes to intake and engine control laws addressed most of the issues except airfield noise and the interaction between adjacent powerplants at speeds above Mach 1.6 which meant Concorde "had to be certified aerodynamically as a twin-engined aircraft above Mach 1.6".{{sfn|Talbot|2013|p=48}}
Rolls-Royce had a design proposal, the RB.169, for the aircraft at the time of Concorde's initial design<ref>{{citation |journal=Flight International |date=28 June 1962 |page=1018 |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1962/1962%20-%201020.html |title=Aero Engines 1962 }}</ref> but "to develop a brand-new engine for Concorde would have been prohibitively expensive"<ref>Kenneth Owen, in Concorde, seminar held 19 November 1998 (Institute of Contemporary British History 2002 http://www.icbh.ac.uk/witness/concorde/),p.21{{dead link|date=August 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> so an existing engine, already flying in the [[BAC TSR-2|TSR-2]] prototype, was chosen. It was the Olympus 320 turbojet, a development of the Bristol engine first used for the [[Avro Vulcan]] bomber.


Situated behind the wing leading edge, the engine intake had a wing boundary layer ahead of it. Two-thirds were diverted and the remaining third which entered the intake did not adversely affect the intake efficiency{{sfn|Talbot|2013|p=21}} except during pushovers when the boundary layer thickened and caused surging. Wind tunnel testing helped define leading-edge modifications ahead of the intakes which solved the problem.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Concorde Airframe Design and Development |author=D. Collard |date=April 1999 |journal=Swiss Association of Aeronautical Sciences |publisher=ETH-Zentrum |issue=8092 |place=Zürich |page=6}}<br/>* {{cite journal |author=Collard, D. |title=Concorde Airframe Design and Development |journal=SAE Transactions |series=SAE Technical Paper Series |volume=100 |pages=2620–41 |id=912162 |year=1991 |doi=10.4271/912162 |jstor=44548119}}</ref> Each engine had its own intake and the [[nacelle]]s were paired with a splitter plate between them to minimise the chance of one powerplant influencing the other. Only above {{convert|1.6|Mach}} was an engine surge likely to affect the adjacent engine.{{sfn|Talbot|2013|p=48}}
Great confidence was placed in being able to reduce the noise of a turbojet and massive strides by SNECMA in silencer design were reported during the programme.<ref>https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1971/1971%20-%200616.html?search=april%20noise%20and%20environment</ref> However, by 1974 the spade silencers which projected into the exhaust were reported to be ineffective.<ref>https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1974/1974%20-%201690.html</ref> The Olympus Mk.622 with reduced jet velocity was proposed to reduce the noise<ref>https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1974/1974%20-%200593.html</ref> but it was not developed.


The air intake design for Concorde's engines was especially critical.<ref>{{cite conference |conference=Aerospace Technology Conference and Exposition |url=https://www.sae.org/publications/technical-papers/content/912180/ |title=Concorde Propulsion{{snd}}Did we get it right? The Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593 Engine reviewed |publisher=SAE International |author=Ganley, G. A. |date=September 1991 |doi=10.4271/912180 |series=SAE Technical Paper Series |access-date=27 August 2018 |archive-date=27 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180827142352/https://www.sae.org/publications/technical-papers/content/912180/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The intakes had to slow down supersonic inlet air to subsonic speeds with high-pressure recovery to ensure efficient operation at cruising speed while providing low distortion levels (to prevent engine surge) and maintaining high efficiency for all likely ambient temperatures in cruise. They had to provide adequate subsonic performance for diversion cruise and low engine-face distortion at take-off. They also had to provide an alternative path for excess intake of air during engine throttling or shutdowns.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Design and Development of an Air Intake for a Supersonic Transport Aircraft |author1=I. H. Rettie |author2=W. G. E. Lewis |journal=Journal of Aircraft |volume=5 |issue=6 |pages=513–21 |date=November–December 1968 |doi=10.2514/3.43977}}</ref> The variable intake features required to meet all these requirements consisted of front and rear ramps, a dump door, an auxiliary inlet and a ramp bleed to the exhaust nozzle.{{sfn|Talbot|2013|loc=plate 4}}
Situated behind the leading edge of the wing the engine intake had wing boundary layer ahead of it. Two thirds was diverted and the remaining third which entered the intake did not adversely affect the intake efficiency<ref name=talbot/>{{rp|p.21}} except during pushovers when the boundary layer thickened ahead of the intake and caused surging. Extensive wind tunnel testing helped define leading edge modifications ahead of the intakes which solved the problem.<ref>Concorde Airframe Design and Development, D. Collard, Zurich, April 1999, Swiss Association Of aeronautical Sciences, ETH-Zentrum, 8092 Zurich p.6</ref>


As well as supplying air to the engine, the intake also supplied air through the ramp bleed to the propelling nozzle. The nozzle ejector (or aerodynamic) design, with variable exit area and secondary flow from the intake, contributed to good expansion efficiency from take-off to cruise.<ref>"An experiment on aerodynamic nozzles at M=2" Reid, Ministry of Aviation, R. & M. No. 3382, p. 4.</ref> Concorde's Air Intake Control Units (AICUs) made use of a digital processor for intake control. It was the first use of a digital processor with full authority control of an essential system in a passenger aircraft. It was developed by BAC's Electronics and Space Systems division after the analogue AICUs (developed by [[Ultra Electronics]]) fitted to the prototype aircraft were found to lack sufficient accuracy.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Page|first1=N.|last2=Dale|first2=R. S.|last3=Nelson|first3=N.|title=Engine intake-control|journal=Flight|date=8 May 1975|pages=742–743|url=https://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1975/1975%20-%200828.PDF|access-date=19 January 2016|archive-date=26 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160126153712/https://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1975/1975%20-%200828.PDF|url-status=live}}</ref> Ultra Electronics also developed Concorde's thrust-by-wire engine control system.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1976/1976%20-%201835.html |title=1976 &#124; 1835 &#124; Flight Archive |publisher=Flightglobal.com |date=4 September 1976 |access-date=15 June 2013 |archive-date=3 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150903215336/https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1976/1976%20-%201835.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
Each engine had its own intake and the engine nacelles were paired with a splitter plate between them to minimise adverse behaviour of one powerplant influencing the other. Only above Mach 1.6 was an engine surge likely to affect the adjacent engine.<ref name=talbot/>


Engine failure causes problems on conventional [[subsonic aircraft]]; not only does the aircraft lose thrust on that side but the engine creates drag, causing the aircraft to yaw and bank in the direction of the failed engine. If this had happened to Concorde at supersonic speeds, it theoretically could have caused a catastrophic failure of the airframe. Although computer simulations predicted considerable problems, in practice Concorde could shut down both engines on the same side of the aircraft at Mach 2 without difficulties.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/concorde-special-the-test-pilot-john-cochrane-172657/ |title=Concorde Special&nbsp;– The test pilot&nbsp;– John Cochrane |work=[[Flight International]] |date=21 October 2003 |access-date=2 April 2018 |archive-date=2 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180402225635/https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/concorde-special-the-test-pilot-john-cochrane-172657/ |url-status=live}}</ref> During an engine failure the required air intake is virtually zero. So, on Concorde, engine failure was countered by the opening of the auxiliary spill door and the full extension of the ramps, which deflected the air downwards past the engine, gaining lift and minimising drag. Concorde pilots were routinely trained to handle double-engine failure.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-63710463.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207015537/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-63710463.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 February 2012 |title=How a Concorde pilot would handle a nightmare failure |newspaper=Birmingham Post |first=Peter |last=Woodman |date=27 July 2000}}</ref>
Concorde needed to fly long distances to be economically viable; this required high efficiency from the powerplant. [[Turbofan]] engines were rejected due to their larger cross-section producing excessive drag. Olympus [[turbojet]] technology was available to be developed to meet the design requirements of the aircraft, although [[turbofan]]s would be studied for any future SST.<ref>http://papers.sae.org/760891/Olympus</ref>
speeds

The aircraft used reheat ([[afterburner]]s) at take-off and to pass through the upper [[transonic]] regime and to supersonic speeds, between Mach 0.95 and Mach 1.7. The afterburners were switched off at all other times.<ref>{{cite journal |url= http://md1.csa.com/partners/viewrecord.php?requester=gs&collection=TRD&recid=A9110958AH&q=Rolls-Royce%2FSnecma+Olympus+593&uid=788858323&setcookie=yes |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110921053303/http://md1.csa.com/partners/viewrecord.php?requester=gs&collection=TRD&recid=A9110958AH&q=Rolls-Royce%2FSnecma+Olympus+593&uid=788858323&setcookie=yes |dead-url= yes |archive-date= 21 September 2011 |title= The Rolls Royce/SNECMA Olympus 593 engine operational experience and the lessons learned |publisher= ''European Symposium on the Future of High Speed Air Transport'' |author= Ganley, G. |author2= G. Laviec |year= 1989 |pages= 73–80 |accessdate= 30 June 2011 }}</ref> Due to jet engines being [[propulsive efficiency|highly inefficient at low speeds]], Concorde burned two tonnes of fuel (almost 2% of the maximum fuel load) taxiing to the runway.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5195964.stm |title= Are the skies turning green? |publisher=BBC News |first= Joe |last= Lynam |date= 19 July 2006}}</ref> Fuel used is [[Jet fuel|Jet A-1]]. Due to the high thrust produced even with the engines at idle, only the two outer engines were run after landing for easier taxiing and less [[brake pad]] wear - at low weights after landing, the aircraft would not remain stationary with all four engines idling requiring the brakes to be continuously applied to prevent the aircraft from rolling.
Concorde used [[reheat]] (afterburners) only at take-off and to pass through the [[transonic]] speed range, between Mach 0.95 and 1.7.<ref>{{cite conference |url=http://md1.csa.com/partners/viewrecord.php?requester=gs&collection=TRD&recid=A9110958AH&q=Rolls-Royce%2FSnecma+Olympus+593&uid=788858323&setcookie=yes |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110921053303/http://md1.csa.com/partners/viewrecord.php?requester=gs&collection=TRD&recid=A9110958AH&q=Rolls-Royce%2FSnecma+Olympus+593&uid=788858323&setcookie=yes |title=The Rolls Royce/SNECMA Olympus 593 engine operational experience and the lessons learned |conference=European Symposium on the Future of High Speed Air Transport, Strasbourg, France; 6–8 Nov 1989 |author=Ganley, G. |author2=Laviec, G. |year=1990 |pages=73–80 |access-date=30 June 2011}}</ref>

The intake design for Concorde's engines was especially critical.<ref>{{cite journal |url= https://www.sae.org/technical/papers/912180 |title= Concorde Propulsion—Did we get it right? The Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593 Engine reviewed |publisher=SAE International |author=Ganley, G. A. |date= September 1991}}</ref> The intakes had to provide low distortion levels (to prevent engine surge) and high efficiency for all likely ambient temperatures to be met in cruise. They had to provide adequate subsonic performance for diversion cruise and low engine-face distortion at take-off. They also had to provide an alternate path for excess intake air during engine throttling or shutdowns.<ref>"Design and Development of an Air Intake for a Supersonic Transport Aircraft" Rettie and Lewis, Journal of Aircraft, Volume 5, Number 6, November–December 1968</ref> The variable intake features required to meet all these requirements consisted of front and rear ramps, a dump door, an auxiliary inlet and a ramp bleed to the exhaust nozzle.<ref>"Concorde A Designer's Life" Talbot, {{ISBN|978 0 7524 8928 5}}, plate 4</ref>

As well as supplying air to the engine, the intake also supplied air through the ramp bleed to the propelling nozzle. The nozzle ejector (or aerodynamic) design, with variable exit area and secondary flow from the intake, contributed to good expansion efficiency from take-off to cruise.<ref>"An experiment on aerodynamic nozzles at M=2" Reid, Ministry of Aviation, R. & M. No. 3382, p.4</ref>

Engine failure causes problems on conventional [[subsonic aircraft]]; not only does the aircraft lose thrust on that side but the engine creates drag, causing the aircraft to yaw and bank in the direction of the failed engine. If this had happened to Concorde at supersonic speeds, it theoretically could have caused a catastrophic failure of the airframe. Although computer simulations predicted considerable problems, in practice Concorde could shut down both engines on the same side of the aircraft at Mach 2 without the predicted difficulties.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2003/10/21/172657/concorde-special-the-test-pilot-john-cochrane.html |title= Concorde Special&nbsp;– The test pilot&nbsp;– John Cochrane |publisher=[[Flight International]] |date= 21 October 2003}}</ref> During an engine failure the required air intake is virtually zero. So, on Concorde, engine failure was countered by the opening of the auxiliary spill door and the full extension of the ramps, which deflected the air downwards past the engine, gaining lift and minimising drag. Concorde pilots were routinely trained to handle double engine failure.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-63710463.html |title= How a Concorde pilot would handle a nightmare failure |publisher=Birmingham Post |first= Peter |last= Woodman |date= 27 July 2000}}</ref>

Concorde's Air Intake Control Units (AICUs) made use of a digital processor to provide the necessary accuracy for intake control. It was the world's first use of a digital processor to be given full authority control of an essential system in a passenger aircraft. It was developed by the Electronics and Space Systems (ESS) division of the British Aircraft Corporation after it became clear that the analogue AICUs fitted to the prototype aircraft and developed by [[Ultra Electronics]] were found to be insufficiently accurate for the tasks in hand.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Page|first1=N.|last2=Dale|first2=R. S.|last3=Nelson|first3=N.|title=Engine intake-control|journal=Flight|date=8 May 1975|pages=742–743|url=https://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1975/1975%20-%200828.PDF}}</ref>

Concorde's thrust-by-wire engine control system was developed by Ultra Electronics.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1976/1976%20-%201835.html |title=1976 &#124; 1835 &#124; Flight Archive |publisher=Flightglobal.com |date=4 September 1976 |accessdate=15 June 2013}}</ref>


===Heating problems===
===Heating problems===
Air compression on the outer surfaces caused the cabin to heat up during flight. Every surface, such as windows and panels, was warm to the touch by the end of the flight.<ref>Dalton, Alastair. [http://www.scotsman.com/news/transport/supersonic-the-enduring-allure-of-concorde-1-2415088 "Supersonic: The enduring allure of Concorde"]. Scotsman.com, 17 July 2012.</ref> Besides engines, the hottest part of the structure of any supersonic aircraft, due to [[aerodynamic heating]], is the [[nose cone|nose]]. The engineers used [[Hiduminium|Hiduminium R.R. 58]], an aluminium alloy, throughout the aircraft due to its familiarity, cost and ease of construction. The highest temperature that aluminium could sustain over the life of the aircraft was {{convert|127|°C|°F|abbr=on}}, which limited the top speed to Mach 2.02.<ref>{{cite journal |doi= 10.2307/3951418 |title= When the SST Is Too Slow.. |publisher= Society for Science & the Public |journal= Science News |first= Jonathan |last= Eberhart |volume= 91 |issue= 22 |date=3 June 1967 |pages= 528–529 |jstor= 3951418}}</ref> Concorde went through two cycles of heating and cooling during a flight, first cooling down as it gained altitude, then heating up after going supersonic. The reverse happened when descending and slowing down. This had to be factored into the metallurgical and [[fatigue (material)|fatigue]] modelling. A test rig was built that repeatedly heated up a full-size section of the wing, and then cooled it, and periodically samples of metal were taken for testing.<ref>{{cite journal |doi= 10.1108/eb034143 |url= http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do?contentType=Article&hdAction=lnkpdf&contentId=1681441 |title= The Concorde takes shape : Test programme and construction proceeding according to schedule |publisher=MCB UP |journal=Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology |page= 38 |year= 1966 |volume= 38 |issue= 4 |issn= 0002-2667}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |bibcode= 1972NASSP.309..631N |volume= 309 |title= Fatigue Tests on Big Structure Assemblies of Concorde Aircraft |page= 631 |publisher=NASA |year= 1972 |author=N'guyen, V.P. |author2=J.P. Perrais |journal= Advanced Approaches to Fatigue Evaluation. NASA SP-309}}</ref> The Concorde airframe was designed for a life of 45,000 flying hours.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1967/1967%20-%202250.html|title=concorde1967 – 2250 – Flight Archive|work=flightglobal.com}}</ref>
Kinetic heating from the high speed boundary layer caused the skin to heat up during supersonic flight.<ref>https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/3.43926?journalCode=ja, 'Concorde Structural development',p.1</ref> Every surface, such as windows and panels, was warm to the touch by the end of the flight.<ref>Dalton, Alastair. [http://www.scotsman.com/news/transport/supersonic-the-enduring-allure-of-concorde-1-2415088 "Supersonic: The enduring allure of Concorde"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728231129/http://www.scotsman.com/news/transport/supersonic-the-enduring-allure-of-concorde-1-2415088 |date=28 July 2012}}. Scotsman.com, 17 July 2012.</ref> Apart from the engine bay, the hottest part of any supersonic aircraft's structure is the [[nose cone|nose]], due to [[aerodynamic heating]]. [[Hiduminium]] R.R. 58, an aluminium alloy, was used throughout the aircraft because it was relatively cheap and easy to work with. The highest temperature it could sustain over the life of the aircraft was {{convert|127|°C|°F|abbr=on}}, which limited the top speed to Mach 2.02.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.2307/3951418 |title=When the SST Is Too Slow… |journal=Science News |first=Jonathan |last=Eberhart |volume=91 |issue=22 |date=3 June 1967 |pages=528–29 |jstor=3951418}}</ref> Concorde went through two cycles of cooling and heating during a flight, first cooling down as it gained altitude at subsonic speed, then heating up accelerating to cruise speed, finally cooling again when descending and slowing down before heating again in low altitude air before landing. This had to be factored into the metallurgical and [[fatigue (material)|fatigue]] modelling. A test rig was built that repeatedly heated up a full-size section of the wing, and then cooled it, and periodically samples of metal were taken for testing.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1108/eb034143 |title=The Concorde takes shape: Test programme and construction proceeding according to schedule |journal=Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology |page=38 |year=1966 |volume=38 |issue=4 |issn=0002-2667}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |bibcode=1972NASSP.309..631N |volume=309 |title=Fatigue Tests on Big Structure Assemblies of Concorde Aircraft |page=631 |year=1972 |author=N'guyen, V.P. |author2=J.P. Perrais |journal=Advanced Approaches to Fatigue Evaluation. NASA SP-309}}</ref> The airframe was designed for a life of 45,000 flying hours.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1967/1967%20-%202250.html|title=Concorde1967–2250 – Flight Archive|work=flightglobal.com|access-date=11 July 2013|archive-date=7 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407090353/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1967/1967%20-%202250.html|url-status=live}}</ref>


[[File:Concorde - airframe temperatures.svg|thumb|Concorde skin temperatures. They depended on the balance of heat transfer from the boundary layer, heat picked up from solar radiation, heat radiated back from the surface to the atmosphere, and heat transferred to the internal structure.<ref>https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/3.43926?journalCode=ja, 'Concorde Structural development',p.1</ref> ]]
[[File:Concorde - airframe temperatures.svg|thumb|Concorde skin temperatures]]
Owing to [[ram pressure|air compression]] in front of the plane as it travelled at [[supersonic speed]], the fuselage heated up and [[Thermal expansion|expanded]] by as much as 300&nbsp;mm (almost 1&nbsp;ft). The most obvious manifestation of this was a gap that opened up on the flight deck between the [[flight engineer]]'s console and the bulkhead. On some aircraft that conducted a retiring supersonic flight, the flight engineers placed their caps in this expanded gap, wedging the cap when it shrank again.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.seattlepi.com/business/147276_pilot07.html |first= James |last= Wallace |title= Those who flew the Concorde will miss it |publisher=Seattle Post |date= 7 November 2003}}</ref> To keep the cabin cool, Concorde used the fuel as a [[heat sink]] for the heat from the air conditioning.<ref>{{cite journal |title= Introduction to Concorde: A brief review of the Concorde and its prospects |publisher=Emerald Group Publishing Limited |journal=Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology |author=Gedge, G.T. |author2=M.I. Prod |volume= 40 |issue= 3 |year=1993}}</ref> The same method also cooled the hydraulics. During supersonic flight the surfaces forward from the cockpit became heated, and a visor was used to deflect much of this heat from directly reaching the cockpit.{{sfn|Owen|2001|p=14}}
As the fuselage heated up it [[Thermal expansion|expanded]] by as much as {{cvt|300|mm}}. The most obvious manifestation of this was a gap that opened up on the flight deck between the [[flight engineer]]'s console and the bulkhead. On some aircraft that conducted a retiring supersonic flight, the flight engineers placed their caps in this expanded gap, wedging the cap when the airframe shrank again.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.seattlepi.com/business/147276_pilot07.html |first= James |last= Wallace |title= Those who flew the Concorde will miss it |work= Seattle Post Intelligencer |date= 7 November 2003 |access-date= 25 April 2010 |archive-date= 16 March 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200316023128/https://www.seattlepi.com/business/article/Those-who-flew-the-Concorde-will-miss-it-1129118.php |url-status= live}}</ref> To keep the cabin cool, Concorde used the fuel as a [[Thermal energy storage|heat sink]] for the heat from the air conditioning.<ref>{{cite journal |title= Introduction to Concorde: A brief review of the Concorde and its prospects |journal=Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology |author=Gedge, G.T. |author2=M.I. Prod |volume= 40 |issue= 3 |year=1993}}</ref> The same method also cooled the hydraulics. During supersonic flight a visor was used to keep high temperature air from flowing over the cockpit skin.{{sfn|Owen|2001|p=14}}


Concorde had [[aircraft livery|livery]] restrictions; the majority of the surface had to be covered with a [[Anti-flash white|highly reflective white]] paint to avoid overheating the aluminium structure due to heating effects from supersonic flight at Mach 2. The white finish reduced the skin temperature by 6 to 11 degrees Celsius.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1967/1967%20-%200821.html |title=1967 &#124; 0821 &#124; Flight Archive |publisher=Flightglobal.com |accessdate=15 June 2013}}</ref> In 1996, Air France briefly painted F-BTSD in a predominantly blue livery, with the exception of the wings, in a promotional deal with [[Pepsi]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4794332.html |title=Is this the colour of the new millennium? |publisher=''The Independent,'' 3 April 1996 |location=UK |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130516143325/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4794332.html |archivedate=16 May 2013 }}</ref> In this paint scheme, Air France was advised to remain at Mach 2 for no more than 20 minutes at a time, but there was no restriction at speeds under Mach 1.7. F-BTSD was used because it was not scheduled for any long flights that required extended Mach 2 operations.<ref>{{cite news |title= Azul contra rojo |publisher=''El Mundo,'' 5 April 1996 |first= Cristina |last= Frade }}</ref>
Concorde had [[aircraft livery|livery]] restrictions; the majority of the surface had to be covered with a [[Anti-flash white|highly reflective white]] paint to avoid overheating the aluminium structure due to heating effects. The white finish reduced the skin temperature by {{convert|6|to|11|C-change|F-change}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1967/1967%20-%200821.html |title=1967 &#124; 0821 &#124; Flight Archive |publisher=Flightglobal.com |access-date=15 June 2013 |archive-date=3 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150903215336/https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1967/1967%20-%200821.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1996, Air France briefly painted F-BTSD in a predominantly blue livery, with the exception of the wings, in a promotional deal with [[Pepsi]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4794332.html |title=Is this the colour of the new millennium? |work=The Independent |date=3 April 1996 |location=UK |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130516143325/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4794332.html |archive-date=16 May 2013}}</ref> In this paint scheme, Air France was advised to remain at {{convert|2|Mach|altitude_ft=60000|sigfig=3}} for no more than 20 minutes at a time, but there was no restriction at speeds under Mach 1.7. F-BTSD was used because it was not scheduled for any long flights that required extended Mach 2 operations.<ref>{{cite news |title=Azul contra rojo |work=El Mundo |date=5 April 1996 |first=Cristina |last=Frade}}</ref>


===Structural issues===
===Structural issues===
[[File:Concorde fuel trim.svg|thumb|upright|Fuel pitch trim]]
[[File:Concorde fuel trim.svg|thumb|upright|Fuel pitch trim]]


Due to its high speeds, large forces were applied to the aircraft during banks and turns, and caused twisting and distortion of the aircraft's structure. In addition there were concerns over maintaining precise control at supersonic speeds. Both of these issues were resolved by active ratio changes between the inboard and outboard [[elevon]]s, varying at differing speeds including supersonic. Only the innermost elevons, which are attached to the stiffest area of the wings, were active at high speed.{{sfn|Owen|2001|p=78}} Additionally, the narrow fuselage meant that the aircraft flexed.<ref name="nova" /> This was visible from the rear passengers' viewpoints.<ref name="popular">Kocivar, Ben. [https://books.google.com/books?id=lpiMSzja6W4C&lpg=PA142&dq=concorde%20flexing&pg=PA118#v=onepage&q=concorde%20flexing&f=false "Aboard the Concorde SST."] ''Popular Science,'' October 1973, p. 117.</ref>
Due to its high speeds, large forces were applied to the aircraft during turns, causing distortion of the aircraft's structure. There were concerns over maintaining precise control at supersonic speeds. Both of these issues were resolved by ratio changes between the inboard and outboard [[elevon]] deflections, varying at differing speeds including supersonic. Only the innermost elevons, attached to the stiffest area of the wings, were used at higher speeds.{{sfn|Owen|2001|p=78}} The narrow fuselage flexed,<ref name="nova" /> which was apparent to rear passengers looking along the length of the cabin.<ref name="popular">Kocivar, Ben. [https://books.google.com/books?id=lpiMSzja6W4C&lpg=PA142 "Aboard the Concorde SST."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225182355/https://books.google.com/books?id=lpiMSzja6W4C&lpg=PA142 |date=25 February 2021}} ''Popular Science'', October 1973, p. 117.</ref>


When any aircraft passes the [[critical mach]] of that particular airframe, the [[Center of pressure (fluid mechanics)|centre of pressure]] shifts rearwards. This causes a pitch down moment on the aircraft if the centre of gravity remains where it was. The engineers designed the wings in a specific manner to reduce this shift, but there was still a shift of about 2&nbsp;metres. This could have been countered by the use of [[Trim tab|trim controls]], but at such high speeds this would have dramatically increased drag. Instead, the distribution of fuel along the aircraft was shifted during acceleration and deceleration to move the centre of gravity, effectively acting as an auxiliary trim control.<ref name= 'fueltrim'>{{cite journal |doi= 10.1108/eb035344 |url= http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do?contentType=Article&hdAction=lnkpdf&contentId=1682642 |title= Flight Refuelling Limited and Concorde: The fuel system aboard is largely their work |journal=Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology |publisher=MCB UP |volume= 48 |issue= 9 |date=September 1976 |issn= 0002-2667 |pages= 20–21}}</ref>
When any aircraft passes the [[critical mach]] of its airframe, the [[Center of pressure (fluid mechanics)|centre of pressure]] shifts rearwards. This causes a pitch-down moment on the aircraft if the centre of gravity remains where it was. The wings were designed to reduce this, but there was still a shift of about {{convert|2|m}}. This could have been countered by the use of [[Trim tab|trim controls]], but at such high speeds, this would have increased drag which would have been unacceptable. Instead, the distribution of fuel along the aircraft was shifted during acceleration and deceleration to move the centre of gravity, effectively acting as an auxiliary trim control.<ref name='fueltrim'>{{cite journal |doi=10.1108/eb035344 |title=Flight Refuelling Limited and Concorde: The fuel system aboard is largely their work |journal=Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology |volume=48 |issue=9 |date=September 1976 |issn=0002-2667 |pages=20–21}}</ref>


===Range===
===Range===
To fly non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean, Concorde required the greatest supersonic [[Range (aeronautics)|range]] of any aircraft.<ref>{{cite web|title=Celebrating Concorde|url=http://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/information/about-ba/history-and-heritage/celebrating-concorde|publisher=British Airways|accessdate=19 January 2016}}</ref> This was achieved by a combination of engines which were highly efficient at supersonic speeds,{{refn|"It is the world's most efficient jet engine." -Ricky Bastin, Concorde Engineer<ref name=nova/>|group=N}}<ref name=nova/> a slender fuselage with high [[fineness ratio]], and a complex wing shape for a high [[lift-to-drag ratio]]. This also required carrying only a modest payload and a high fuel capacity, and the aircraft was trimmed with precision to avoid unnecessary drag.<ref name= 'deltawing'/><ref name= 'fueltrim'/>
To fly non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean, Concorde required the greatest supersonic [[Range (aeronautics)|range]] of any aircraft.<ref>{{cite web|title=Celebrating Concorde|url=http://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/information/about-ba/history-and-heritage/celebrating-concorde|publisher=British Airways|access-date=19 January 2016|archive-date=20 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160120063601/http://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/information/about-ba/history-and-heritage/celebrating-concorde|url-status=live}}</ref> This was achieved by a combination of powerplants which were efficient at twice the speed of sound, a slender fuselage with high [[fineness ratio]], and a complex wing shape for a high [[lift-to-drag ratio]]. Only a modest payload could be carried and the aircraft was trimmed without using deflected control surfaces, to avoid the drag that would incur.<ref name='deltawing' /><ref name='fueltrim' />


Nevertheless, soon after Concorde began flying, a Concorde "B" model was designed with slightly larger fuel capacity and slightly larger wings with [[leading edge slats]] to improve aerodynamic performance at all speeds, with the objective of expanding the range to reach markets in new regions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.concordesst.com/concordeb.html|title=CONCORDE SST : CONCORDE B|work=concordesst.com}}</ref> It featured more powerful engines with sound deadening and without the fuel-hungry and noisy [[afterburner]]. It was speculated that it was reasonably possible to create an engine with up to 25% gain in efficiency over the Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593.<ref>{{cite journal |url= http://md1.csa.com/partners/viewrecord.php?requester=gs&collection=TRD&recid=N9222540AH&q=Concorde+engines&uid=788858323&setcookie=yes |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110921055740/http://md1.csa.com/partners/viewrecord.php?requester=gs&collection=TRD&recid=N9222540AH&q=Concorde+engines&uid=788858323&setcookie=yes |dead-url= yes |archive-date= 21 September 2011 |title= Propulsion challenges and opportunities for high-speed transport aircraft |publisher= ''Aeropropulsion,'' 1987 |author= Strack, William |pages= 437–452 |accessdate= 30 June 2011 }}</ref> This would have given {{convert|500|mi|0|abbr=on}} additional range and a greater payload, making new commercial routes possible. This was cancelled due in part to poor sales of Concorde, but also to the rising cost of aviation fuel in the 1970s.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://news.google.co.uk/newspapers?id=Q-0cAAAAIBAJ&sjid=rGcEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6914,3256355&dq=tu+144&hl=en |title= Fuel costs kill Second Generation of Concordes |first= Alison |last= Smale |publisher=''Sarasota Herald-Tribune,'' 22 September 1979 }}</ref>
Nevertheless, soon after Concorde began flying, a Concorde "B" model was designed with slightly larger fuel capacity and slightly larger wings with [[leading edge slats]] to improve aerodynamic performance at all speeds, with the objective of expanding the range to reach markets in new regions.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.concordesst.com/concordeb.html |title=Concorde SST: Concorde B |work=concordesst.com |access-date=13 September 2012 |archive-date=8 June 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070608082935/http://www.concordesst.com/concordeb.html |url-status=live}}</ref> It would have higher thrust engines with noise reducing features and no environmentally-objectionable [[afterburner]]. Preliminary design studies showed that an engine with a 25% gain in efficiency over the Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593 could be produced.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://md1.csa.com/partners/viewrecord.php?requester=gs&collection=TRD&recid=N9222540AH&q=Concorde+engines&uid=788858323&setcookie=yes |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110921055740/http://md1.csa.com/partners/viewrecord.php?requester=gs&collection=TRD&recid=N9222540AH&q=Concorde+engines&uid=788858323&setcookie=yes |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 September 2011 |title=Propulsion challenges and opportunities for high-speed transport aircraft |journal=Aeropropulsion |date=1987 |author=Strack, William |pages=437–52 |access-date=30 June 2011}}</ref> This would have given {{convert|500|mi|0|abbr=on}} additional range and a greater payload, making new commercial routes possible. This was cancelled due in part to poor sales of Concorde, but also to the rising cost of aviation fuel in the 1970s.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Q-0cAAAAIBAJ&pg=6914,3256355 |title=Fuel costs kill Second Generation of Concordes |first=Alison |last=Smale |work=Sarasota Herald-Tribune |date=22 September 1979 |access-date=28 November 2020 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414125209/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Q-0cAAAAIBAJ&pg=6914,3256355 |url-status=live}}</ref>


===Radiation concerns===
===Radiation concerns===
{{multiple image
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|image1= ConcordeFuselageSinsheim.jpg
| image1 = ConcordeFuselageSinsheim.jpg
|caption1= External view of Concorde's [[fuselage]]
| image_caption1 = External view of Concorde's [[fuselage]]
|image2= Concorde passenger cabin.jpg
| image2 = Concorde passenger cabin.jpg
|caption2= [[British Airways]] Concorde interior. The narrow fuselage permitted only a 4-abreast seating with limited headroom.
| image_caption2 = [[British Airways]] Concorde interior, after refurbishment during time out of service following the 2000 Air France Concorde crash. The narrow fuselage permitted only a 4-abreast seating with limited headroom.
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Concorde's high cruising altitude meant passengers received almost twice the [[flux]] of extraterrestrial [[ionising radiation]] as those travelling on a conventional long-haul flight.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.britishairways.com/travel/healthcosmic/public/en_gb#4 |title= How much radiation might I be exposed to? |publisher=British Airways |accessdate=11 January 2010}}</ref><ref name= 'concradi'>{{cite journal |doi= 10.1108/eb035011 |url= http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=E0A02B0587619C9A40D5736FCE7B3F02?contentType=Article&hdAction=lnkpdf&contentId=1682309 |title= Electronic safety test replaces radioactive test source |author=Guerin, D.W. |journal=Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology |year= 1973 |volume= 45 |issue= 4 |issn= 0002-2667 |page= 10 |publisher=''MCB'' UP}}</ref> Upon Concorde's introduction, it was speculated that this exposure during supersonic travels would increase the likelihood of skin cancer.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://news.google.co.uk/newspapers?id=GfUNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=dnkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2948,4208&dq=second+generation+concorde&hl=en |title= Skin cancer danger linked to stratospheric jet planes |publisher=St. Petersburg Times |date= 1 April 1975}}</ref> Due to the proportionally reduced flight time, the overall [[equivalent dose]] would normally be less than a conventional flight over the same distance.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.britishairways.com/travel/healthcosmic/public/en_gb |title= Cosmic radiation |publisher=British Airways |accessdate=11 January 2010}}</ref> Unusual [[Solar variation|solar activity]] might lead to an increase in incident radiation.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Arctowski |first=Henryk |year= 1940 |title=On Solar Faculae and Solar Constant Variations |pmid=16588370 |volume=26 |issue=6 |pmc=1078196 |pages=406–411 |doi=10.1073/pnas.26.6.406 |url=http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/26/6/406.pdf |format=PDF |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|bibcode = 1940PNAS...26..406A }}</ref> To prevent incidents of excessive radiation exposure, the flight deck had a radiometer and an instrument to measure the rate of decrease of radiation.<ref name= 'concradi'/> If the radiation level became too high, Concorde would descend below {{convert|47000|ft|m}}.
Concorde's high cruising altitude meant people on board received almost twice the [[flux]] of extraterrestrial [[ionising radiation]] as those travelling on a conventional long-haul flight.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britishairways.com/travel/healthcosmic/public/en_gb#4 |title=How much radiation might I be exposed to? |publisher=British Airways |access-date=11 January 2010 |archive-date=3 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090703115818/http://www.britishairways.com/travel/healthcosmic/public/en_gb#4 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name='concradi'>{{cite journal |doi=10.1108/eb035011 |url=http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=E0A02B0587619C9A40D5736FCE7B3F02?contentType=Article&hdAction=lnkpdf |title=Electronic safety test replaces radioactive test source |author=Guerin, D.W. |journal=Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology |year=1973 |volume=45 |issue=4 |issn=0002-2667 |page=10}}{{Dead link|date=December 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> Upon Concorde's introduction, it was speculated that this exposure during supersonic travels would increase the likelihood of skin cancer.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GfUNAAAAIBAJ&pg=2948,4208 |title=Skin cancer danger linked to stratospheric jet planes |newspaper=St. Petersburg Times |date=1 April 1975}}{{Dead link|date=December 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> Due to the proportionally reduced flight time, the overall [[equivalent dose]] would normally be less than a conventional flight over the same distance.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britishairways.com/travel/healthcosmic/public/en_gb |title=Cosmic radiation |publisher=British Airways |access-date=11 January 2010 |archive-date=3 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090703115818/http://www.britishairways.com/travel/healthcosmic/public/en_gb |url-status=live}}</ref> Unusual [[Solar variation|solar activity]] might lead to an increase in incident radiation.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Arctowski |first=Henryk |year=1940 |title=On Solar Faculae and Solar Constant Variations |pmid=16588370 |volume=26 |issue=6 |pmc=1078196 |pages=406–11 |doi=10.1073/pnas.26.6.406 |url=http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/26/6/406.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150903215336/http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/26/6/406.pdf |archive-date=3 September 2015 |url-status=live |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|bibcode=1940PNAS...26..406A|doi-access=free}}</ref> To prevent incidents of excessive radiation exposure, the flight deck had a radiometer and an instrument to measure the rate of increase or decrease of radiation.<!--<ref name='concradi' />--> If the radiation level became too high, Concorde would descend below {{convert|47000|ft|m}}.<ref name='concradi'/>


===Cabin pressurisation===
===Cabin pressurisation===
[[Aircraft cabin|Airliner cabins]] were usually maintained at a pressure equivalent to 6,000–8,000&nbsp;feet (1,800–2,400&nbsp;m) elevation. Concorde's [[Cabin pressurization|pressurisation]] was set to an altitude at the lower end of this range, {{convert|6000|ft|m}}.<ref>{{cite journal |doi= 10.1093/occmed/17.2.47 |url= http://occmed.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/17/2/47.pdf |title= Human Factors in the Concorde |journal=Occupational Medicine |last= Hepburn |first= A.N. |volume= 17 |issue= 2 |year= 1967 |pages= 47–51}}</ref> Concorde's maximum cruising altitude was {{convert|60000|ft|m}}; subsonic airliners typically cruise below {{convert|40000|ft|m}}.
[[Aircraft cabin|Airliner cabins]] were usually maintained at a pressure equivalent to {{convert|6000|-|8,000|ft}} elevation. Concorde's [[Cabin pressurization|pressurisation]] was set to an altitude at the lower end of this range, {{convert|6000|ft|m}}.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1093/occmed/17.2.47 |title=Human Factors in the Concorde |journal=Occupational Medicine |last=Hepburn |first=A.N. |volume=17 |issue=2 |year=1967 |pages=47–51 |pmid=5648731}}</ref> Concorde's maximum cruising altitude was {{convert|60000|ft|m}}; subsonic airliners typically cruise below {{convert|44000|ft|m}}.{{sfn|Schrader|1989|p=64}}


A sudden [[Uncontrolled decompression|reduction in cabin pressure]] is hazardous to all passengers and crew.<ref>{{cite book |title=Flight Training Handbook |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ioRTAAAAMAAJ |year=1980 |accessdate=28 July 2007 |publisher=U.S. Dept. of Transportation, [[Federal Aviation Administration]], Flight Standards Service, 1980 |page=250}}</ref> Above {{convert|50000|ft|m}}, a sudden cabin depressurisation would leave a "[[time of useful consciousness]]" up to 10–15 seconds for a conditioned athlete.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.theairlinepilots.com/medical/decompressionandhypoxia.htm |title=Cabin Decompression and Hypoxia |first= Mark |last= Wolff |publisher=''PIA Air Safety Publication,''6 January 2006}}</ref> At Concorde's altitude, the air density is very low; a breach of cabin integrity would result in a loss of pressure severe enough so that the plastic emergency oxygen masks installed on other passenger jets would not be effective and passengers would soon suffer from [[Hypoxia (medical)|hypoxia]] despite quickly donning them. Concorde was equipped with smaller windows to reduce the rate of loss in the event of a breach,{{sfn|Nunn|1993|p=341}} a reserve air supply system to augment cabin air pressure, and a rapid descent procedure to bring the aircraft to a safe altitude. The FAA enforces minimum emergency descent rates for aircraft and noting Concorde's higher operating altitude, concluded that the best response to pressure loss would be a rapid descent.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library%5CrgPolicy.nsf/0/90AA20C2F35901D98625713F0056B1B8?OpenDocument |title= Interim Policy on High Altitude Cabin Decompression&nbsp;– Relevant Past Practice |first= Steve |last= Happenny |publisher=''Federal Aviation Administration,'' 24 March 2006}}</ref> [[Continuous positive airway pressure]] would have delivered pressurised oxygen directly to the pilots through masks.{{sfn|Nunn|1993|p=341}}
A sudden [[Uncontrolled decompression|reduction in cabin pressure]] is hazardous to all passengers and crew.<ref>{{cite book |title=Flight Training Handbook |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ioRTAAAAMAAJ |year=1980 |publisher=U.S. Dept. of Transportation, [[Federal Aviation Administration]], Flight Standards Service, 1980 |page=250 |access-date=15 March 2016 |archive-date=24 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624192910/https://books.google.com/books?id=ioRTAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live}}</ref> Above {{convert|50000|ft|m}}, a sudden cabin depressurisation would leave a "[[time of useful consciousness]]" up to 10–15 seconds for a conditioned athlete.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theairlinepilots.com/medical/decompressionandhypoxia.htm |title=Cabin Decompression and Hypoxia |first=Mark |last=Wolff |publisher=PIA Air Safety Publication |date=6 January 2006 |access-date=29 January 2010 |archive-date=16 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200316023131/https://www.theairlinepilots.com/forumarchive/aeromedical/decompressionandhypoxia.php |url-status=dead}}</ref> At Concorde's altitude, the air density is very low; a breach of cabin integrity would result in a loss of pressure severe enough that the plastic [[emergency oxygen system|emergency oxygen masks]] installed on other passenger jets would not be effective and passengers would soon suffer from [[Hypoxia (medical)|hypoxia]] despite quickly donning them. Concorde was equipped with smaller windows to reduce the rate of loss in the event of a breach,{{sfn|Nunn|1993|p=341}} a reserve air supply system to augment cabin air pressure, and a rapid descent procedure to bring the aircraft to a safe altitude. The FAA enforces minimum emergency descent rates for aircraft and noting Concorde's higher operating altitude, concluded that the best response to pressure loss would be a rapid descent.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library%5CrgPolicy.nsf/0/90AA20C2F35901D98625713F0056B1B8?OpenDocument |title=Interim Policy on High Altitude Cabin Decompression&nbsp;– Relevant Past Practice |first=Steve |last=Happenny |publisher=Federal Aviation Administration |date=24 March 2006 |access-date=22 March 2010 |archive-date=22 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111022084743/http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgPolicy.nsf/0/90AA20C2F35901D98625713F0056B1B8?OpenDocument |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Continuous positive airway pressure]] would have delivered pressurised oxygen directly to the pilots through masks.{{sfn|Nunn|1993|p=341}}


===Flight characteristics===
===Flight characteristics===
[[File:Concorde at Baginton - geograph.org.uk - 156846.jpg|thumb|Concorde performing a low-level flypast at an air show in August 1981]]
[[File:Concorde at Baginton - geograph.org.uk - 156846.jpg|thumb|alt=A BA Concorde, wheels and nose-cone lowered as if for landing, with a crowd of spectators in the foreground|Concorde performing a low-level fly-by at an air show in August 1981]]
While subsonic commercial jets took eight hours to fly from New York to Paris, the average supersonic flight time on the transatlantic routes was just under 3.5 hours. Concorde had a maximum cruise altitude of {{convert|18300|m|ft|0}} and an average cruise speed of Mach 2.02, about 1155 [[Knot (unit)|knots]] (2140&nbsp;km/h or 1334&nbsp;mph), more than twice the speed of conventional aircraft.{{sfn|Schrader|1989|p=64}}


While subsonic commercial jets took eight hours to fly from Paris to New York (seven hours from New York to Paris), the average supersonic flight time on the transatlantic routes was just under 3.5 hours. Concorde had a maximum cruising altitude of {{convert|18300|m|ft|sigfig=3}} and an average cruise speed of {{convert|2.02|Mach|altitude_ft=60000|sigfig=3}}, more than twice the speed of conventional aircraft.{{sfn|Schrader|1989|p=64}}
With no other civil traffic operating at its cruising altitude of about {{convert|56000|ft|m|abbr=on}}, Concorde had exclusive use of dedicated oceanic airways, or "tracks", separate from the [[North Atlantic Tracks]], the routes used by other aircraft to cross the Atlantic. Due to the significantly less variable nature of high altitude winds compared to those at standard cruising altitudes, these dedicated SST tracks had fixed co-ordinates, unlike the standard routes at lower altitudes, whose co-ordinates are replotted twice daily based on forecast weather patterns ([[jetstream]]s).{{sfn|Orlebar|2004|p=84}} Concorde would also be cleared in a {{convert|15000|ft|m|sing=on}} block, allowing for a slow climb from 45,000 to {{convert|60000|ft|m|abbr=on}} during the oceanic crossing as the fuel load gradually decreased.<ref>[[Shanwick Oceanic Control|Prestwick Oceanic Area Control Centre]]: Manual of Air Traffic Services (Part 2). [[National Air Traffic Services|NATS]]</ref> In regular service, Concorde employed an efficient ''cruise-climb'' flight profile following take-off.{{sfn|Orlebar|2004|p=92}}


With no other civil traffic operating at its cruising altitude of about {{convert|56000|ft|m|abbr=on}}, Concorde had exclusive use of dedicated oceanic airways, or "tracks", separate from the [[North Atlantic Tracks]], the routes used by other aircraft to cross the Atlantic. Due to the significantly less variable nature of high altitude winds compared to those at standard cruising altitudes, these dedicated SST tracks had fixed co-ordinates, unlike the standard routes at lower altitudes, whose co-ordinates are replotted twice daily based on forecast weather patterns ([[jetstream]]s).{{sfn|Orlebar|2004|p=84}} Concorde would also be cleared in a {{convert|15000|ft|m|adj=on|sigfig=3}} block, allowing for a slow climb from {{convert|45000|to|60000|ft|m|abbr=on}} during the oceanic crossing as the fuel load gradually decreased.<ref>[[Shanwick Oceanic Control|Prestwick Oceanic Area Control Centre]]: Manual of Air Traffic Services (Part 2). [[National Air Traffic Services|NATS]]</ref> In regular service, Concorde employed an efficient ''cruise-climb'' flight profile following take-off.{{sfn|Orlebar|2004|p=92}}
The delta-shaped wings required Concorde to adopt a higher [[angle of attack]] at low speeds than conventional aircraft, but it allowed the formation of large low pressure vortices over the entire upper wing surface, maintaining lift.{{sfn|Orlebar|2004|p=44}} The normal landing speed was {{convert|170|mph|km/h|0}}.{{sfn|Schrader|1989|p=84}} Because of this high angle, during a landing approach Concorde was on the "back side" of the [[Parasitic drag|drag force]] curve, where raising the nose would increase the rate of descent; the aircraft was thus largely flown on the throttle and was fitted with an autothrottle to reduce the pilot's workload.{{sfn|Orlebar|2004|p=110}}


The delta-shaped wings required Concorde to adopt a higher [[angle of attack]] at low speeds than conventional aircraft, but it allowed the formation of large low-pressure vortices over the entire upper wing surface, maintaining lift.{{sfn|Orlebar|2004|p=44}} The normal landing speed was {{convert|170|mph|km/h|0}}.{{sfn|Schrader|1989|p=84}} Because of this high angle, during a landing approach Concorde was on the backside of the [[Parasitic drag|drag force]] curve, where raising the nose would increase the rate of descent; the aircraft was thus largely flown on the throttle and was fitted with an autothrottle to reduce the pilot's workload.{{sfn|Orlebar|2004|p=110}}
{{quote|text=The only thing that tells you that you're moving is that occasionally when you're flying over the subsonic aeroplanes you can see all these 747s 20,000 feet below you almost appearing to go backwards, I mean you are going 800 miles an hour or thereabouts faster than they are. The aeroplane was an absolute delight to fly, it handled beautifully. And remember we are talking about an aeroplane that was being designed in the late 1950s&nbsp;– mid 1960s. I think it's absolutely amazing and here we are, now in the 21st century, and it remains unique.|sign=John Hutchinson, Concorde Captain|source="The World's Greatest Airliner" (2003)<ref>{{cite av media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uMm16fUwoQ|title=Concorde – The World's Greatest Airliner Part 3/4|date=19 January 2013|work=YouTube}}</ref>}}

{{blockquote|text=The only thing that tells you that you're moving is that occasionally when you're flying over the subsonic aeroplanes you can see all these 747s 20,000 feet below you almost appearing to go backwards, I mean you are going 800 miles an hour or thereabouts faster than they are. The aeroplane was an absolute delight to fly, it handled beautifully. And remember we are talking about an aeroplane that was being designed in the late 1950s&nbsp;– mid-1960s. I think it's absolutely amazing and here we are, now in the 21st century, and it remains unique.|sign=John Hutchinson, Concorde Captain|source='The World's Greatest Airliner' (2003)<ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uMm16fUwoQ| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140624220847/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uMm16fUwoQ| archive-date=2014-06-24 | url-status=dead|title=Concorde – The World's Greatest Airliner Part 3/4|date=19 January 2013|work=YouTube}}</ref>}}


===Brakes and undercarriage===
===Brakes and undercarriage===
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|image1= Train d'atterrissage Concorde Musee du Bourget P1020039.JPG
|image1= Train d'atterrissage Concorde Musee du Bourget P1020039.JPG
|caption1= Concorde main undercarriage
|image_caption1= Concorde main undercarriage
|image2= Concorde tail gear.JPG
|image2= Concorde tail gear.JPG
|caption2= Tail bumper of Concorde G-BOAG at the [[Museum of Flight]] in Seattle
|image_caption2= Tail bumper of Concorde G-BOAG at the [[Museum of Flight]] in Seattle
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Because of the way Concorde's delta-wing generated lift, the undercarriage had to be unusually strong. At [[Rotation (aviation)|rotation]], Concorde would rise to a high angle of attack, about 18 degrees. Prior to rotation the wing generated almost no lift, unlike typical aircraft wings. Combined with the high airspeed at rotation (199 knots [[indicated airspeed]]), this increased the stresses on the main undercarriage in a way that was initially unexpected during the development and required a major redesign.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.iasa.com.au/folders/Safety_Issues/others/concordespacer.html |title= The real story of Flight 4590: Special Investigation |publisher=''iasa.com.au,'' 13 May 2001 |first= David |last= Rose }}</ref> Due to the high angle needed at rotation, a small set of wheels were added aft to prevent [[tailstrike]]s. The main undercarriage units swing towards each other to be stowed but due to their great height also need to retract telescopically before swinging to clear each other when stowed.<ref>Brooklands Museum</ref> The four main wheel tyres<!-- please leave British spelling of "tyres" on British/French aircraft ---> on each [[bogie]] unit are inflated to {{convert|232|lb/sqin|kPa|abbr=on}}. The twin-wheel nose undercarriage retracts forwards and its tyres are inflated to a pressure of {{convert|191|lb/sqin|kPa|abbr=on}}, and the wheel assembly carries a spray deflector to prevent standing water being thrown up into the engine intakes. The tyres are rated to a maximum speed on the runway of {{convert|250|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}<ref>.Note: after the Paris accident in 2000 Concorde was fitted with uprated tyres rated to 290 mph</ref> The starboard nose wheel carries a single disc brake to halt wheel rotation during retraction of the undercarriage. The port nose wheel carries speed generators for the anti-skid braking system which prevents brake activation until nose and main wheels rotate at the same rate.


Because of the way Concorde's delta-wing generated lift, the undercarriage had to be unusually strong and tall to allow for the angle of attack at low speed. At [[Rotation (aviation)|rotation]], Concorde would rise to a high angle of attack, about 18 degrees. Prior to rotation, the wing generated almost no lift, unlike typical aircraft wings. Combined with the high airspeed at rotation ({{convert|199|knot|disp=or}} [[indicated airspeed]]), this increased the stresses on the main undercarriage in a way that was initially unexpected during the development and required a major redesign.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iasa.com.au/folders/Safety_Issues/others/concordespacer.html |title=The real story of Flight 4590: Special Investigation |publisher=iasa.com.au |date=13 May 2001 |first=David |last=Rose |access-date=26 June 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100207121508/http://www.iasa.com.au/folders/Safety_Issues/others/concordespacer.html |archive-date=7 February 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Due to the high angle needed at rotation, a small set of wheels was added aft to prevent [[tailstrike]]s. The main undercarriage units swing towards each other to be stowed but due to their great height also needed to contract in length telescopically before swinging to clear each other when stowed.<ref>Brooklands Museum</ref>
Additionally, due to the high average take-off speed of {{convert|250|mph|km/h}}, Concorde needed upgraded brakes. Like most airliners, Concorde has [[anti-lock braking system|anti-skid braking]]&nbsp;– a system which prevents the tyres from losing traction when the brakes are applied for greater control during roll-out. The brakes, developed by [[Dunlop Rubber|Dunlop]], were the first carbon-based brakes used on an airliner.<ref>{{cite journal |title= Design and Engineering of Carbon Brakes |publisher=The Royal Society |author=Stimson, I.L. |author2=R. Fisher |volume= 294 |issue= 1411 |date=January 1980 |pages= 583–590 |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London |jstor=36383 |bibcode= 1980RSPTA.294..583S |doi= 10.1098/rsta.1980.0068}}</ref> The use of carbon over equivalent steel brakes provided a weight-saving of {{convert|1200|lb|kg|abbr=on}}.{{sfn|Owen|2001|p=118}} Each wheel has multiple discs which are cooled by electric fans. Wheel sensors include brake overload, brake temperature, and tyre deflation. After a typical landing at Heathrow, brake temperatures were around {{convert|300|-|400|°C|°F|abbr=on|sigfig=2}}. For landing Concorde required a minimum of {{convert|6000|ft|m|abbr=out}} runway length, this in fact being considerably less than the shortest runway Concorde ever actually landed on, that of [[Cardiff Airport]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Concorde takes off from Cardiff|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/3118506.stm|publisher=BBC|accessdate=19 January 2016}}</ref>

The four main wheel tyres<!-- please leave British spelling of "tyres" on British/French aircraft ---> on each [[bogie]] unit are inflated to {{convert|232|psi|kPa|abbr=on}}. The twin-wheel nose undercarriage retracts forwards and its tyres are inflated to a pressure of {{convert|191|psi|kPa|abbr=on}}, and the wheel assembly carries a spray deflector to prevent standing water from being thrown up into the engine intakes. The tyres are rated to a maximum speed on the runway of {{convert|250|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}.<ref>After the Paris accident in 2000 Concorde was fitted with improved tyres uprated to {{cvt|290|mph}}.</ref>

The high take-off speed of {{convert|250|mph|km/h}} required Concorde to have upgraded brakes. Like most airliners, Concorde has [[anti-lock braking system|anti-skid braking]]&nbsp; to prevent the tyres from losing traction when the brakes are applied. The brakes, developed by [[Dunlop Rubber|Dunlop]], were the first carbon-based brakes used on an airliner.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Design and Engineering of Carbon Brakes |author=Stimson, I.L. |author2=R. Fisher |volume=294 |issue=1411 |date=January 1980 |pages=583–90 |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London |jstor=36383 |bibcode=1980RSPTA.294..583S |doi=10.1098/rsta.1980.0068|s2cid=122300832}}</ref> The use of carbon over equivalent steel brakes provided a weight-saving of {{convert|1200|lb|kg|abbr=on}}.{{sfn|Owen|2001|p=118}} Each wheel has multiple discs which are cooled by electric fans. Wheel sensors include brake overload, brake temperature, and tyre deflation. After a typical landing at Heathrow, brake temperatures were around {{convert|300|-|400|°C|°F|abbr=on|sigfig=2}}. Landing Concorde required a minimum of {{convert|6000|ft|m|abbr=out}} runway length; the shortest runway Concorde ever landed on carrying commercial passengers was [[Cardiff Airport]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Concorde takes off from Cardiff|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/3118506.stm|publisher=BBC|access-date=19 January 2016|date=18 September 2003|archive-date=23 July 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040723172418/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/3118506.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> Concorde G-AXDN (101) made its final landing at [[Duxford Aerodrome]] on 20 August 1977, which had a runway length of just {{convert|6000|ft|m|abbr=out}} at the time.<ref>{{Citation |title=Concorde 101 {{!}} On board with a Test Engineer | date=27 April 2022 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nh3ty6wp6qQ |language=en |access-date=27 April 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Concorde G-AXDN (101) |url=https://www.heritageconcorde.com/g-axdn-101 |access-date=27 April 2022 |website=heritage-concorde |language=en}}</ref> This was the last aircraft to land at Duxford before the runway was shortened later that year.<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 August 1977 |title=Concorde lands safely at Duxford |work=Saffron Walden Weekly News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/saffron-walden-weekly-news-concorde-land/136696156/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>


===Droop nose===
===Droop nose===
{{main article|Droop-nose}}
{{Main|Droop nose (aeronautics)}}


Concorde's drooping nose, developed by [[Marshall Aerospace|Marshall's of Cambridge]] at [[Cambridge Airport]],<ref name="Concorde nose">{{cite web |url = http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1971/1971%20-%201503.html |title = Droop nose |publisher = Flight International |date = 12 August 1971 |pages = 257–258}}</ref> enabled the aircraft to switch between being streamlined to reduce drag and achieve optimum aerodynamic efficiency without obstructing the pilot's view during taxi, take-off, and landing operations. Due to the high angle of attack, the long pointed nose obstructed the view and necessitated the capability to droop. The droop nose was accompanied by a moving visor that retracted into the nose prior to being lowered. When the nose was raised to horizontal, the visor would rise in front of the cockpit windscreen for aerodynamic streamlining.<ref name="Concorde nose"/>
Concorde's drooping nose, developed by [[Marshall Aerospace|Marshall's of Cambridge]],<ref name="Concorde nose">{{cite web |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1971/1971%20-%201503.html |title=Droop nose |work=Flight International |date=12 August 1971 |pages=257–258 |access-date=20 November 2011 |archive-date=4 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204172010/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1971/1971%20-%201503.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> enabled the aircraft to switch from being streamlined to reduce drag and achieve optimal aerodynamic efficiency during flight, to not obstructing the pilot's view during taxi, take-off, and landing operations. Due to the high angle of attack, the long pointed nose obstructed the view and necessitated the ability to droop. The droop nose was accompanied by a moving visor that retracted into the nose prior to being lowered. When the nose was raised to horizontal, the visor would rise in front of the cockpit windscreen for aerodynamic streamlining.<ref name="Concorde nose" />


[[File:Concorde landing Farnborough Fitzgerald.jpg|thumb|left|Concorde landing at [[Farnborough Aerodrome|Farnborough]] in September 1974]]
[[File:Concorde landing Farnborough Fitzgerald.jpg|thumb|left|alt=a BAC-liveried aircraft a few feet above a runway, with wheels down |Concorde landing at [[Farnborough Aerodrome|Farnborough]] in September 1974, with dropping nose lowered]]
A controller in the cockpit allowed the visor to be retracted and the nose to be lowered to 5° below the standard horizontal position for taxiing and take-off. Following take-off and after clearing the airport, the nose and visor were raised. Prior to landing, the visor was again retracted and the nose lowered to 12.5° below horizontal for maximum visibility. Upon landing the nose was raised to the five-degree position to avoid the possibility of damage.<ref name="Concorde nose"/>
A controller in the cockpit allowed the visor to be retracted and the nose to be lowered to 5° below the standard horizontal position for taxiing and take-off. Following take-off and after clearing the airport, the nose and visor were raised. Prior to landing, the visor was again retracted and the nose lowered to 12.5° below horizontal for maximal visibility. Upon landing the nose was raised to the position to avoid the possibility of damage due to collision with ground vehicles, and then raised fully before engine shutdown to prevent pooling of internal condensation within the [[radome]] seeping down into the aircraft's [[Pitot tube|pitot]]/[[Air data computer|ADC]] system probes.<ref name="Concorde nose" />


The US [[Federal Aviation Administration]] had objected to the restrictive visibility of the visor used on the first two prototype Concordes, which had been designed before a suitable high temperature window glass had become available, and thus requiring alteration before the FAA would permit Concorde to serve US airports; this led to the redesigned visor used on the production and the four pre-production aircraft (101, 102, 201, and 202).{{sfn|Owen|2001|p=84}} The nose window and visor glass, needed to endure temperatures in excess of {{convert|100|°C|°F|abbr=on|sigfig=2}} at supersonic flight, were developed by [[Pilkington|Triplex]].<ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1968/1968%20-%202105.html "Triplex in Concorde: The story behind the film."] ''Flightglobal.com,'' 1968. Retrieved 7 June 2011.</ref>
The US [[Federal Aviation Administration]] had objected to the restrictive visibility of the visor used on the first two prototype Concordes, which had been designed before a suitable high-temperature window glass had become available, and thus requiring alteration before the FAA would permit Concorde to serve US airports. This led to the redesigned visor used in the production and the four pre-production aircraft (101, 102, 201, and 202).{{sfn|Owen|2001|p=84}} The nose window and visor glass, needed to endure temperatures in excess of {{convert|100|°C|°F|abbr=on|sigfig=2}} at supersonic flight, were developed by [[Triplex Safety Glass|Triplex]].<ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1968/1968%20-%202105.html "Triplex in Concorde: The story behind the film"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204172615/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1968/1968%20-%202105.html |date=4 February 2012}}. Flightglobal.com, 1968. Retrieved 7 June 2011.</ref>
{{clear left}}
{{clear left}}


==Operational history==
==Operational history==
{{See also|Concorde aircraft histories}}
{{Main|Concorde operational history}}
{{see also|Concorde histories and aircraft on display}}


Concorde began scheduled flights with [[British Airways]] (BA) and [[Air France]] (AF) on 21 January 1976.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1108/eb035500 |title=Concorde in Service |author=Strang, Dr. W.J |author2=R. McKinley |journal=Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology |volume=50 |issue=12 |year=1978 |issn=0002-2667 |pages=2–10|author-link = Bill Strang (engineer)}}</ref> AF flew its last commercial flight on 30 May 2003<ref>{{cite news |title=Concorde makes Final Flight from Paris to New York |publisher=Associated Press|date=30 May 2003 |first=Laurent |last=Lemel}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2952594.stm |title=French Concorde bids adieu |work=BBC News |date=31 May 2003 |access-date=15 January 2010 |archive-date=24 September 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060924045537/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2952594.stm |url-status=live}}</ref> with BA retiring its Concorde fleet on 24 October 2003.<ref name="jlfin">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11477-2003Oct24.html |title=Final Concorde flight lands at Heathrow |first=Jill |last=Lawless |agency=Associated Press |date=26 October 2003 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=26 August 2017 |archive-date=13 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513093402/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11477-2003Oct24.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
===1973 Solar Eclipse Mission===
''Concorde 001'' was modified with rooftop portholes for use on the [[Solar eclipse of June 30, 1973|1973]] [[Solar Eclipse]] mission, and equipped with observation instruments. It performed the longest observation of a solar eclipse to date, some 74 minutes.<ref name=Vice-Motherboard-2016-03-09>{{cite magazine |url= https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/the-concorde-and-the-longest-solar-eclipse |title= When Astronomers Chased a Total Eclipse in a Concorde |author= Chris Hatherill |date= 9 March 2016 |work= Motherboard |publisher= Vice }}</ref>


===Scheduled flights===
===Operators===
[[File:British Airways Concorde official handover ceremony Fitzgerald.jpg|thumb|The official handover ceremony to British Airways of its first Concorde occurred on 15 January 1976 at Heathrow Airport]]
[[File:Singapore Airlines Concorde Fitzgerald-1.jpg|thumb|Concorde in [[Singapore Airlines]] livery at [[Heathrow]] in 1979]]
[[File:Air France Concorde (F-BTSD) short-lived Pepsi logojet.jpg|thumb|Air France Concorde (F-BTSD) short-lived promotional Pepsi livery, April 1996]]
[[File:Air France Aerospatiale BAe Concorde 101; F-BVFB@ZRH;23.08.1998 (5888389391).jpg|thumb|Air France Concorde in [[Zürich Airport]] in 1998]]
[[File:Aerospatiale-British Aircraft Corporation Concorde, Air France JP71122.jpg|thumb|Air France Concorde at [[JFK Airport]] in 2003]]
[[File:Air France Concorde Jonsson.jpg|thumb|Air France Concorde at [[Charles de Gaulle Airport|CDG Airport]] in 2003]]

Scheduled flights began on 21 January 1976 on the London–[[Bahrain International Airport|Bahrain]] and Paris–[[Rio de Janeiro–Galeão International Airport|Rio de Janeiro]] (via [[Dakar]]) routes,<ref>{{cite journal |doi= 10.1108/eb035500 |url= http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=2594967949E5659C545A433375AEF406?contentType=Article&hdAction=lnkpdf&contentId=1682798 |title= Concorde in Service |author=[[Bill Strang (engineer)|Strang, Dr. W.J]] |author2=R. McKinley |journal=Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology |volume= 50 |issue= 12 |year=1978 |issn= 0002-2667 |publisher=MCB UP |pages=2–10}}</ref> with BA flights using the ''[[Speedbird]] Concorde'' call sign to notify air traffic control of the aircraft's unique abilities and restrictions, but the French using their normal call signs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7422409257931235094 |title=BA Tribute to Concorde. The takeoff scene at the end of the video contains a clip of the ATC communication with the "Speedbird Concorde" |publisher=British Airways |accessdate=11 January 2010 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100531215441/http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7422409257931235094 |archivedate=31 May 2010 }}</ref> The Paris-[[Caracas]] route (via [[Azores]]) began on 10 April. The [[Congress of the United States|US Congress]] had just banned Concorde landings in the US, mainly due to citizen protest over [[sonic booms]], preventing launch on the coveted North Atlantic routes. The US Secretary of Transportation, [[William Thaddeus Coleman, Jr.|William Coleman]], gave permission for Concorde service to [[Washington Dulles International Airport]], and Air France and British Airways simultaneously began service to Dulles on 24 May 1976.<ref>{{cite journal |url= http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/tportl8&div=7&id=&page= |title= Safety Regulation of the Concorde Supersonic Transport: Realistic Confinement of the National Environmental Policy Act |first= Robert B |last= Donin |publisher=''HeinOnline,'' 1976 |accessdate=30 June 2011}}</ref>

When the US ban on JFK Concorde operations was lifted in February 1977, New York banned Concorde locally. The ban came to an end on 17 October 1977 when the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] declined to overturn a lower court's ruling rejecting efforts by the [[Port Authority of New York and New Jersey|Port Authority]] and a grass-roots campaign led by [[Carol Berman]] to continue the ban.<ref>{{cite news |last= O'Grady |first= Jim |url= https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9906E2DC153DF934A15757C0A9659C8B63 |title= Neighborhood Report: The Rockaways; Ears Ringing? It's Cheering Over the Demise Of the Concorde |publisher=''The New York Times,'' 27 April 2003 |accessdate=30 June 2011 |date=27 April 2003}}</ref> In spite of complaints about noise, the noise report noted that [[Air Force One]], at the time a [[Boeing C-137 Stratoliner|Boeing VC-137]], was louder than Concorde at subsonic speeds and during take-off and landing.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,915764,00.html |title= The Nation: Smooth Landing for the Birds |publisher=''Time,'' 5 December 1977 |accessdate=30 June 2011 |date=5 December 1977}}</ref> Scheduled service from Paris and London to New York's [[JFK International Airport|John F. Kennedy Airport]] began on 22 November 1977.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.britishairways.com/concorde/aboutconcorde.html#facts_figures |title= Concorde facts and figures |publisher=''British Airways'' |accessdate=11 January 2010}}</ref>

In 1977, British Airways and [[Singapore Airlines]] shared a Concorde for flights between London and [[Singapore International Airport]] at Paya Lebar via Bahrain. The aircraft, BA's Concorde G-BOAD, was painted in Singapore Airlines livery on the port side and British Airways livery on the [[starboard]] side.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://news.google.co.uk/newspapers?id=3PkQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hpIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4864,7521914&dq=concorde+singapore+airlines&hl=en |title= Concorde by June: Offer to Qantas |first= Ross |last= Warneke |publisher=''The Age,'' 25 October 1977 |location=Australia }}</ref><ref name= 'singaconc'>{{cite news |url= http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70611FE3C5E167493C6A8178BD95F438785F9 |title= Singapore Concorde flights |publisher=''The New York Times,'' 14 October 1977 |accessdate=30 June 2011 |date=14 October 1977}}</ref> The service was discontinued after three return flights because of noise complaints from the Malaysian government;<ref>{{cite news |url= http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10F15F6395416768FDDAE0994DA415B878BF1D3 |title= London and Singapore halt Concorde service |publisher=''The New York Times,'' 17 December 1977 |accessdate=30 June 2011 |date=17 December 1977}}</ref> it could only be reinstated on a new route bypassing Malaysian airspace in 1979. A dispute with India prevented Concorde from reaching supersonic speeds in Indian airspace, so the route was eventually declared not viable and discontinued in 1980.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://news.google.co.uk/newspapers?id=eZckAAAAIBAJ&sjid=raQFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2330,3152191&dq=concorde+singapore+airlines&hl=en |title= Concorde route cut |publisher=''Montreal Gazette,'' 16 September 1980 |accessdate=30 June 2011}}</ref>

During the [[Mexican oil boom]], Air France flew Concorde twice weekly to Mexico City's [[Benito Juárez International Airport]] via Washington, DC, or New York City, from September 1978 to November 1982.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://news.google.co.uk/newspapers?id=uekpAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4tIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4845,5120670&dq=concorde+mexico&hl=en |title= French Concorde to Mexico City |publisher=''Daytona Beach Morning Journal,'' 11 August 1978 |accessdate=30 June 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://news.google.co.uk/newspapers?id=TuwwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8t8FAAAAIBAJ&pg=3054,6003139&dq=concorde+mexico&hl=en |title= Supersonic Jet flights suspended |publisher=''Daytona Beach Morning Journal,'' 27 September 1982 |accessdate=30 June 2011}}</ref> The worldwide economic crisis during that period resulted in this route's cancellation; the last flights were almost empty. The routing between Washington or New York and Mexico City included a deceleration, from Mach 2.02 to Mach 0.95, to cross Florida subsonically and avoid creating a sonic boom over the state; Concorde then re-accelerated back to high speed while crossing the Gulf of Mexico. On 1 April 1989, on an around-the-world luxury tour charter, British Airways implemented changes to this routing that allowed G-BOAF to maintain Mach 2.02 by passing around Florida to the east and south. Periodically Concorde visited the region on similar chartered flights to Mexico City and Acapulco.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-5212185.html |title=Air France offering 'New Year's Eve in Paris.' |publisher=''PR Newswire,'' 2 October 1987 |accessdate=30 June 2011 }}{{dead link|date=May 2017|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

From December 1978 to May 1980, [[Braniff International Airways]] leased 11 Concordes, five from Air France and six from British Airways.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/646052352.html?dids=646052352:646052352&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Feb+10%2C+1977&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=Braniff+Seeks+Deal+to+Fly+Concorde+in+U.S.&pqatl=google |title= Braniff seeks deal to fly Concorde in U.S |publisher=''Los Angeles Times,'' 10 February 1977 |first= John |last= Getze |date= 10 February 1977}}</ref> These were used on subsonic flights between [[Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport|Dallas-Fort Worth]] and [[Washington Dulles International Airport]], flown by Braniff flight crews.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/647634162.html?dids=647634162:647634162&FMT=CITE&FMTS=CITE:AI&type=historic&date=Jun+22%2C+1978&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=Concorde+Flights+to+Texas+OKd&pqatl=google |title= Concorde flights to Texas Ok'd |publisher=''Los Angeles Times,'' 22 June 1978 |accessdate=30 June 2011 |date=22 June 1978}}</ref> Air France and British Airways crews then took over for the continuing supersonic flights to London and Paris.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://news.google.co.uk/newspapers?id=VAQkAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MO4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6783,4192544&dq=concorde+braniff&hl=en |title= Concorde now reaping profits on N.Y. route |publisher=''The Spokesman-Review,'' 23 November 1979 |accessdate=30 June 2011}}</ref> The aircraft were registered in both the United States and their home countries; the European registration was covered while being operated by Braniff, retaining full AF/BA liveries. The flights were not profitable and typically less than 50% booked, forcing Braniff to end its tenure as the only US Concorde operator in May 1980.<ref name= 'braniconc'>{{cite web |url= https://news.google.co.uk/newspapers?id=-2UaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ACsEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6806,4059124&dq=concorde+braniff&hl=en |title= Braniff to halt US Concorde flights |publisher=''Milwaukee Journal,'' 16 April 1980 |accessdate=30 June 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00911FA3C5C17728DDDA80894DE405B8084F1D3 |title= Concorde flights between Texas and Europe end; Big Dreams at the start, $1,447 for flight to Paris |publisher= ''The New York Times,'' 1 June 1980 |accessdate=30 June 2011 |date=1 June 1980}}</ref>

In its early years, the British Airways Concorde service had a greater number of "no shows" (passengers who booked a flight and then failed to appear at the gate for boarding) than any other aircraft in the fleet.<ref>Allen, Roy, Concorde The Magnificent, Airliner Classics, July 2012, p.63</ref>

===British Caledonian interest===
Following the launch of British Airways Concorde services, Britain's other major airline, [[British Caledonian]] (BCal), set up a task force headed by Gordon Davidson, BA's former Concorde director, to investigate the possibility of their own Concorde operations.<ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1979/1979%20-%200919.html ''B.CAL appoints Concorde consultant''.] Flight International, 24 March 1979, p. 881.</ref><ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1979/1979%20-%201617.html ''Caledonian reports best results''.] Flight International, 12 May 1979, p. 1547.</ref><ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1979/1979%20-%202664.html ''New job for B.CAL Concorde man''.] Flight International, 21 July 1979, p. 158.</ref> This was seen as particularly viable for the airline's long-haul network as there were two unsold aircraft then available for purchase.<ref name="whitetails">[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1979/1979%20-%200541.html ''B.CAL to lease unsold Concorde?''.] Flight International, 24 February 1979, p. 517.</ref><ref name="Concorde_details">[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1979/1979%20-%201182.html ''Tories support B.CAL's Concorde plan''.] Flight International, 14 April 1979, p. 1132.</ref><ref name="final_SST">[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1979/1979%20-%201348.html World News.] Flight International, 28 April 1979, p. 1286.</ref>

One important reason for BCal's interest in Concorde was that the [[British Caledonian in the 1970s#Spheres of influence|British Government's 1976 aviation policy review]] had opened the possibility of BA setting up supersonic services in competition with BCal's established sphere of influence. To counteract this potential threat, BCal considered their own independent Concorde plans, as well as a partnership with BA.<ref>''High Risk: The Politics of the Air'', Thomson, A., Sidgwick and Jackson, London, 1990, pp. 316–317.</ref><ref name="cancel_Concorde">[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1979/1979%20-%202433.html ''B.CAL drops Concorde plans but asks for Hong Kong licence''.] Flight International, 30 June 1979, p. 2331.</ref> BCal were considered most likely to have set up a Concorde service on the Gatwick–Lagos route, a major source of revenue and profits within BCal's scheduled route network;<ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1971/1971%20-%202766.html ''BCAL's African Profit ...''.] World News, Flight International, 23 December 1971, p. 994.</ref><ref>''The Caledonian punchbag'', Flight International, 21 March 1987, p. 33.</ref> BCal's Concorde task force did assess the viability of a daily supersonic service complementing the existing subsonic widebody service on this route.<ref name="Concorde_details"/><ref name="cancel_Concorde"/><ref name="BCAL_Concorde">{{cite web|url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1979/1979%20-%201007.html|title=1979 – 1007 – Flight Archive|work=flightglobal.com}}</ref>

BCal entered into a bid to acquire at least one Concorde.<ref name="whitetails"/><ref name="final_SST"/><ref name="BCAL_Concorde"/> However, BCal eventually arranged for two aircraft to be leased from BA and [[Aérospatiale]] respectively, to be maintained by either BA or Air France. BCal's envisaged two-Concorde fleet would have required a high level of [[Airline cost glossary#Aircraft Usage|aircraft usage]] to be cost-effective; therefore, BCal had decided to operate the second aircraft on a supersonic service between Gatwick and Atlanta, with a stopover at either Gander or Halifax.<ref name="Concorde_details"/> Consideration was given to services to Houston and various points on its South American network at a later stage.<ref name="BCAL_Concorde"/><ref name="BCal_Package">{{cite web|url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1979/1979%20-%201711.html|title=1979 – 1711 – Flight Archive|work=flightglobal.com}}</ref> Both supersonic services were to be launched at some point during 1980; however, steeply rising oil prices caused by the [[1979 energy crisis]] led to BCal shelving their supersonic ambitions.<ref name="cancel_Concorde"/>

===British Airways buys its Concordes outright===
By around 1981 in the UK, the future for Concorde looked bleak. The British government had lost money operating Concorde every year, and moves were afoot to cancel the service entirely. A cost projection came back with greatly reduced metallurgical testing costs because the test rig for the wings had built up enough data to last for 30 years and could be shut down. Despite this, the government was not keen to continue. In 1983, BA's managing director, [[John King, Baron King of Wartnaby|Sir John King]], convinced the government to sell the aircraft outright to the then [[Nationalization|state-owned]] British Airways for £16.5&nbsp;million plus the first year's profits.<ref>Backroom boys&nbsp;– Francis Spufford</ref><ref name= 'concewhitele'>{{cite news |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/632500842.html?dids=632500842:632500842&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Apr+01%2C+1984&author=&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=The+plane+fact+is%2C+Concorde+has+broken+the+profit+barrier+for+the+first+time&pqatl=google |title= The plane fact is, Concorde has broken the profit barrier for the first time |publisher=''Chicago Tribune,'' 1 April 1984 |first= Peter |last= Greenberg |accessdate=30 June 2011 |date=1 April 1984}}</ref> British Airways was subsequently privatized in 1987.

King recognised that, in Concorde, BA had a premier product that was underpriced.

===Concorde 1984 British Airways fares comparison===

:* Concorde; [[Heathrow Airport|London]] - [[John F. Kennedy International Airport|New York]] return = £2,399
:* Subsonic; London - New York First Class return = £1,986
:* Concorde; London - [[Washington Dulles International Airport|Washington]] return = £2,426
:* Subsonic; London - Washington First Class return = £2,258

:All Concorde seats were First Class.<ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1984/1984%20-%200003.html]</ref>

Market research had revealed that many of Concorde's existing business customers had their tickets purchased by their employers, and thought the cost of a journey on Concorde was more expensive than it actually was; thus ticket prices were progressively raised to match these perceptions.<ref name=nova>{{cite web |url= http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/3203_concorde.html |title= NOVA transcript: Supersonic Dream |publisher=''PBS,'' 18 January 2005}}</ref> It is reported that British Airways then ran Concorde at a profit, unlike their French counterpart.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PI&s_site=philly&p_multi=PI&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB29A63D671E93E&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |title=The Concorde belies those who foresaw its extinction |publisher=''Philadelphia Inquirer,'' 26 January 1986 |accessdate=30 June 2011 |date=26 January 1986}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2935337.stm |title= Why economists don't fly Concorde |first= James |last= Arnold |publisher=''BBC News,'' 10 October 2003 |date=10 October 2003}}</ref>

===Other Services===

Between 1984 and 1991, British Airways flew a thrice-weekly Concorde service between London and Miami, stopping at Washington Dulles International Airport.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=MH&s_site=miami&p_multi=MH&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB35E9473D0D942&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |title= Concorde to fly Miami-London route |publisher=''Miami Herald,'' 24 January 1984 |accessdate=30 June 2011 |date=24 January 1984}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=MH&s_site=miami&p_multi=MH&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB342A3394157C7&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |title= Cuts ground Concorde from Miami to London |publisher=''Miami Herald'' |accessdate=30 June 2011 |date=13 January 1991}}</ref> Until 2003, Air France and British Airways continued to operate the New York services daily. Concorde routinely flew to [[Grantley Adams International Airport]], [[Barbados]], during the winter holiday season.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=R_oxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=NuQFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4247,5250844&dq=concorde+barbados&hl=en |title= After eight years, the Concorde flies to supersonic profit |publisher=''Reading Eagle,'' 27 March 1984 |first= Gregory |last= Jensen }}</ref>

Prior to the Air France Paris crash, several UK and French tour operators operated charter flights to European destinations on a regular basis;<ref>{{cite news |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/64470984.html?dids=64470984:64470984&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jun+23%2C+1985&author=PETER+S.+GREENBERG&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=Flying+Via+Charter+Off+to+New+Bustle&pqatl=google |title= Flying via charter off to New Bustle |publisher=''Los Angeles Times,'' 23 June 1985 |first= Peter S. |last= Greenberg |date=23 June 1985}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/474815901.html?dids=474815901:474815901&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jan+18%2C+1986&author=Jay+Clarke+Special+to+The+Star&pub=Toronto+Star&desc=Supersonic+Concorde+10+years+in+service+and+still+confounding+critics&pqatl=google |title= Supersonic Concorde 10 years in service and still confounding critics |publisher=''Toronto Star,'' 18 January 1986 |first= Jay |last= Clark |date=18 January 1986}}</ref> the charter business was viewed as lucrative by British Airways and Air France.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1986/1986%20-%200201.html |title= Concorde money is in charters |publisher=''Flight International,'' 25 January 1986 |accessdate=30 June 2011}}</ref>

In 1997, British Airways held a promotional contest to mark the 10th&nbsp;anniversary of the airline's move into the private sector. The promotion was a lottery to fly to New York held for 190 tickets valued at £5,400 each, to be offered at £10. Contestants had to call a special hotline to compete with up to 20&nbsp;million people.<ref>[http://www.thefreelibrary.com/I+BEAT+20m+TO+LAND+LAST+pounds+10+SEATS+ON+CONCORDE%3B+Joe+grabs...-a061046466 "I beat 20m to land last pounds 10 seats on Concorde; Joe grabs bargain of a lifetime."] ''Scottish Daily Record & Sunday (Glasgow, Scotland)'', 13 February 1997. Retrieved: 13 November 2012.</ref>

===Retirement===
[[File:Concorde on Bristol.jpg|thumb|Concorde's final flight: G-BOAF from Heathrow to Bristol, on 26 November 2003. The extremely high [[fineness ratio]] of the fuselage is evident.]]
[[File:Intrepid museum aerial.jpg|thumb|A Concorde at the [[Intrepid Museum]] in New York City]]

On 10 April 2003, Air France and British Airways simultaneously announced that they would retire Concorde later that year.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2934257.stm |title= Concorde grounded for good |publisher=''BBC News,'' 10 April 2003 |accessdate=30 June 2011 |date=10 April 2003}}</ref> They cited low passenger numbers following 25 July 2000 crash, the [[Economic effects arising from the September 11 attacks|slump in air travel]] following the [[September 11 attacks]], and rising maintenance costs. Although Concorde was technologically advanced when introduced in the 1970s, 30&nbsp;years later, its analogue cockpit was outdated. There had been little commercial pressure to upgrade Concorde due to a lack of competing aircraft, unlike other airliners of the same era such as the [[Boeing&nbsp;747]].<ref>{{cite journal |doi= 10.1108/eb035646 |url= http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=E7C9404F2C91DC6FD5BC8C45D43CED69?contentType=Article&hdAction=lnkpdf&contentId=1682944 |title= New Aircraft: Where are we heading in the 1980s and 1990s |journal=Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology |publisher=''MCB UP,'' |first= Ian S. |last= Macdonald |volume= 52 |issue= 7 |issn= 0002-2667 |pages= 13–17|year= 1980 }}</ref> By its retirement, it was the last aircraft in the British Airways fleet that had a [[flight engineer]]; other aircraft, such as the modernised [[747-400]], had eliminated the role.<ref name="fliengi">{{cite news |url= https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB106504293992222300?mod=googlewsj |title= Final Boarding Call: As Concorde Departs, so do 3-Man Crews: In New Cockpits, Engineers are seen as Extra Baggage |publisher=''Wall Street Journal,'' 2 October 2003 |first= Danial |last= Michaels |date= 2 October 2003}}</ref>

On 11 April 2003, [[Virgin Atlantic]] founder Sir [[Richard Branson]] announced that the company was interested in purchasing British Airways' Concorde fleet for their nominal original price of £1 each.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/04/11/biz.trav.concorde/| title=Concorde not for sale, says BA|publisher=''CNN,'' 11 April 2003|accessdate=2 June 2013|date=11 April 2003}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Fabled-Concorde-to-fly-off-into-sunset-British-2622958.php| title=Fabled Concorde to fly off into sunset / British, French airlines to retire supersonic jet |publisher=''San Francisco Chronicle,'' 11 April 2003|accessdate=2 June 2013|first=David|last=Armstrong|date=11 April 2003}}</ref> British Airways dismissed the idea, prompting Virgin to increase their offer to £1&nbsp;million each.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.spacedaily.com/news/concord-03a.html| title=Virgin Increases Concorde Bid |publisher=''Space Daily (from AFP article)}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1433748/Branson-increases-offer-for-Concorde.html| title=Branson increases offer for Concorde |publisher=''The Daily Telegraph,'' 22 June 2003|accessdate=2 June 2013|location=London|date=22 June 2003}}</ref> Branson claimed that when BA was privatised, a clause in the agreement required them to allow another British airline to operate Concorde if BA ceased to do so, but the Government denied the existence of such a clause.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3005705.stm |title= Branson's Concorde bid rejected |publisher=''BBC News,'' 6 May 2003 |first= Simon |last= Montague |date= 6 May 2003}}</ref> In October 2003, Branson wrote in ''[[The Economist]]'' that his final offer was "over £5&nbsp;million" and that he had intended to operate the fleet "for many years to come".<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-109201077.html |title= Branson accuses 'sad' Government of washing its hands of Concorde |publisher=''Western Mail'', 24 October 2003 |accessdate=30 June 2011}}</ref> The chances for keeping Concorde in service were stifled by Airbus's lack of support for continued maintenance.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/10/30/concorde.nofly.reut/ |title= Concorde not to fly at air shows |publisher=''CNN,'' 30 October 2003 |accessdate=30 June 2011 |date=30 October 2003}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/2855044/Buffett-vehicle-to-follow-in-Concordes-slipstream.html |title= Buffett vehicle to follow in Concorde's slipstream |publisher=''The Daily Telegraph,'' 15 June 2003 |first= Edward |last= Simpkins |date= 15 June 2003 |location=London}}</ref>{{refn|Quote: "Airbus, the manufacturer of Concorde, has said it is becoming uneconomic to maintain the ageing craft and that it will no longer provide spare parts for it."|group=N}}

It has been suggested that Concorde was not withdrawn for the reasons usually given but that it became apparent during the grounding of Concorde that the airlines could make more profit carrying first-class passengers subsonically.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.thetravelinsider.info/2003/0411.htm |title= Concorde: An Untimely and Unnecessary Demise |publisher=''Travel Insider,'' 2003 |accessdate=13 January 2010}}</ref> A lack of commitment to Concorde from Director of Engineering Alan MacDonald was cited as having undermined BA's resolve to continue operating Concorde.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.concorde-spirit-tours.com/concorde.htm |title= The Betrayal of Concorde |first= Donald L. |last= Pevsner |publisher=''Concorde Spirit Tours'' |accessdate=13 January 2010}}</ref>

====Air France====
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|caption1= Air France Concorde at [[Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport]]
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|caption2= Air France Concorde in [[Sinsheim Auto & Technik Museum|Auto & Technik Museum Sinsheim]]
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Air France made its final commercial Concorde landing in the United States in New York City from Paris on 30 May 2003.<ref>{{cite news |title= Concorde makes Final Flight from Paris to New York |publisher=''Associated Press,'' 30 May 2003 |first= Laurent |last= Lemel }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2952594.stm |title= French Concorde bids adieu |publisher=''BBC News,'' 31 May 2003 |date=31 May 2003}}</ref> Air France's final Concorde flight took place on 27 June 2003 when F-BVFC retired to Toulouse.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-104484558.html |title= Jetting off |publisher=''Daily Mirror,'' 28 June 2003 |accessdate=30 June 2011}}</ref>

An [[auction]] of Concorde parts and memorabilia for Air France was held at [[Christie's]] in Paris on 15 November 2003; 1,300 people attended, and several lots exceeded their predicted values.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3246326.stm |title= 3,500 due at UK Concorde auction |publisher=''BBC News,'' 30 November 2003 |date=30 November 2003}}</ref> French Concorde F-BVFC was retired to Toulouse and kept functional for a short time after the end of service, in case taxi runs were required in support of the French judicial enquiry into the 2000 crash.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.alacrastore.com/storecontent/Business-and-Industry/105669362 |title= Miscellaneous brief articles&nbsp;– Business & Industry |publisher=''Flight International.'' 15 July 2003 |accessdate=30 June 2011}}</ref> The aircraft is now fully retired and no longer functional.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.tourmag.com/Pourquoi-n-a-t-on-pas-sauve-le-Concorde_a7.html |title= Pourquoi n'a-t-on pas sauvé le Concorde? |publisher=''TourMag.com,'' 24 March 2010 |accessdate=30 June 2011}}</ref>

French Concorde F-BTSD has been retired to the "[[Musée de l'Air]]" at [[Paris–Le Bourget Airport]] near Paris; unlike the other museum Concordes, a few of the systems are being kept functional. For instance, the famous "droop nose" can still be lowered and raised. This led to rumours that they could be prepared for future flights for special occasions.<ref name="vafhtk">{{cite news |title= This is not a flight of fancy: Volunteers say Concorde can realise an Olympic dream if BA will help |publisher=''The Times,'' 31 May 2006 |first=Ben |last=Webster}}</ref>

[[File:Concorde F-BVFA.JPG|thumb|Air France Concorde on display at [[Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center]]]]
French Concorde F-BVFB currently rests at the [[Sinsheim Auto & Technik Museum|Auto & Technik Museum Sinsheim]] at [[Sinsheim]], Germany, after its last flight from Paris to Baden-Baden, followed by a spectacular transport to [[Sinsheim]] via barge and road. The museum also has a [[Tupolev Tu-144]] on display&nbsp;– this is the only place where both supersonic airliners can be seen together.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sinsheim.technik-museum.de/concorde-f-bvfb/ |title=Museum Sinsheim |publisher=''Museum Sinsheim'' |accessdate=26 June 2010 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100512045534/http://sinsheim.technik-museum.de/concorde-f-bvfb |archivedate=12 May 2010 }}</ref>

In 1989, Air France signed a letter of agreement to donate a Concorde to the [[National Air and Space Museum]] in Washington D.C. upon the aircraft's retirement. On 12 June 2003, Air France honoured that agreement, donating Concorde F-BVFA (serial 205) to the Museum upon the completion of its last flight. This aircraft was the first Air France Concorde to open service to Rio de Janeiro, Washington, D.C., and New York and had flown 17,824 hours. It is on display at the Smithsonian's [[Steven F. Udvar-Hazy]] Center at [[Dulles Airport]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Concorde, Fox Alpha, Air France|url=http://airandspace.si.edu/collections/artifact.cfm?object=nasm_A20030139000|publisher=Smithsnian National Air and Space Museum|accessdate=19 January 2016}}</ref>

====British Airways====
[[File:G-BOAB in new home (8472694454).jpg|thumb|right|BA Concorde G-BOAB in storage at [[London Heathrow Airport]]. This aircraft flew for 22,296 hours between its first flight in 1976 and its final flight in 2000.]]

British Airways conducted a North American farewell tour in October 2003. G-BOAG visited [[Toronto Pearson International Airport]] on 1 October, after which it flew to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/417072421.html?dids=417072421:417072421&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Oct+02%2C+2003&author=Marc+Atchison&pub=Toronto+Star&desc=Concorde's+supersonic+swan+song%3B+Star+writer+aboard+for+jet's+farewell+trip+to+Toronto+Transatlantic+sound-breaker+a+vision+of+grace&pqatl=google |title= Concorde's supersonic swan song; Star writer aboard for jet's farewell trip to Toronto Transatlantic sound-breaker a vision of grace |publisher=''Toronto Star,'' 2 October 2003 |first= Marc |last= Atchison |date= 2 October 2003}}</ref> G-BOAD visited [[Boston]]'s [[Logan International Airport]] on 8 October, and G-BOAG visited [[Washington Dulles International Airport]] on 14 October.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-3250817/Final-flight-British-Airways-Concorde.html |title=Final flight: British Airways Concorde lands locally for last time |publisher=''Washington Post,'' 15 October 2003 |first=Tom |last=Ramstack |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120120185245/http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-3250817/Final-flight-British-Airways-Concorde.html |archivedate=20 January 2012 }}</ref>

In a week of farewell flights around the United Kingdom<!-- do not link major countries -->, Concorde visited [[Birmingham]] on 20 October, [[Belfast]] on 21 October, [[Manchester]] on 22 October, [[Cardiff]] on 23 October, and [[Edinburgh]] on 24 October. Each day the aircraft made a return flight out and back into Heathrow to the cities, often overflying them at low altitude.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/bristol/somerset/3238674.stm |title= Last Concorde lands |publisher=''BBC News,'' |accessdate=30 June 2011 |date=27 November 2003}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/3205915.stm |title= Concorde enjoys Cardiff farewell |publisher=''BBC News.'' 23 October 2003 |date=23 October 2003}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0001DI57G |title= Concorde&nbsp;– The Farewell&nbsp;– A collection of the final flights of the last days of Concorde |publisher=''Simply Media,'' 19 April 2004 |accessdate=30 June 2011}}</ref> On 22 October, both Concorde flight BA9021C, a special from Manchester, and BA002 from New York landed simultaneously on both of Heathrow's runways. On 23 October 2003, the Queen consented to the illumination of [[Windsor Castle]], an honour reserved for state events and visiting dignitaries, as Concorde's last west-bound commercial flight departed London.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.rockawave.com/news/2003-10-31/Front_Page/028.html |title= The Concorde Makes A Comeback |first= Brian |last= Magoolaghan |publisher=''Wave of Long Island,'' 31 October 2003 |accessdate=30 June 2011}}</ref>

[[British Airways]] retired its Concorde fleet on 24 October 2003.<ref name="jlfin">{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11477-2003Oct24.html |title=Final Concorde flight lands at Heathrow |first=Jill |last=Lawless |publisher=''Associated Press,'' 26 October 2003}}</ref> G-BOAG left New York to a fanfare similar to that given for Air France's F-BTSD, while two more made round trips, G-BOAF over the [[Bay of Biscay]], carrying VIP guests including former Concorde pilots, and G-BOAE to Edinburgh. The three aircraft then circled over London, having received special permission to fly at low altitude, before landing in sequence at Heathrow. The captain of the New York to London flight was Mike Bannister.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3211053.stm |title= End of an era for Concorde |publisher=''BBC News'' |date=24 October 2003}}</ref> The final flight of a Concorde in the US occurred on 5 November 2003 when G-BOAG flew from New York's JFK Airport to Seattle's [[Boeing Field]] to join the [[Museum of Flight]]'s permanent collection. The plane was piloted by Mike Bannister and Les Broadie, who claimed a flight time of three hours, 55 minutes and 12 seconds, a record between the two cities.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Thousands-welcome-Concorde-to-Seattle-1128999.php|title=Thousands welcome Concorde to Seattle|work=seattlepi.com}}</ref> The museum had been pursuing a Concorde for their collection since 1984.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rbogash.com/Concorde.html|title=Concorde|author=Robert Bogash|work=rbogash.com}}</ref> The final flight of a Concorde worldwide took place on 26 November 2003 with a landing at Filton, Bristol, UK.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/3238674.stm |title= BBC News: Last Concorde lands |publisher=''BBC News,'' |date=27 November 2003}}</ref>

All of BA's Concorde fleet have been grounded, drained of hydraulic fluid and their airworthiness certificates withdrawn. Jock Lowe, ex-chief Concorde pilot and manager of the fleet estimated in 2004 that it would cost £10–15&nbsp;million to make G-BOAF airworthy again.<ref name="vafhtk"/> BA maintain ownership and have stated that they will not fly again due to a lack of support from Airbus.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.britishairways.com/concorde/faq.html#17 |title= Will Concorde ever come out of retirement&nbsp;– e.g. for a Coronation flypast or airshows? |publisher=''British Airways'' |accessdate=14 January 2010}}</ref> On 1 December 2003, [[Bonhams]] held an auction of British Airways Concorde artefacts, including a nose cone, at [[Olympia Exhibition Centre|Kensington Olympia]] in London.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2003-12-02-concorde_x.htm |title=Concorde nose cone sells for half-million at auction |publisher=''USA Today,'' 12 December 2003 |accessdate=30 June 2011 |date=2 December 2003}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-87889450.html |title=Concorde Memorabilia Auction |publisher=''Getty Images,'' 1 December 2003 |accessdate=30 June 2011}}</ref> Proceeds of around £750,000 were raised, with the majority going to charity. G-BOAD is currently on display at the [[Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum]] in New York.<ref name="intrepid">[http://www.intrepidmuseum.org/The-Intrepid-Experience/Exhibits/Concorde.aspx "Exhibits: Concorde".] ''Intrepidmuseum.org.'' Retrieved 6 March 2011.</ref> In 2007, BA announced that the advertising spot at Heathrow where a 40% scale model of Concorde was located would not be retained; the model is now on display at the [[Brooklands Museum]], in Surrey, England.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6509667.stm |title= Heathrow Concorde model removed |publisher=''BBC News'' |date=30 March 2007}}</ref>

===Restoration===
Although only used for spares after being retired from test flying and trials work in 1981, Concorde G-BBDG was dismantled and transported by road from [[Filton]] then restored from essentially a shell at the [[Brooklands Museum]] in Surrey,<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.concordeproject.com/ |title= The Brooklands Concorde Project |publisher=''Brooklands Museum'' |accessdate=15 January 2010}}</ref> where it remains open to visitors to the museum.

One of the youngest Concordes (F-BTSD) is on display at [[Musée de l'Air|Le Bourget Air and Space Museum]] in Paris. In February 2010, it was announced that the museum and a group of volunteer Air France technicians intend to restore F-BTSD so it can taxi under its own power.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2010/02/05/338114/air-france-concorde-to-taxi-again-under-own-power.html |title= Air France Concorde to taxi again under own power |publisher=''Flightglobal,'' 5 February 2010 |accessdate=5 February 2010}}</ref> In May 2010, it was reported that the British Save Concorde Group and French Olympus 593 groups had begun inspecting the engines of a Concorde at the French museum; their intent is to restore the airliner to a condition where it can fly in demonstrations.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8712806.stm |title= Work starts in £15m plan to get Concorde Flying |publisher= ''BBC News'' |date=29 May 2010 |accessdate=29 May 2010}}</ref> Save Concorde Group hoped to get F-BTSD flying for the [[2012 London Olympics]], but this never happened. The work for restoring F-BTSD to operating condition as of September 2015 is currently not very well known, and it is still being housed in Le Bourget as a museum exhibit. In 2015, the organisation Club Concorde announced that it had raised funds of £120&nbsp;million for a static display<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/Group-Plans-To-Fly-Concorde-By-2019-224879-1.html|title=Group Plans To Fly Concorde By 2019|work=avweb.com}}</ref> and to buy the Concorde at Le Bourget, restore it and return it to service as a heritage aircraft for air displays and charter hire by 2019, to coincide with the 50th&nbsp;anniversary of Concorde's first flight.<ref name=guardianbreakthrough>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/18/supersonic-breakthrough-concorde-could-fly-again-within-four-years |title=Supersonic breakthrough: Concorde could fly again within four years |last1=Coldwell |first1=Will|date=18 September 2015 |website=[[theguardian.com]]|access-date=18 September 2015}}</ref>

In July 2015, it was reported that planning permission had been granted for the construction of the museum at [[Bristol Filton Airport]] to house G-BOAF the last Concorde where it is intended to form a key exhibit of the new [[Bristol Aviation Heritage Museum]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Concorde museum wins planning permission|url=http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Concorde-museum-wins-planning-permission/story-27449949-detail/story.html|accessdate=20 July 2015|work=Bristol Post|date=20 July 2015}}</ref>

===Return to service plan===
In September 2015, Club Concorde announced it had secured over £160&nbsp;million to return an aircraft to service.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Revival of Concorde |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/luxury/travel/83904/concorde-flights-planned-to-resume-and-aircraft-proposed-for-display-in-london.html |publisher=Telegraph |accessdate=19 January 2016}}</ref> Club Concorde president Paul James said:<ref>{{cite web|title=Potential Return to Flight Project|url=http://www.clubconcorde.co.uk/potential-return-to-flight-2015.php|publisher=Club Concorde|accessdate=19 January 2016}}</ref>
{{quote|text=The main obstacle to any Concorde project to date has been "Where's the money?"&mdash;a question we heard ad nauseam, until we found an investor. Now that money is no longer the problem it's over to those who can help us make it happen.}}
The organisation aims to buy the Concorde currently on display at Le Bourget airport. A tentative date of 2019 has been put forward for the return to flight&mdash;50 years after its maiden journey.<ref name=guardianbreakthrough/> However, due to regulatory and technical hurdles, some of the aviation community are highly skeptical of the plan, including former Concorde captain and Club Concorde co-founder William "Jock" Lowe, who was quoted in June 2016 saying:<ref>{{cite web|title=The Concorde May Never Fly Again. Here’s Why|url=http://gearpatrol.com/2016/06/06/why-the-concorde-may-never-fly-again/|publisher=Gear Patrol}}</ref>
{{quote|text=Let's assume you could rip the whole thing apart and ultrasound the fuselage. There are thousands, many thousands of hydraulic seals on the airplane. … Every one of them would have to be remanufactured and replaced. [But] the manufacturing facilities are just not there. … And if you got them all together, what sort of testing regimen would be there? … It took seven years of flight testing to get it into service in the first place.}}

==Operators==
* [[Air France]]
* [[Air France]]
* [[British Airways]]
* [[British Airways]]
* [[Braniff International Airways#Concorde SST|Braniff International Airways]] operated Concordes at subsonic speed between [[Dulles International Airport]] and [[Dallas Fort Worth International Airport]], from January 1979 until May 1980, utilizing its own flight and cabin crew, under its own insurance and operator's license. Stickers containing a US registration were placed over the French and British registrations of the aircraft during each rotation, and a placard was temporarily placed behind the cockpit to signify the operator and operator's license in command.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.concordesst.com/history/events/braniff.html|title=Concorde SST : Braniff Concorde Services|access-date=15 June 2021|archive-date=7 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507044413/http://www.concordesst.com/history/events/braniff.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Braniff_International_Airways#Concorde_SST|Braniff International Airways]] (1 on short term lease)<ref name= 'braniconc'/>
* [[Singapore Airlines]] had its livery placed on the left side of Concorde G-BOAD, and held a joint marketing agreement which saw Singapore insignias on the cabin fittings, as well as the airline's "Singapore Girl" stewardesses jointly sharing cabin duty with British Airways flight attendants. All flight crew, operations, and insurances remained solely under British Airways however, and at no point did Singapore Airlines operate Concorde services under its own operator's certification, nor wet-lease an aircraft. This arrangement initially only lasted for three flights, conducted between 9&ndash;13 December 1977; it later resumed on 24 January 1979, and operated until 1 November 1980. The Singapore livery was used on G-BOAD from 1977 to 1980.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.concordesst.com/history/events/sia.html|title=Concorde SST : Singapore Concorde Services|access-date=31 October 2006|archive-date=19 August 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080819231821/http://www.concordesst.com/history/events/sia.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Singapore Airlines]] (1 on short term [[wet lease]])<ref name= 'singaconc'/>


==Accidents and incidents==
==Accidents and incidents==


===Air France Flight 4590===
===Air France Flight 4590===
{{Main article|Air France Flight 4590}}
{{main|Air France Flight 4590}}
[[File:Concorde Air France Flight 4590 fire on runway.jpg|thumb|Flight 4590 during takeoff]]


On 25 July 2000, Air France Flight 4590, registration F-BTSC, [[Air France Flight 4590|crashed]] in [[Gonesse]], France after departing from [[Paris-Charles de Gaulle]] en route to [[John F. Kennedy International Airport]] in New York City, killing all 100 passengers and 9 crew members on board the flight, and 4 people on the ground.<!-- per MOS:NUMERAL, comparable quantities should be all spelled out or all in figures --> It was the only fatal accident involving Concorde.
On 25 July 2000, Air France Flight 4590, registration F-BTSC, crashed in [[Gonesse]], France, after departing from [[Charles de Gaulle Airport]] en route to [[John F. Kennedy International Airport]] in New York City, killing all 100 passengers and nine crew members on board as well as four people on the ground.<!-- per MOS:NUMERAL, comparable quantities should be all spelled out or all in figures --> It was the only fatal accident involving Concorde. This crash also damaged Concorde's reputation and caused both British Airways and Air France to temporarily ground their fleets.<ref name = "upi sep2001"/> According to the official investigation conducted by the [[Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety]] (BEA), the crash was caused by a metallic strip that had fallen from a [[Continental Airlines]] [[McDonnell Douglas DC-10|DC-10]] that had taken off minutes earlier. This fragment punctured a tyre<!-- please leave British spelling of "tyres" on British/French aircraft ---> on Concorde's left main wheel bogie during take-off. The tyre exploded, and a piece of rubber hit the fuel tank, which caused a fuel leak and led to a fire. The crew shut down engine number 2 in response to a fire warning, and with engine number 1 surging and producing little power, the aircraft was unable to gain altitude or speed. The aircraft entered a rapid pitch-up then a sudden descent, rolling left and crashing tail-low into the Hôtelissimo Les Relais Bleus Hotel in Gonesse.{{sfn|Endres|2001|pp=110–13}} <!-- Further details belong at [[Air France Flight 4590]]. -->


Before the accident, Concorde had been arguably the safest operational passenger airliner in the world with zero passenger deaths, but there had been two prior non-fatal accidents and a rate of tyre damage 30 times higher than subsonic airliners from 1995 to 2000.<ref name=AAIB89>{{cite book|url=https://www.gov.uk/aaib-reports/6-1989-concorde-102-g-boaf-12-april-1989|title=Report No: 6/1989. Report on the accident to Concorde 102, G-BOAF over the Tasman Sea, about 140 nm east of Sydney, Australia on 12 April 1989|year=1989|access-date=25 January 2016|archive-date=1 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201183536/https://www.gov.uk/aaib-reports/6-1989-concorde-102-g-boaf-12-april-1989|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=AAIB93>{{cite book|url=https://www.gov.uk/aaib-reports/5-1993-british-aircraft-corporation-snias-concorde-102-g-boab-21-march-1992|title=Report No: 5/1993. Report on the accident to British Aircraft Corporation/SNIAS Concorde 102, G-BOAB, over the North Atlantic, on 21 March 1992|year=1993|access-date=25 January 2016|archive-date=1 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201175323/https://www.gov.uk/aaib-reports/5-1993-british-aircraft-corporation-snias-concorde-102-g-boab-21-march-1992|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-82753359.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105233430/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-82753359.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 November 2013 |title=Human Factor Issues Emerge from Concorde Crash Investigation |journal=Air Safety Week |date=11 February 2002 |access-date=9 June 2013}}</ref><ref name=BEAjan2002>{{cite web |url= https://bea.aero/uploads/tx_elydbrapports/f-sc000725a.pdf |title=Accident on 25 July 2000 at La Patte d'Oie in Gonesse (95) to the Concorde registered F-BTSC operated by Air France |publisher=[[Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety|French Bureau Enquêtes-Accidents (BEA)]] |date= January 2002 |pages=146–147}}</ref> Safety improvements made after the crash included more secure electrical controls, [[Kevlar]] lining on the fuel tanks and specially developed burst-resistant tyres.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1442061.stm |title=Concorde's safety modifications |work=BBC News |date=17 July 2001 |access-date=25 April 2010 |archive-date=4 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090304001950/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1442061.stm |url-status=live}}</ref> The first flight with the modifications departed from London Heathrow on 17 July 2001, piloted by BA Chief Concorde Pilot [[Mike Bannister]]. In a flight of 3 hours 20 minutes over the mid-Atlantic towards Iceland, Bannister attained Mach 2.02 and {{convert|60000|ft|m|abbr=on}} then returned to [[RAF Brize Norton]]. The test flight, intended to resemble the London–New York route, was declared a success and was watched on live TV, and by crowds on the ground at both locations.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/concorde-completes-successful-test-flight |title=Concorde Completes Successful Test Flight |publisher=Fox News |access-date=30 June 2011 |date=17 July 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110209175121/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,29732,00.html |archive-date=9 February 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>
According to the official investigation conducted by the ''[[Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile]]'' (BEA), the crash was caused by a metallic strip that fell from a [[Continental Airlines]] [[McDonnell Douglas DC-10|DC-10]] that had taken off minutes earlier. This fragment punctured a tyre<!-- please leave British spelling of "tyres" on British/French aircraft ---> on Concorde's left main wheel bogie during take-off. The tyre exploded, and a piece of rubber hit the fuel tank, which caused a fuel leak and led to a fire. The crew shut down engine number 2 in response to a fire warning, and with engine number 1 surging and producing little power, the aircraft was unable to gain altitude or speed. The aircraft entered a rapid pitch-up then a violent descent, rolling left and crashing tail-low into the Hôtelissimo Les Relais Bleus Hotel in Gonesse.{{sfn|Endres|2001|pp=110–113}}


The first flight with passengers after the 2000 grounding landed shortly before the [[September 11 attacks|World Trade Center attacks]] in the United States. This was not a commercial flight: all the passengers were BA employees.<ref name = "upi sep2001">{{cite web|url=http://www.upi.com/Archives/2001/09/11/Concorde-100-BA-staff-fly-over-Atlantic/7180000071087/|title=Concorde, 100 BA staff fly over Atlantic|work=United Press International|date=11 September 2001|access-date=19 March 2017|archive-date=21 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170321084056/http://www.upi.com/Archives/2001/09/11/Concorde-100-BA-staff-fly-over-Atlantic/7180000071087/|url-status=live}}</ref> Normal commercial operations resumed on 7 November 2001 by BA and AF (aircraft G-BOAE and F-BTSD), with service to New York JFK, where Mayor [[Rudy Giuliani]] greeted the passengers.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=efkjAAAAIBAJ&pg=3487,4067442 |title=Concorde returns |work=Ocala Star-Banner |date=7 November 2001 |first=Timothy |last=Williams |access-date=28 November 2020 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414095135/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=efkjAAAAIBAJ&pg=3487,4067442 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1641466.stm |title=Concorde 'back where she belongs' |work=BBC News |date=6 November 2001 |access-date=14 January 2010 |archive-date=19 February 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070219002109/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1641466.stm |url-status=live}}</ref>
The claim that a metallic strip caused the crash was disputed during the trial both by witnesses (including the pilot of [[Jacques Chirac]]'s aircraft that had just landed on an adjacent runway when Flight 4590 caught fire) and by an independent French TV investigation that found a wheel spacer had not been installed in the left-side main gear and that the plane caught fire some 1,000 feet from where the metallic strip lay.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160328150841/http://spectator.org/print/39656 Joseph A Harriss piece on the Flight 4590 trial]</ref> British investigators and former French Concorde pilots looked at several other possibilities that the BEA report ignored, including an unbalanced weight distribution in the fuel tanks and loose landing gear. They came to the conclusion that the Concorde veered off course on the runway, which reduced takeoff speed below the crucial minimum. John Hutchinson, who had served as a Concorde captain for 15 years with British Airways, said that "the fire on its own should have been 'eminently survivable; the pilot should have been able to fly his way out of trouble'", had it not been for a "lethal combination of operational error and 'negligence' by the maintenance department of Air France" that "nobody wants to talk about".<ref name=Observer>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/may/13/davidrose.focus |title=Concorde: The unanswered questions|series=The Observer |date=13 May 2001 |accessdate=18 April 2010 | work=The Guardian | location=London | first=David | last=Rose}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iasa.com.au/folders/Safety_Issues/others/concordespacer.html|title=Concorde: For the Want of a Spacer|publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.askthepilot.com/untold-concorde-story/|title=Untold Story of the Concorde Disaster|publisher=}}</ref>


===Other accidents and incidents===
On 6 December 2010, Continental Airlines and John Taylor, one of its mechanics, were found guilty of involuntary manslaughter,<ref>Cody, E. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/06/AR2010120601740.html "French court holds Continental Airlines responsible for 2000 Concorde crash"]. ''Washington Post'', 6 December 2010.</ref> but on 30 November 2012, a French court overturned the conviction, saying mistakes by Continental and Taylor did not make them criminally responsible.<ref name=conviction_overturned>{{cite web|title=Concorde crash: Continental Airlines killings verdict quashed|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20545201|publisher=BBC|accessdate=19 January 2016}}</ref> <!-- Further details belong at [[Air France Flight 4590]]. -->
[[File:G-BOAF rudder damage.jpg|thumb|alt=Rear end of aircraft G-BOAF, in BA livery with a large chunk missing. The tail-strike wheel is lowered. |Damage to Concorde rudder after an accident in 1989]]


On 12 April 1989, Concorde G-BOAF, on a chartered flight from [[Christchurch]], New Zealand, to [[Sydney]], Australia, suffered a structural failure at supersonic speed. As the aircraft was climbing and accelerating through Mach 1.7, a "thud" was heard. The crew did not notice any handling problems, and they assumed the thud they heard was a minor [[Compressor stall|engine surge]]. No further difficulty was encountered until descent through {{convert|40,000|ft|m}} at Mach 1.3, when a vibration was felt throughout the aircraft, lasting two to three minutes. Most of the upper rudder had separated from the aircraft at this point. Aircraft handling was unaffected, and the aircraft made a safe landing at Sydney. The UK's [[Air Accidents Investigation Branch]] (AAIB) concluded that the skin of the rudder had been separating from the rudder structure over a period before the accident due to moisture seepage past the [[rivet]]s in the rudder. Production staff had not followed proper procedures during an earlier modification of the rudder; the procedures were difficult to adhere to.<ref name=AAIB89 /> The aircraft was repaired and returned to service.<ref name=AAIB89 />
Prior to the accident, Concorde had been arguably the safest operational passenger airliner in the world in passenger deaths-per-kilometres travelled with zero, but there had been two prior non-fatal accidents and a rate of tyre damage some 30 times higher than subsonic airliners from 1995 to 2000.<ref name=AAIB89>{{cite book |url=https://www.gov.uk/aaib-reports/6-1989-concorde-102-g-boaf-12-april-1989|title=Report No: 6/1989. Report on the accident to Concorde 102, G-BOAF over the Tasman Sea, about 140 nm east of Sydney, Australia on 12 April 1989|year=1989 |accessdate=25 January 2016}}</ref><ref name=AAIB93>{{cite book |url=https://www.gov.uk/aaib-reports/5-1993-british-aircraft-corporation-snias-concorde-102-g-boab-21-march-1992|title=Report No: 5/1993. Report on the accident to British Aircraft Corporation/SNIAS Concorde 102, G-BOAB, over the North Atlantic, on 21 March 1992|year=1993|accessdate=25 January 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url= http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-82753359.html |title= Human Factor Issues Emerge from Concorde Crash Investigation |journal=Air Safety Week |date=11 February 2002 |accessdate=9 June 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.bea.aero/docspa/2000/f-sc000725a/pdf/f-sc000725a.pdf |title= Accident on 25 July 2000 at La Patte d'Oie in Gonesse (95) to the Concorde registered F-BTSC operated by Air France |publisher=French Bureau Enquêtes-Accidents (BEA), January 2002 |pages= 145–147 |accessdate=9 June 2013}}</ref> Safety improvements were made in the wake of the crash, including more secure electrical controls, [[Kevlar]] lining on the fuel tanks and specially developed burst-resistant tyres.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1442061.stm |title= Concorde's safety modifications |publisher=''BBC News,'' 17 July 2001 |date=17 July 2001}}</ref> The first flight with the modifications departed from [[London Heathrow airport|London Heathrow]] on 17 July 2001, piloted by BA Chief Concorde Pilot [[Mike Bannister]]. During the 3-hour 20-minute flight over the mid-Atlantic towards Iceland, Bannister attained Mach 2.02 and {{convert|60000|ft|m|abbr=on}} before returning to [[RAF Brize Norton]]. The test flight, intended to resemble the London–New York route, was declared a success and was watched on live TV, and by crowds on the ground at both locations.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,29732,00.html |title= Concorde Completes Successful Test Flight |publisher=''Fox News,'' 17 July 2001 |accessdate=30 June 2011 |date=17 July 2001}}</ref>


On 21 March 1992, G-BOAB while flying British Airways Flight 001 from London to New York, also suffered a structural failure at supersonic speed. While cruising at Mach 2, at approximately {{convert|53,000|ft|m}}, the crew heard a "thump". No difficulties in handling were noticed, and no instruments gave any irregular indications. This crew also suspected there had been a minor engine surge. One hour later, during descent and while decelerating below Mach 1.4, a sudden "severe" vibration began throughout the aircraft.<ref name=AAIB93 /> The vibration worsened when power was added to the No 2 engine. The crew shut down the No 2 engine and made a successful landing in New York, noting that increased rudder control was needed to keep the aircraft on its intended approach course. Again, the skin had separated from the structure of the rudder, which led to most of the upper rudder detaching in flight. The AAIB concluded that repair materials had leaked into the structure of the rudder during a recent repair, weakening the bond between the skin and the structure of the rudder, leading to it breaking up in flight. The large size of the repair had made it difficult to keep repair materials out of the structure, and prior to this accident, the severity of the effect of these repair materials on the structure and skin of the rudder was not appreciated.<ref name=AAIB93 />
The first flight with passengers after the accident took place on 11 September 2001, landing shortly before the [[September 11 attacks|World Trade Center attacks]] in the United States. This was not a commercial flight: all the passengers were BA employees.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.upi.com/Archives/2001/09/11/Concorde-100-BA-staff-fly-over-Atlantic/7180000071087/|title=Concorde, 100 BA staff fly over Atlantic|last=|first=|date=|website=|publisher=''United Press International,'' 11 September 2001|access-date=}}</ref> Normal commercial operations resumed on 7 November 2001 by BA and AF (aircraft G-BOAE and F-BTSD), with service to New York JFK, where mayor [[Rudy Giuliani]] greeted the passengers.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://news.google.co.uk/newspapers?id=efkjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=yggEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3487,4067442&dq=concorde&hl=en |title= Concorde returns |publisher=''Ocala Star-Banner,'' 7 November 2001 |first= Timothy |last= Williams }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1641466.stm |title= Concorde 'back where she belongs' |publisher=''BBC News,'' 6 November 2001 |date=6 November 2001}}</ref>

===Other accidents and incidents===
[[File:G-BOAF rudder damage.jpg|thumb|Damage to Concorde rudder after 1989 accident]]


The 2010 trial involving [[Continental Airlines]] over the crash of Flight 4590 established that from 1976 until Flight 4590 there had been 57 tyre failures involving Concordes during takeoffs, including a near-crash at [[Dulles International Airport]] on 14 June 1979 involving Air France Flight 54 where a tyre blowout pierced the plane's fuel tank and damaged a left engine and electrical cables, with the loss of two of the craft's hydraulic systems.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://spectator.org/print/39656|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160328150841/http://spectator.org/print/39656|url-status=dead|first=Joseph A. |last=Harriss |date=May 2010 |archive-date=28 March 2016 |title= What Price Supersonic Grandeur? |work=The American Spectator}}</ref>
Concorde had suffered two previous non-fatal accidents that were similar to each other.
*12 April 1989: A Concorde of British registration, G-BOAF, on a chartered flight from [[Christchurch]], New Zealand, to Sydney, suffered a structural failure in-flight at supersonic speed. As the aircraft was climbing and accelerating through Mach 1.7 a "thud" was heard. The crew did not notice any handling problems, and they assumed the thud they heard was a minor [[Compressor stall|engine surge]]. No further difficulty was encountered until descent through 40,000 feet at Mach 1.3, when a vibration was felt throughout the aircraft, lasting two to three minutes. Most of the upper rudder had become separated from the aircraft at this point. Aircraft handling was unaffected, and the aircraft made a safe landing at Sydney. The UK's [[Air Accidents Investigation Branch]] (AAIB) concluded that the skin of the rudder had been separating from the rudder structure over a period of time before the accident due to moisture seepage past the [[rivet]]s in the rudder. Furthermore, production staff had not followed proper procedures during an earlier modification of the rudder, but the procedures were difficult to adhere to.<ref name=AAIB89 /> The aircraft was repaired and returned to service.<ref name=AAIB89 />
*21 March 1992: A Concorde of British registration, G-BOAB, on a scheduled flight from London to New York, also suffered a structural failure in-flight at supersonic speed. While cruising at Mach 2, at approximately 53,000 feet above mean sea level, the crew heard a "thump". No difficulties in handling were noticed, and no instruments gave any irregular indications. This crew also suspected there had been a minor engine surge. One hour later, during descent and decelerating below Mach 1.4, a sudden "severe" vibration began throughout the aircraft.<ref name=AAIB93 /> The vibration worsened when power was added to the No 2 engine, and it was attenuated when that engine's power was reduced. The crew shut down the No 2 engine and made a successful landing in New York, noting only that increased rudder control was needed to keep the aircraft on its intended approach course. Again, the skin had become separated from the structure of the rudder, which led to most of the upper rudder becoming separated in-flight. The (AAIB) concluded that repair materials had leaked into the structure of the rudder during a recent repair, weakening the bond between the skin and the structure of the rudder, leading to it breaking up in-flight. The large size of the repair had made it difficult to keep repair materials out of the structure, and prior to this accident, the severity of the effect of these repair materials on the structure and skin of the rudder was not appreciated.<ref name=AAIB93 />
*The 2010 trial involving [[Continental Airlines]] over the crash of Flight 4590 established that from 1976 until Flight 4590 there had been 57 tyre failures involving Concordes during takeoffs, including a near-crash at [[Dulles Airport]] on 14 June 1979 involving Air France Flight 54 where a tyre blowout pierced the plane's fuel tank and damaged the port-side engine, electrical cables, with the loss of two of the craft's hydraulic systems.<ref>[http://spectator.org/print/39656 Joseph A. Harriss examination of Concorde accident history] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160328150841/http://spectator.org/print/39656 |date=28 March 2016 }}</ref>


==Aircraft on display==
==Aircraft on display==
{{Main article|Concorde aircraft histories}}
{{main|Concorde histories and aircraft on display}}


Twenty Concorde aircraft were built: two prototypes, two pre-production aircraft, two development aircraft and 14 production aircraft for commercial service. With the exception of two of the production aircraft, all are preserved, mostly in museums. One aircraft was scrapped in 1994, and another was destroyed in the [[Air France Flight 4590]] crash in 2000.
Of the twenty aircraft built, 18 are still complete. Many are on display at museums in the United Kingdom, France, the United States, Germany and Barbados.


==Comparable aircraft==
==Comparable aircraft==
===Tu-144===
===Tu-144===
[[File:Russian Tu-144LL SST Flying Laboratory Takeoff at Zhukovsky Air Development Center.jpg|thumb|Tu-144FL as a research aircraft for [[NASA]] in 1997]]
[[File:Sinsheim Auto & Technik Museum.jpg|thumb|Concorde (left) and Tu-144 in [[Sinsheim Auto & Technik Museum|Auto & Technik Museum Sinsheim]]]]
[[File:Sinsheim Auto & Technik Museum.jpg|thumb|Concorde (left) and Tu-144 in [[Sinsheim Auto & Technik Museum|Auto & Technik Museum Sinsheim]]]]
[[File:Boeing 2707-300 3-view.svg|thumb|[[Boeing 2707]] 3-view diagram]]
[[File:Lockheed L-2000 mockup.jpg|thumb|[[Lockheed L-2000]] mockup]]


The only supersonic airliner in direct competition with Concorde was the Soviet [[Tupolev Tu-144]], nicknamed "Concordski" by Western European journalists for its outward similarity to Concorde.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,912014,00.html |title= Soviet Union: Christening the Concordski |publisher=''Time,'' 14 November 1977 |accessdate=30 June 2011 |date=14 November 1977}}</ref> It had been alleged that Soviet espionage efforts had resulted in the theft of Concorde blueprints, ostensibly to assist in the design of the Tu-144.<ref>Gordon, Yefim. ''Tupolev Tu-144''. London: Midland, 2006. {{ISBN|1-85780-216-0}}.</ref> As a result of a rushed development programme, the first Tu-144 prototype was substantially different from the preproduction machines, but both were cruder than Concorde. The Tu-144''S'' had a significantly shorter range than Concorde. Jean Rech, Sud Aviation, attributed this to two things,<ref>http://www.kcl.ac.uk/.../icbh/witness/PDFfiles/Concorde.pdf{{dead link|date=August 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} p.90</ref> a very heavy powerplant with an intake twice as long as that on Concorde, and [[Turbofan#Low-bypass turbofan|low-bypass turbofan engines]] with too-high a bypass ratio which needed afterburning for cruise. The aircraft had poor control at low speeds because of a simpler supersonic wing design; in addition the Tu-144 required [[drogue parachute|braking parachutes]] to land while Concorde used anti-lock brakes.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F4091EFB3954127B93C4AB178ED85F458785F9 |title= Soviet SST, in Its First Flight to the West, Arrives in Paris for Air Show |first= John L |last= Hess |publisher=''The New York Times,'' 26 May 1971 |accessdate=30 June 2011 |date=26 May 1971}}</ref> The Tu-144 had two crashes, one at the [[1973 Paris Air Show crash|1973 Paris Air Show]],<ref>{{cite web |url= https://news.google.co.uk/newspapers?id=2JwMAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5l8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=4974,3987586&dq=tu+144&hl=en |title= Soviet SST stalls, dives into towns |first= George |last= Deruaz |publisher=''St. Petersburg Times,'' 4 June 1973 |accessdate=30 June 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://news.google.co.uk/newspapers?id=DBsfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Ko0EAAAAIBAJ&pg=3185,500285&dq=tu+144&hl=en |title= Pride of Soviet air fleet explodes during exhibition |publisher=''Sarasota Journal,'' 4 June 1973 |accessdate=30 June 2011}}</ref> and another during a pre-delivery test flight in May 1978.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/659730132.html?dids=659730132:659730132&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Oct+27%2C+1978&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=Russia+Confirms+Crash+of+Supersonic+Airliner+in+Test&pqatl=google |title= Russia confirms crash of Supersonic Airliner in test: Latest failure of Trouble-plagued TU-144 seen as blow to Soviet hopes of expanding industry |publisher=''Los Angeles Times,'' 27 October 1978 |first= Dan |last= Fisher |date= 27 October 1978}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19780523-1 |title= ASN Aircraft accident Tupolev 144D CCCP-77111 Yegoryevsk |publisher=Flight Safety Foundation |accessdate=1 July 2011}}</ref>
Concorde was one of only two supersonic jetliner models to operate commercially; the other was the Soviet-built [[Tupolev Tu-144]], which operated in the late 1970s.{{sfn|Gordon|Rigmant|2005|p={{page needed|date=July 2023}}}}<ref name="Melik-Karamov 2000">{{Cite web |last=Melik-Karamov [Мелик-Карамов] |first=Vitaly [Виталий] |url=http://www.ropnet.ru/ogonyok/win/200003/03-26-31.html |title=Life and Death of the Tu-144, [Жизнь и смерть самолёта Ту-144] |publisher=Flame [Огонёк] |series=No. 3 |date=January 2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001115093200/http://www.ropnet.ru/ogonyok/win/200003/03-26-31.html |archive-date=15 November 2000}}</ref> The Tu-144 was nicknamed "Concordski" by Western European journalists for its outward similarity to Concorde.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,912014,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081215105535/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,912014,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 December 2008 |title=Soviet Union: Christening the Concordski |magazine=Time |access-date=30 June 2011 |date=14 November 1977}}</ref> [[Soviet industrial espionage of Concorde|Soviet espionage efforts]] allegedly stole Concorde blueprints to assist in the design of the Tu-144.{{sfn|Gordon|Rigmant|2005}}{{page needed|date=December 2023}} As a result of a rushed development programme, the first Tu-144 prototype was substantially different from the preproduction machines, but both were cruder than Concorde. The Tu-144''S'' had a significantly shorter range than Concorde. Jean Rech, Sud Aviation, attributed this to two things,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hans-Reichel|first1=Michael|title=Subsonic versus Supersonic Business Jets – Full Concept Comparison considering Technical, Environmental and Economic Aspects|date=2012|publisher=diplom.de|isbn=978-3-8428-2809-4|page=4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5eNoAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA4|access-date=28 November 2020|archive-date=26 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126145650/https://books.google.com/books?id=5eNoAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA4|url-status=live}}</ref> a very heavy powerplant with an intake twice as long as that on Concorde, and [[Turbofan#Low-bypass turbofan|low-bypass turbofan engines]] with too high a bypass ratio which needed afterburning for cruise. The aircraft had poor control at low speeds because of a simpler wing design. The Tu-144 required [[drogue parachute|braking parachutes]] to land.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F4091EFB3954127B93C4AB178ED85F458785F9 |title=Soviet SST, in Its First Flight to the West, Arrives in Paris for Air Show |first=John L |last=Hess |work=The New York Times |access-date=30 June 2011 |date=26 May 1971 |archive-date=9 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120109055805/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F4091EFB3954127B93C4AB178ED85F458785F9 |url-status=live}}</ref> The Tu-144 had two crashes, one at the [[1973 Paris Air Show Tu-144 crash|1973 Paris Air Show]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2JwMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4974,3987586 |title=Soviet SST stalls, dives into towns |first=George |last=Deruaz |work=St. Petersburg Times |date=4 June 1973 |access-date=30 June 2011}}{{Dead link|date=December 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DBsfAAAAIBAJ&pg=3185,500285 |title=Pride of Soviet air fleet explodes during exhibition |work=Sarasota Journal |date=4 June 1973 |access-date=30 June 2011 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414095531/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DBsfAAAAIBAJ&pg=3185,500285 |url-status=live}}</ref> and another during a pre-delivery test flight in May 1978.<ref>{{cite news |first=Dan |last=Fisher |date=27 October 1978 |work=Los Angeles Times |url= https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/659730132.html?dids=659730132:659730132&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Oct+27%2C+1978&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=Russia+Confirms+Crash+of+Supersonic+Airliner+in+Test&pqatl=google |title=Russia confirms crash of Supersonic Airliner in test |access-date=5 July 2017 |archive-date=5 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105042737/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/659730132.html?dids=659730132:659730132&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Oct+27%2C+1978&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=Russia+Confirms+Crash+of+Supersonic+Airliner+in+Test&pqatl=google |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19780523-1 |title=ASN Aircraft accident Tupolev 144D CCCP-77111 Yegoryevsk |publisher=Flight Safety Foundation |access-date=1 July 2011 |archive-date=28 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111128172130/http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19780523-1 |url-status=live}}</ref>


Later production Tu-144 versions were more refined and competitive. They had retractable [[canard (aeronautics)|canards]] for better low-speed control, turbojet engines providing nearly the fuel efficiency and range of Concorde<ref name= 'rus144'>{{cite web |url= http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20080603/109170103.html |title= The Tu-144: the future that never was |publisher=''RIA Novosti,'' 3 January 2008 |accessdate=30 June 2011}}</ref> and a top speed of Mach 2.35. Passenger service commenced in November 1977, but after the 1978 crash the aircraft was taken out of service. The aircraft had an inherently unsafe structural design as a consequence of an automated production method chosen to simplify and speed up manufacturing.<ref name="Fridlyander">Fridlyander, Iosif. "Sad Epic of the Tu-144." ''Messenger of Russian Academy of Sciences'', №1, 2002 (in Russian: И.Н. Фридляндер, [http://vivovoco.rsl.ru/VV/JOURNAL/VRAN/02_01/FRID.HTM "Печальная эпопея Ту-144"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928042757/http://vivovoco.rsl.ru/VV/JOURNAL/VRAN/02_01/FRID.HTM |date=28 September 2011 }}, Вестник РАН, №1, 2002.</ref>
Passenger service commenced in November 1977, but after the 1978 crash the aircraft was taken out of passenger service after only 55 flights, which carried an average of 58 passengers. The Tu-144 had an inherently unsafe structural design as a consequence of an automated production method chosen to simplify and speed up manufacturing.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Fridlyander |first=Iosif |trans-title=Sad Epic of the Tu-144 |trans-journal=Bulletin of the Russian Academy of Sciences |date=2002 |language=ru |url=http://vivovoco.rsl.ru/VV/JOURNAL/VRAN/02_01/FRID.HTM |title=Печальная эпопея Ту-144 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928042757/http://vivovoco.rsl.ru/VV/JOURNAL/VRAN/02_01/FRID.HTM |archive-date=28 September 2011 |journal=Вестник Российской Академии Наук |volume=72 |issue=1 |pages=70–78}}</ref> The Tu-144 program was cancelled by the Soviet government on 1 July 1983.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |author=Gostar den Daas |date=May 2012 |title=Aircraft Factsheets: Tu-144 |url=http://www.aviamagazine.com/factsheets/aircraft/tu144/index.aspx |access-date=2 June 2021 |website=AviaMagazine.com |archive-date=3 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603030558/https://www.aviamagazine.com/factsheets/aircraft/tu144/index.aspx |url-status=live}}</ref>


===SST and others===
===SST and others===
{{further|Supersonic transport}}
The American designs, the "SST" project (for Supersonic Transport) were the [[Boeing 2707]] and the [[Lockheed L-2000]]. These were to have been larger, with seating for up to 300 people.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1964/1964%20-%200377.html |title= The United States SST Contenders |publisher=''Flight International,'' 13 February 1964 |pages= 234–235 |accessdate=30 June 2011}}</ref>{{sfn|Winchester|2005a|p=84}} Running a few years behind Concorde, the Boeing 2707 was redesigned to a cropped delta layout; the extra cost of these changes helped to kill the project.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10D11F6395F127A93C7A9178AD85F4D8685F9 |title= The Russians Lead With the SST... |first= Richard D |last= Lyons |publisher=''The New York Times,'' 5 January 1969 |accessdate=30 June 2011 |date=5 January 1969}}</ref> The operation of US military aircraft such as the [[North American XB-70 Valkyrie|XB-70 Valkyrie]] and [[B-58 Hustler]] had shown that sonic booms were quite capable of reaching the ground,<ref>{{cite news |url= https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/574189232.html?dids=574189232:574189232&FMT=CITE&FMTS=CITE:AI&date=Dec+19%2C+1961&author=&pub=Chicago+Daily+Tribune&desc=B-58%27s+SONIC+BOOM+RATTLES+KENTUCKIANS&pqatl=google |title= B-58's Sonic Boom Rattles Kentuckians |publisher=''Chicago Daily Tribune,'' 19 December 1961 |accessdate=30 June 2011 |date=19 December 1961}}</ref> and the experience from the [[Oklahoma City sonic boom tests]] led to the same environmental concerns that hindered the commercial success of Concorde. The American government cancelled its SST project in 1971, after having spent more than $1&nbsp;billion.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,944291,00.html |title= The Nation: Showdown on the SST |publisher=''Time,'' 29 May 1971 |accessdate=30 June 2011 |date=29 March 1971}}</ref>
The main competing designs for the US government-funded supersonic transport (SST) were the [[swing-wing]] [[Boeing 2707]] and the compound [[delta wing]] [[Lockheed L-2000]]. These were to have been larger, with seating for up to 300 people.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1964/1964%20-%200377.html |title=The United States SST Contenders |work=Flight International |date=13 February 1964 |pages=234–35 |access-date=30 June 2011 |archive-date=21 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161021071648/https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1964/1964%20-%200377.html |url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Winchester|2005a|p=84}} The Boeing 2707 was selected for development. Concorde first flew in 1969, the year Boeing began building 2707 mockups after changing the design to a cropped delta wing; the cost of this and other changes helped to kill the project.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10D11F6395F127A93C7A9178AD85F4D8685F9 |title=The Russians Lead With the SST... |first=Richard D |last=Lyons |work=The New York Times |access-date=30 June 2011 |date=5 January 1969 |archive-date=3 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103103556/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10D11F6395F127A93C7A9178AD85F4D8685F9 |url-status=live}}</ref> The operation of US military aircraft such as the Mach 3+ [[North American XB-70 Valkyrie]] prototypes and [[Convair B-58 Hustler]] strategic nuclear bomber had shown that sonic booms were capable of reaching the ground,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/574189232.html?dids=574189232:574189232&FMT=CITE&FMTS=CITE:AI&date=Dec+19%2C+1961&author=&pub=Chicago+Daily+Tribune&desc=B-58%27s+SONIC+BOOM+RATTLES+KENTUCKIANS&pqatl=google |title=B-58's Sonic Boom Rattles Kentuckians |work=Chicago Daily Tribune |access-date=30 June 2011 |date=19 December 1961 |archive-date=25 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120725103200/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/574189232.html?dids=574189232:574189232&FMT=CITE&FMTS=CITE:AI&date=Dec+19%2C+1961&author=&pub=Chicago+Daily+Tribune&desc=B-58%27s+SONIC+BOOM+RATTLES+KENTUCKIANS&pqatl=google |url-status=dead}}</ref> and the experience from the [[Oklahoma City sonic boom tests]] led to the same environmental concerns that hindered the commercial success of Concorde. The American government cancelled its SST project in 1971 having spent more than $1&nbsp;billion without any aircraft being built.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,944291,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081221203832/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,944291,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 December 2008 |title=The Nation: Showdown on the SST |magazine=Time |access-date=30 June 2011 |date=29 March 1971}}</ref>

The only other large<!--dimensions, weights, etc. see in appropriate and further pages--> supersonic aircraft comparable to Concorde are [[strategic bomber]]s, principally the Russian [[Tupolev Tu-22|Tu-22]], [[Tupolev Tu-22M|Tu-22M]], [[Myasishchev M-50|M-50]] (experimental), [[Sukhoi T-4|T-4]] (experimental), [[Tupolev Tu-160|Tu-160]] and the American XB-70 (experimental) and [[Rockwell B-1 Lancer|B-1]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Hoyle|first1=Craig|title=Kings of the swingers: Top 13 swing-wing aircraft|url=https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/kings-of-the-swingers-top-13-swing-wing-aircraft-404176/|publisher=Flightglobal|accessdate=19 January 2016}}</ref>

{{further information|Supersonic transport}}


==Impact==
==Impact==


===Environmental===
===Environmental===
Before Concorde's flight trials, developments in the civil aviation industry were largely accepted by governments and their respective electorates. Opposition to Concorde's noise, particularly on the east coast of the United States,<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,918012,00.html |title= Here Comes the Concorde, Maybe |publisher=''Time,'' 16 February 1976 |accessdate=30 June 2011 |date=16 February 1976}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url= http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/jalc42&div=28&id=&page= |title= Legal and Environmental ramifications of the Concorde |first= Robert M. |last= Allen |publisher=J. Air L. & Com., 1976 |accessdate=30 June 2011}}</ref> forged a new political agenda on both sides of the Atlantic, with scientists and technology experts across a multitude of industries beginning to take the environmental and social impact more seriously.<ref>{{cite journal |url= http://md1.csa.com/partners/viewrecord.php?requester=gs&collection=TRD&recid=N7422661AH&q=Concorde+noise&uid=788872723&setcookie=yes |title= Recent studies into Concorde noise reduction |author= Hock, R. |author2= R. Hawkins |publisher= ''AGARD Noise Mech,'' 1974 |page= 14 |accessdate= 30 June 2011 |deadurl= yes |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20121011050826/http://md1.csa.com/partners/viewrecord.php?requester=gs&collection=TRD&recid=N7422661AH&q=Concorde+noise&uid=788872723&setcookie=yes |archivedate= 11 October 2012 |df= dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url= http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/jalc43&div=45&id=&page= |title= Aircraft Noise: Federal pre-emption of Local Control, Concorde and other recent cases |first= Joshua A. |last= Muss |publisher=''J. Air L. & Com,'' 1977 |accessdate=30 June 2011}}</ref> Although Concorde led directly to the introduction of a general noise abatement programme for aircraft flying out of John F. Kennedy Airport, many found that Concorde was quieter than expected,<ref name=nova/> partly due to the pilots temporarily throttling back their engines to reduce noise during overflight of residential areas.{{sfn|Endres|2001||p=90}} Even before commercial flights started, it had been claimed that Concorde was quieter than many other aircraft.<ref>{{cite journal |doi= 10.1108/eb035013 |url= http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do?contentType=Article&hdAction=lnkpdf&contentId=1682311 |title= Reducing noise with type 28 nozzle |journal=Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology |year= 1973 |volume= 45 |issue= 4 |page= 14 |publisher=''MCB UP''}}</ref> In 1971, BAC's technical director was quoted as saying, "It is certain on present evidence and calculations that in the airport context, production Concordes will be no worse than aircraft now in service and will in fact be better than many of them."<ref>''Aviation Daily'' 18 February 1971 p263</ref>
Before Concorde's flight trials, developments in the civil aviation industry were largely accepted by governments and their respective electorates. Opposition to Concorde's noise, particularly on the east coast of the United States,<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,918012,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090826161505/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,918012,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=26 August 2009 |title=Here Comes the Concorde, Maybe |magazine=Time |access-date=30 June 2011 |date=16 February 1976}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/jalc42&div=28&id=&page= |title=Legal and Environmental ramifications of the Concorde |journal=Journal of Air Law and Commerce |volume=42 |page=433 |first=Robert M. |last=Allen |publisher=J. Air L. & Com. |access-date=30 June 2011 |year=1976 |archive-date=11 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190611171447/https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals%2Fjalc42&div=28&id=&page= |url-status=live}}</ref> forged a new political agenda on both sides of the Atlantic, with scientists and technology experts across a multitude of industries beginning to take the environmental and social impact more seriously.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://md1.csa.com/partners/viewrecord.php?requester=gs&collection=TRD&recid=N7422661AH&q=Concorde+noise&uid=788872723&setcookie=yes |title=Recent studies into Concorde noise reduction |author=Hock, R. |author2=R. Hawkins |journal=AGARD Noise Mech |date=1974 |page=14 |access-date=30 June 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011050826/http://md1.csa.com/partners/viewrecord.php?requester=gs&collection=TRD&recid=N7422661AH&q=Concorde+noise&uid=788872723&setcookie=yes |archive-date=11 October 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/jalc43&div=45&id=&page= |title=Aircraft Noise: Federal pre-emption of Local Control, Concorde and other recent cases |first=Joshua A. |last=Muss |journal=J. Air L. & Com |volume=43 |page=753 |date=1977 |access-date=30 June 2011 |archive-date=8 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608195914/https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals%2Fjalc43&div=45&id=&page= |url-status=live}}</ref> Although Concorde led directly to the introduction of a general noise abatement programme for aircraft flying out of John F. Kennedy Airport, many found that Concorde was quieter than expected,<ref name=nova /> partly due to the pilots temporarily throttling back their engines to reduce noise during overflight of residential areas.{{sfn|Endres|2001|p=90}} Even before commercial flights started, it had been claimed that Concorde was quieter than many other aircraft.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1108/eb035013 |title=Reducing noise with type 28 nozzle |journal=Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology |year=1973 |volume=45 |issue=4 |page=14}}</ref> In 1971, BAC's technical director stated, "It is certain on present evidence and calculations that in the airport context, production Concordes will be no worse than aircraft now in service and will in fact be better than many of them."<ref>''Aviation Daily'', 18 February 1971, p. 263</ref>


Concorde produced nitrogen oxides in its exhaust, which, despite complicated interactions with other ozone-depleting chemicals, are understood to result in degradation to the [[ozone layer]] at the [[stratosphere|stratospheric]] altitudes it cruised.<ref name= 'emissions'>{{cite journal |doi= 10.1126/science.270.5233.70 |url= http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/sci;270/5233/70 |title= Emission Measurements of the Concorde Supersonic Aircraft in the Lower Stratosphere |author=Fahey, D. W. |journal=Science |year= 1995 |volume= 270 |page= 70 |issue= 5233 |bibcode = 1995Sci...270...70F |display-authors=etal}}</ref> It has been pointed out that other, lower-flying, airliners produce ozone during their flights in the troposphere, but vertical transit of gases between the layers is restricted. The small fleet meant overall ozone-layer degradation caused by Concorde was negligible.<ref name= 'emissions'/> In 1995, David Fahey, of the [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] in the United States, warned that a fleet of 500 supersonic aircraft with exhausts similar to Concorde might produce in a 2 per cent drop in global ozone levels, much higher than previously thought. Each 1 per cent drop in ozone is estimated to increase the incidence of non-melanoma skin cancer worldwide by 2 per cent. Dr Fahey said if these particles are produced by highly oxidised sulphur in the fuel, as he believed, then removing sulphur in the fuel will reduce the ozone-destroying impact of supersonic transport.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1995-10-08/news/1995281022_1_ozone-sulfur-exhaust-particles|title=Increase in supersonic jets could be threat to ozone|newspaper=The Baltimore Sun|date=8 October 1995|author=Newsday}}</ref>
Concorde produced nitrogen oxides in its exhaust, which, despite complicated interactions with other [[Ozone depletion|ozone-depleting]] chemicals, are understood to result in degradation to the [[ozone layer]] at the [[stratosphere|stratospheric]] altitudes it cruised.<ref name='emissions'>{{cite journal |doi=10.1126/science.270.5233.70 |title=Emission Measurements of the Concorde Supersonic Aircraft in the Lower Stratosphere |author=Fahey, D. W. |journal=Science |year=1995 |volume=270 |page=70 |issue=5233 |bibcode=1995Sci...270...70F |s2cid=97881119 |display-authors=etal}}</ref> It has been pointed out that other, lower-flying, airliners produce ozone during their flights in the troposphere, but vertical transit of gases between the layers is restricted. The small fleet meant overall ozone-layer degradation caused by Concorde was negligible.<ref name='emissions' /> In 1995, David Fahey, of the [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] in the United States, warned that a fleet of 500 supersonic aircraft with exhausts similar to Concorde might produce a 2 per cent drop in global ozone levels, much higher than previously thought. Each 1 per cent drop in ozone is estimated to increase the incidence of non-melanoma skin cancer worldwide by 2 per cent. Dr Fahey said if these particles are produced by highly oxidised sulphur in the fuel, as he believed, then removing sulphur in the fuel will reduce the ozone-destroying impact of supersonic transport.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1995/10/08/increase-in-supersonic-jets-could-be-threat-to-ozone-u-2-plane-trails-concorde-studies-exhaust-particles/|title=Increase in supersonic jets could be threat to ozone|newspaper=The Baltimore Sun|date=8 October 1995|author=Newsday|access-date=24 August 2012|archive-date=1 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160901085907/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1995-10-08/news/1995281022_1_ozone-sulfur-exhaust-particles|url-status=live}}</ref>


Concorde's technical leap forward boosted the public's understanding of conflicts between technology and the environment as well as awareness of the complex decision analysis processes that surround such conflicts.<ref>{{cite journal |url= http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/cjel5&div=9&id=&page= |title= Decision Analysis in Environmental Decisionmaking: Improving the Concorde Balance |first= Jon |last= Anderson |publisher=''HeinOnline,'' 1978 |accessdate=30 June 2011}}</ref> In France, the use of [[noise barrier|acoustic fencing]] alongside [[TGV]] tracks might not have been achieved without the 1970s controversy over aircraft noise.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=''Environmental Science and Engineering,'' November 2001 |url=http://www.esemag.com/1101/1101ed.html |title=Train à grande vitesse causes distress |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100116124028/http://www.esemag.com/1101/1101ed.html |archivedate=16 January 2010 }}</ref> In the UK, the [[Campaign to Protect Rural England|CPRE]] has issued [[Tranquillity#Mapping tranquillity|tranquillity maps]] since 1990.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.cpre.org.uk/campaigns/landscape/tranquillity/national-and-regional-tranquillity-maps |title= National and regional tranquillity maps |publisher= ''Campaign to Protect Rural England'' |accessdate= 25 April 2010 |deadurl= yes |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20100914025157/http://www.cpre.org.uk/campaigns/landscape/tranquillity/national-and-regional-tranquillity-maps |archivedate= 14 September 2010 |df= dmy-all }}</ref>
Concorde's technical leap forward boosted the public's understanding of conflicts between technology and the environment as well as awareness of the complex decision analysis processes that surround such conflicts.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/cjel5&div=9&id=&page= |title=Decision Analysis in Environmental Decisionmaking: Improving the Concorde Balance |journal=Columbia Journal of Environmental Law |volume=5 |page=156 |first=Jon |last=Anderson |publisher=HeinOnline |date=1978 |access-date=30 June 2011 |archive-date=2 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190902184900/https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals%2Fcjel5&div=9&id=&page= |url-status=live}}</ref> In France, the use of [[noise barrier|acoustic fencing]] alongside [[TGV]] tracks might not have been achieved without the 1970s controversy over aircraft noise.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://esemag.com/archives/essay-train-a-grande-vitesse-causes-distress/ |title=Train à grande vitesse causes distress |date=November 2001 |work=Environmental Science and Engineering Magazine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119214555/https://esemag.com/archives/essay-train-a-grande-vitesse-causes-distress/|archive-date=19 November 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> In the UK, the [[Campaign to Protect Rural England|CPRE]] has issued [[Tranquillity#Mapping tranquillity|tranquillity maps]] since 1990.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cpre.org.uk/campaigns/landscape/tranquillity/national-and-regional-tranquillity-maps |title=National and regional tranquillity maps |publisher=Campaign to Protect Rural England |access-date=25 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100914025157/http://www.cpre.org.uk/campaigns/landscape/tranquillity/national-and-regional-tranquillity-maps |archive-date=14 September 2010}}</ref>

Some sources say Concorde typically flew {{convert|17|mpgu.s.}} per passenger.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.concordesst.com/powerplant.html|title=CONCORDE SST : Powerplant|work=concordesst.com}}</ref>


===Public perception===
===Public perception===
[[File:ConcordeBG.jpg|thumb|Parade flight at Queen's [[Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II|Golden Jubilee]] in June 2002]]
[[File:ConcordeBG.jpg|thumb|alt=BA-liveried Concorde leading a V-formation with seven of the Red Arrow's Gnat aircraft in view. The Gnats are trailing blue and white smoke|Parade flight with the [[Red Arrows]] at the Queen's [[Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II|Golden Jubilee]], June 2002]]


Concorde was normally perceived as a privilege of the rich, but special circular or one-way (with return by other flight or ship) charter flights were arranged to bring a trip within the means of moderately well-off enthusiasts.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.alacrastore.com/storecontent/Business-and-Industry/24962872 |title=British Airways Concorde is expected to begin flying passengers again in next 6 weeks |work=The Dallas Morning News |date=23 August 2001 |access-date=30 June 2011 |archive-date=23 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523161433/http://www.alacrastore.com/storecontent/Business-and-Industry/24962872 |url-status=live}}</ref> As a symbol of national pride, an example from the BA fleet made occasional [[flypast]]s at selected Royal events, major air shows and other special occasions, sometimes in formation with the [[Red Arrows]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-62676656.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120616203834/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-62676656.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 June 2012 |title=Red Arrows fly into Scotland |work=Daily Record |date=12 June 2000 |access-date=30 June 2011}}<br/>* {{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/3297816/Million-turn-out-to-crown-Queens-Jubilee.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/3297816/Million-turn-out-to-crown-Queens-Jubilee.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Million turn out to crown Queen's Jubilee |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |access-date=1 April 2010 |date=4 June 2002}}</ref> On the final day of commercial service, public interest was so great that grandstands were erected at Heathrow Airport. Significant numbers of people attended the final landings; the event received widespread media coverage.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1444939/Chaos-fear-at-Concorde-farewell.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1444939/Chaos-fear-at-Concorde-farewell.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Chaos fear at Concorde farewell |work=The Daily Telegraph |first=Sandra |last=Laville |date=24 October 2003 |location=London}}</ref>
Concorde was normally perceived as a privilege of the rich, but special circular or one-way (with return by other flight or ship) charter flights were arranged to bring a trip within the means of moderately well-off enthusiasts.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.alacrastore.com/storecontent/Business-and-Industry/24962872 |title= British Airways Concorde is expected to begin flying passengers again in next 6 weeks |publisher=''Dallas Morning News,'' 23 August 2001 |accessdate=30 June 2011}}</ref>


The aircraft was usually referred to by the British as simply "Concorde".<ref>{{cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/uk/2003/concorde_retirement/default.stm |title= Farewell to Concorde |publisher=''BBC News,'' 15 August 2007 |accessdate=15 January 2010 |date=15 August 2007}}</ref> In France it was known as "le Concorde" due to "le", the definite article,<ref name="OxLangFrGlos">[http://www.oxfordlanguagedictionaries.com/Public/PublicResources.html?direction=b-fr-en&sp=S/oldo/resources/fr/French-supp-05.xml Oxford Language Dictionaries Online&nbsp;– French Resources] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100612022620/http://www.oxfordlanguagedictionaries.com/Public/PublicResources.html?direction=b-fr-en |date=12 June 2010 }}: Glossary of Grammatical Terms</ref> used in [[French grammar]] to introduce the name of a ship or aircraft,<ref>[http://www.cnrtl.fr/lexicographie/academie9/le Centre National de Ressources Textuelles et Lexicales]&nbsp;– Définition de LE, LA: article défini, II.3</ref> and the capital being used to distinguish a [[proper name]] from a [[common noun]] of the same spelling.<ref name="OxLangFrGlos"/><ref>[http://grammaire.reverso.net/5_2_01_la_majuscule_dans_les_noms_propres.shtml Reverso Dictionnaire: La majuscule dans les noms propres] ("Capital letters within proper names")</ref> In French, the common noun ''concorde'' means "agreement, harmony, or peace". {{refn|'''concorde''' ''s.f.'' concord, unity, harmony, peace.{{sfn|Ferrar|1980|p=114}} |group=N}} Concorde's pilots and British Airways in official publications often refer to Concorde both in the singular and plural as "she" or "her".<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.britishairways.com/travel/concvidhome/public/en_gb |title= Celebrate Concorde: videos |publisher=''British Airways'' |accessdate=15 January 2010}}<br />{{cite web |url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ro3QVMCG-aY |title= Documentary of British Airways Concorde introduction |publisher=''youtube.com'' }}</ref>{{refn|Quote: [[Raymond Baxter]] commentating as Concorde flies for first time: "She rolls ... She flies!" |group=N}}
The aircraft was usually referred to by the British as simply "Concorde".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/uk/2003/concorde_retirement/default.stm |title=Farewell to Concorde |work=BBC News |access-date=15 January 2010 |date=15 August 2007 |archive-date=13 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090413081030/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/uk/2003/concorde_retirement/default.stm |url-status=live}}</ref> In France it was known as "le Concorde" due to "le", the [[definite article]],<ref name="OxLangFrGlos">[http://www.oxfordlanguagedictionaries.com/Public/PublicResources.html?direction=b-fr-en&sp=S/oldo/resources/fr/French-supp-05.xml Oxford Language Dictionaries Online&nbsp;– French Resources] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100612022620/http://www.oxfordlanguagedictionaries.com/Public/PublicResources.html?direction=b-fr-en |date=12 June 2010}}: Glossary of Grammatical Terms</ref> used in [[French grammar]] to introduce the name of a ship or aircraft,<ref>[http://www.cnrtl.fr/lexicographie/academie9/le Centre National de Ressources Textuelles et Lexicales] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091201121348/http://www.cnrtl.fr/lexicographie/academie9/le |date=1 December 2009}}&nbsp;– Définition de LE, LA: article défini, II.3</ref> and the capital being used to distinguish a [[proper name]] from a [[common noun]] of the same spelling.<ref name="OxLangFrGlos" /><ref>[http://grammaire.reverso.net/5_2_01_la_majuscule_dans_les_noms_propres.shtml Reverso Dictionnaire: La majuscule dans les noms propres] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613103504/http://grammaire.reverso.net/5_2_01_la_majuscule_dans_les_noms_propres.shtml |date=13 June 2010}} ("Capital letters within proper names")</ref> In French, the common noun ''concorde'' means "agreement, harmony, or peace". {{refn|''concorde'' ''s.f.'' concord, unity, harmony, peace.{{sfn|Ferrar|1980|p=114}} |group=N}} Concorde's pilots and British Airways in official publications often refer to Concorde both in the singular and plural as "she" or "her".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britishairways.com/travel/concvidhome/public/en_gb |title=Celebrate Concorde: videos |publisher=British Airways |access-date=15 January 2010 |archive-date=14 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090414125204/http://www.britishairways.com/travel/concvidhome/public/en_gb |url-status=live}}<br/>* {{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ro3QVMCG-aY |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070428142911/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ro3QVMCG-aY |archive-date=28 April 2007 |url-status=dead |title=Documentary of British Airways Concorde introduction |publisher=YouTube}}</ref>


In 2006, 37 years after its first test flight, Concorde was announced the winner of the Great British Design Quest organised by the BBC (through ''[[The Culture Show]]'') and the [[Design Museum]]. A total of 212,000 votes were cast with Concorde beating other British design icons such as the [[Mini]], [[mini skirt]], [[Jaguar E-Type]] car, the [[Tube map]], the [[World Wide Web]], the [[Red telephone box|K2 red telephone box]] and the [[Supermarine Spitfire]].<ref name="Concorde beats">{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/concorde-beats-tube-map-to-become-britains-favourite-design-6106516.html |title=Concorde beats Tube map to become Britain's favourite design |first=Louise |last=Jury |newspaper=The Independent |location=London |date=16 March 2006 |access-date=26 August 2017 |archive-date=29 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171029114811/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/concorde-beats-tube-map-to-become-britains-favourite-design-6106516.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release|title=Long list unveiled for national vote on public's favourite example of Great British Design |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2006/01_january/27/culture.shtml|agency=BBC|date=18 November 2016|access-date=18 November 2016 |archive-date=14 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190214232324/http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2006/01_january/27/culture.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref>
As a symbol of national pride, an example from the BA fleet made occasional [[flypast]]s at selected Royal events, major air shows and other special occasions, sometimes in formation with the [[Red Arrows]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-62676656.html |title= Red Arrows fly into Scotland |publisher=''Daily Record,'' 12 June 2000 |accessdate=30 June 2011}}<br />{{cite news |url= http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/3297816/Million-turn-out-to-crown-Queens-Jubilee.html |title= Million turn out to crown Queen's Jubilee |publisher=''Daily Telegraph,'' 4 June 2002 |location=London |accessdate=1 April 2010 |date=4 June 2002}}</ref> On the final day of commercial service, public interest was so great that grandstands were erected at Heathrow Airport. Significant numbers of people attended the final landings; the event received widespread media coverage.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1444939/Chaos-fear-at-Concorde-farewell.html |title= Chaos fear at Concorde farewell |publisher=''Daily Telegraph,'' 24 October 2003 |first= Sandra |last= Laville |date= 24 October 2003 | location=London}}</ref>

In 2006, 37 years after its first test flight, Concorde was announced the winner of the Great British Design Quest organised by the BBC and the [[Design Museum]]. A total of 212,000 votes were cast with Concorde beating other British design icons such as the [[Mini]], [[mini skirt]], [[Jaguar E-Type]], [[Tube map]], the [[World Wide Web]], [[Red telephone box|K2 telephone box]] and the [[Supermarine Spitfire]].<ref name="Concorde beats">{{cite news |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/concorde-beats-tube-map-to-become-britains-favourite-design-6106516.html |title= Concorde beats Tube map to become Britain's favourite design |first= Louise |last= Jury |newspaper=The Independent | location=London |date= 16 March 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Long list unveiled for national vote on public's favourite example of Great British Design|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2006/01_january/27/culture.shtml|agency=BBC|date=18 November 2016}}</ref>


===Special missions===
===Special missions===
[[File:Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip disembark from a British Airways Concorde.jpg|thumb|alt=The Queen, in a pink floral dress, cream hat and long white gloves, descends from a BA-liveried aircraft via a set of movable aircraft steps, with the Duke, in a grey suit and dark tie, close behind her |[[Elizabeth II]] and the [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh|Duke of Edinburgh]] disembark Concorde in 1991]]
{{multiple image

|direction= vertical
The heads of France and the United Kingdom flew in Concorde many times.<ref>{{cite web|title=Concorde Clipreel: Part 9 |url=http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/Concorde-Clipreel-Part-9/7ece56f04f3cf534e71bd4b4454b8d9e?searchfilter=Compilations%2FAccidents+%26+Disasters%2FConcorde%2F19602|publisher=AP Archive|access-date=12 December 2013|archive-date=11 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911235954/http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/Concorde-Clipreel-Part-9/7ece56f04f3cf534e71bd4b4454b8d9e?searchfilter=Compilations%2FAccidents%20&%20Disasters%2FConcorde%2F19602|url-status=live}}<br/>* {{cite web |url=http://heritageconcorde.com/passenger-experience-2/famous-concorde-passengers-2|title=Heritage Concorde |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020092029/http://heritageconcorde.com/passenger-experience-2/famous-concorde-passengers-2|archive-date=20 October 2013}}<br/>* {{cite web |url=http://www.aviation-news.co.uk/archive/concordeChronology.html|work=[[Aviation News]]|title=Concorde chronology|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305062119/http://www.aviation-news.co.uk/archive/concordeChronology.html|archive-date=5 March 2016}}</ref> Presidents [[Georges Pompidou]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Concorde Clipreel: Part 8|publisher= AP Archive |url=http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/Concorde-Clipreel-Part-8/3e56c7b758bb1e049f6763222b9e93c2?searchfilter=Compilations%2FAccidents+%26+Disasters%2FConcorde%2F19602|access-date=12 December 2013 |url-status=live |archive-date=11 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911232705/http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/Concorde-Clipreel-Part-8/3e56c7b758bb1e049f6763222b9e93c2?searchfilter=Compilations%2fAccidents+%26+Disasters%2fConcorde%2f19602}}<br/>* {{cite web |author=Keystone |url=http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/french-president-georges-pompidou-at-the-microphone-in-the-news-photo/3375737|title=French President Georges Pompidou at the microphone in the cockpit of... |work=Getty Images |date=15 April 2004 |access-date=12 December 2013|archive-date=16 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150216170328/http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/french-president-georges-pompidou-at-the-microphone-in-the-news-photo/3375737|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Valéry Giscard d'Estaing]]<ref>{{cite web|title=The Amarillo Globe-Times from Amarillo, Texas |page =31 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/29590760/ |work=Newspapers.com|date=17 May 1976 |access-date=15 March 2016|url-status=live|archive-date=16 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160316063908/https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/29590760/}}<br/>* {{cite web |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/49473870/ |title=The Ottawa Journal from Ottawa |page =29 |work=Newspapers.com|date=6 January 1976 |access-date=15 March 2016|archive-date=17 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160317232134/https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/49473870/|url-status=live}}<br/>* {{cite news |title=Giscard Arrives for Talks With Ford |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/05/18/archives/giscard-arrives-for-talks-with-ford.html |work=The New York Times |author=Flora Lewis |date=18 May 1976}}<br/>* {{cite web |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1976/may/27/the-queens-visit-to-north-america |work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]] |title=The Queen's Visit to North America |access-date=12 December 2013|archive-date=26 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121226130451/http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/lords/1976/may/27/the-queens-visit-to-north-america|date=27 May 1976 |url-status=live}}</ref> and [[François Mitterrand]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/7733286/Francois-Mitterrand.html|archive-date=8 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140908221955/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/7733286/Francois-Mitterrand.html|url-status=dead|title=François Mitterrand|date=9 January 1996|work=Telegraph.co.uk}}<br/>* {{cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-11-27-mn-1081-story.html |title=French Cosmonaut Aboard: Mitterrand Sees a Soviet Space Launch |work=Los Angeles Times |date=27 November 1988 |access-date=12 December 2013 |archive-date=18 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131218124628/http://articles.latimes.com/1988-11-27/news/mn-1081_1_soviet-space |url-status=live |url-access=subscription}}<br/>* {{cite news |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/kingston-gleaner/1985-09-12/page-9 |title=President Francois Mitterrand prepared today to fly by Concorde |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125024502/https://newspaperarchive.com/kingston-gleaner-sep-12-1985-p-9/ |archive-date=25 January 2022 |work=Kingston Gleaner |date=12 September 1985 |page=9}}<br/>* [https://www.nytimes.com/1986/07/13/weekinreview/mitterrand-s-travels-are-well-received-back-home.html ''The New York Times''. Miitterrand's travels are well received back home] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160724123838/http://www.nytimes.com/1986/07/13/weekinreview/mitterrand-s-travels-are-well-received-back-home.html |date=24 July 2016}}</ref> regularly used Concorde as French flagship aircraft on foreign visits. [[Elizabeth II]] and Prime Ministers [[Edward Heath]], [[Jim Callaghan]], [[Margaret Thatcher]], [[John Major]] and [[Tony Blair]] took Concorde in some charter flights such as the Queen's trips to Barbados on her Silver Jubilee in 1977, in 1987 and in 2003, to the Middle East in 1984 and to the United States in 1991.<ref name="burleigh2008">{{cite web |url=http://www.burleighphoto.com/pages/stk-qe77/qe2.htm |title=Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubillee Barbados 1977 – Most Historic Concorde Takeoff Ever – Queen's First Flight on Concorde|website=Burleigh Photo|access-date=25 January 2020|url-status=live |archive-date=2 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002132513/http://www.burleighphoto.com/pages/stk-qe77/qe2.htm}}<br/>* {{cite web |url=http://www.royal.gov.uk/MonarchAndCommonwealth/TheQueenandBarbados/Royalvisits.aspx |title=Queen and Barbados: Royal visits|access-date=16 January 2010|website=The official website of The British Monarchy|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100420051139/http://www.royal.gov.uk/MonarchAndCommonwealth/TheQueenandBarbados/Royalvisits.aspx |archive-date=20 April 2010|url-status=dead}}<br/>* {{cite web |title=Concorde SST: Timeline – 90's |url=http://www.concordesst.com/history/00s.html |access-date=12 December 2013 |work=concordesst.com |archive-date=6 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131106015823/http://www.concordesst.com/history/00s.html |url-status=live}}<br/>* [http://www.barbadosconcorde.com/ Barbados Concorde Experience] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130818095250/http://www.barbadosconcorde.com/ |date=18 August 2013}}, barbadosconcorde.com</ref> [[Pope John Paul II]] flew on Concorde in May 1989.<ref>{{cite web |title=Concorde F-BTSC – French Production Test Aircraft |url=http://www.concorde-art-world.com/html/f-btsc.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511025729/http://www.concorde-art-world.com/html/f-btsc.html |archive-date=11 May 2008 |access-date=11 May 2014 |website=Concorde Art World}}</ref>
|width= 220
|image1= Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip disembark from a British Airways Concorde.jpg
|caption1= [[Elizabeth II|The Queen]] and [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh|The Duke of Edinburgh]] disembark Concorde in 1991.
|image2=
|caption2=
<!-- Image with Mitterrand as 2nd need -->
}}
The heads of France and the United Kingdom flew Concorde many times.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/Concorde-Clipreel-Part-9/7ece56f04f3cf534e71bd4b4454b8d9e?searchfilter=Compilations%2FAccidents+%26+Disasters%2FConcorde%2F19602|title=Concorde Clipreel: Part 9 – AP Archive|work=aparchive.com}}<br />{{cite web|url=http://heritageconcorde.com/passenger-experience-2/famous-concorde-passengers-2|title=Heritage Concorde|work=Heritage Concorde|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020092029/http://heritageconcorde.com/passenger-experience-2/famous-concorde-passengers-2|archivedate=20 October 2013|df=dmy-all}}<br />{{cite web|url=http://www.aviation-news.co.uk/archive/concordeChronology.html|title=Aviation News Magazine – Concorde chronology|work=aviation-news.co.uk|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305062119/http://www.aviation-news.co.uk/archive/concordeChronology.html|archivedate=5 March 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Presidents [[Georges Pompidou]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/Concorde-Clipreel-Part-8/3e56c7b758bb1e049f6763222b9e93c2?searchfilter=Compilations%2FAccidents+%26+Disasters%2FConcorde%2F19602|title=Concorde Clipreel: Part 8 – AP Archive|work=aparchive.com}}<br />{{cite web|url=http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/french-president-georges-pompidou-at-the-microphone-in-the-news-photo/3375737|title=French President Georges Pompidou at the microphone in the cockpit of...|author=Keystone|work=Getty Images}}</ref> [[Valéry Giscard d'Estaing]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/29590760/|title=The Amarillo Globe-Times from Amarillo, Texas · Page 31|work=Newspapers.com}}<br />{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/49473870/|title=The Ottawa Journal from Ottawa, · Page 29|work=Newspapers.com}}<br />[https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9407E6D61F3CE334BC4052DFB366838D669EDE&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fOrganizations%2fC%2fCongress%20 The New York Times. Giscard Arrives for Talks With Ford]<br />{{cite web|url=http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/lords/1976/may/27/the-queens-visit-to-north-america|title=THE QUEEN'S VISIT TO NORTH AMERICA|work=millbanksystems.com}}</ref> and [[François Mitterrand]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/7733286/Francois-Mitterrand.html|title=François Mitterrand|date=9 January 1996|work=Telegraph.co.uk}}<br />{{cite web|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1988-11-27/news/mn-1081_1_soviet-space|title=French Cosmonaut Aboard : Mitterrand Sees a Soviet Space Launch|work=latimes}}<br />[http://newspaperarchive.com/kingston-gleaner/1985-09-12/page-9 Reuter. President Francois Mitterrand prepared today to fly by Concorde]<br />[https://www.nytimes.com/1986/07/13/weekinreview/mitterrand-s-travels-are-well-received-back-home.html The New York Times. Miitterrand's travels are well received back home]</ref> regularly used Concorde as French flagman aircraft in foreign visits. Queen [[Elizabeth II]] and Prime Ministers [[Edward Heath]], [[Jim Callaghan]], [[Margaret Thatcher]], [[John Major]], [[Tony Blair]] took Concorde in some charter flights such as the Queen's trips to Barbados on her Silver Jubilee in 1977, in 1987 and in 2003, to Middle East in 1984 and to the United States in 1991.<ref name="burleigh2008">{{cite web |url=http://www.burleighphoto.com/pages/stk-qe77/qe2.htm |title=Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee in Barbados ends with her first flight on Concorde on a record setting flight back to London Heathrow. |first=Craig |last=Burleigh |authorlink= |year=2008 |work= |publisher= |location= |page= |pages= |at= |trans_title= |doi= |accessdate=16 January 2010 |quote= |ref= }}<br />{{cite web |url=http://www.royal.gov.uk/MonarchAndCommonwealth/TheQueenandBarbados/Royalvisits.aspx |title=Queen and Barbados: Royal visits |author=Queen Elizabeth II |authorlink= |date=January 2010 |work= |publisher= |location= |page= |pages= |at= |trans_title= |doi= |accessdate=16 January 2010 |quote= |ref= }}<br />{{cite web|url=http://www.concordesst.com/history/00s.html|title=CONCORDE SST : TIMELINE −90's|work=concordesst.com}}<br />[http://www.barbadosconcorde.com/ Barbados Concorde Experience], museum</ref> [[Pope John Paul II]] flew on Concorde in May 1989.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.concorde-art-world.com/html/f-btsc.html|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080511025729/http://www.concorde-art-world.com/html/f-btsc.html|dead-url = yes|archive-date = 11 May 2008|title = Concorde F-BTSC – French Production Test Aircraft|accessdate = 11 May 2014|website = Concorde Art World|publisher = }}</ref>


Concorde sometimes made special flights for demonstrations, air shows (such as the [[Farnborough Airshow|Farnborough]], [[Paris Air Show|Paris-LeBourget]] and [[MAKS (air show)|MAKS]] air shows) as well as parades and celebrations (for example, of Zürich airport's anniversary in 1998). The aircraft were also used for private charters (including by the President of [[Zaire]] [[Mobutu Sese Seko]] on multiple occasions), for advertising companies (including for the firm [[Oki Electric Industry|OKI]]), for Olympic torch relays ([[1992 Winter Olympics|1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville]]) and for observing [[solar eclipse]]s, including the [[solar eclipse of June 30, 1973]].<ref name="time.com">{{cite news|last=Tharoor|first=Ishaan|title=Mobutu Sese Seko|url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2097426_2097427_2097458,00.html|work=Top 15 Toppled Dictators|publisher=Time Magazine|accessdate=30 April 2013|date=20 October 2011}}<br />{{cite book |last= Shaw |first= Karl |title= Power Mad! |trans_title= Šílenství mocných |edition= |year= 2005 |origyear= 2004 |publisher= Metafora |location= Praha |language= Czech |isbn= 80-7359-002-6 |pages= 47., 58.}}<br />{{cite web|url=http://www.concorde-jet.com/e_photos.php?ref=club_concorde2136|title=Finding the Right Arizona Insurance|work=Concorde Insurance}}<br />{{cite web|url=http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/Concorde-Clipreel-Part-14/a1e5b8386694bfb4b427492aaafb6e0e?searchfilter=Compilations%2FAccidents+%26+Disasters%2FConcorde%2F19602|title=Concorde Clipreel: Part 14 AP Archive|work=aparchive.com}}</ref><ref name="spirit">{{cite web|url=http://www.concorde-spirit-tours.com/|title=Concorde Spirit Tours|work=concorde-spirit-tours.com}}</ref>
Concorde sometimes made special flights for demonstrations, air shows (such as the [[Farnborough Airshow|Farnborough]], [[Paris Air Show|Paris-Le Bourget]], [[EAA AirVenture Oshkosh|Oshkosh AirVenture]] and [[MAKS (air show)|MAKS]] air shows) as well as parades and celebrations (for example, of Zurich Airport's anniversary in 1998). The aircraft were also used for private charters (including by the President of [[Zaire]] [[Mobutu Sese Seko]] on multiple occasions),<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Tharoor|first=Ishaan |url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2097426_2097427_2097458,00.html|title=Mobutu Sese Seko |series=Top 15 Toppled Dictators|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|access-date=30 April 2013|date=20 October 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130424213126/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2097426_2097427_2097458,00.html|archive-date=24 April 2013}}<br/>* {{cite book |last1=Shaw |first1=Karl |last2=Hajník |first2=Zdeněk |title=Šílenství mocných |trans-title=Power Mad!|year=2005 |publisher=Metafora|location=Praha|language=cs|isbn=978-80-7359-002-4|pages=47, 58}}<br/>* {{cite web |url=http://www.concorde-jet.com/e_photos.php?ref=club_concorde2136|access-date=12 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090703131449/http://www.concorde-jet.com/e_photos.php?ref=club_concorde2136|archive-date=3 July 2009|url-status=dead|title=Zaïre|work=Concorde-Jet.com}}</ref> for advertising companies (including for the firm [[Oki Electric Industry|OKI]]), for Olympic torch relays ([[1992 Winter Olympics]] in Albertville) and for observing [[solar eclipse]]s, including the [[solar eclipse of June 30, 1973|solar eclipse of 30 June 1973]]<ref name=Vice-Motherboard-2016-03-09>{{cite magazine |url= https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/the-concorde-and-the-longest-solar-eclipse |title= When Astronomers Chased a Total Eclipse in a Concorde |author= Chris Hatherill |date= 9 March 2016 |magazine= Motherboard |publisher= Vice }}</ref><ref name="spirit">{{cite web |url=http://www.concorde-spirit-tours.com/ |title=Concorde Spirit Tours |work=concorde-spirit-tours.com |access-date=28 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070629051800/http://www.concorde-spirit-tours.com/ |archive-date=29 June 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and again for the [[solar eclipse of August 11, 1999|total solar eclipse on 11 August 1999]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Solar Eclipse Viewed from Concorde |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-L0eRgzxE0|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211124/Y-L0eRgzxE0| archive-date=24 November 2021 |url-status=live |publisher=AP Archive|orig-year=Aug 1999|via=YouTube |date=21 July 2015}}{{cbignore}}<br/>* {{cite web |title=Concorde eclipse august 99 collector |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMDrrSDoghQ&t=2m25s |publisher=jean-luc |date=5 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170526173914/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMDrrSDoghQ| archive-date=26 May 2017 |url-status=dead |via=YouTube}}</ref>


===Records===
===Records===
The fastest transatlantic airliner flight was from New York JFK to London Heathrow on 7 February 1996 by the British Airways G-BOAD in 2 hours, 52 minutes, 59 seconds from take-off to touchdown aided by a 175&nbsp;mph (282&nbsp;km/h) tailwind.<ref name="SST makes record flight">{{cite news |url= http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SL&p_theme=sl&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB04F816AA79462&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |last=Reuters News Service |title= SST makes record flight |publisher=''St Louis Post,'' 9 February 1996 |accessdate=30 June 2011 |date=9 February 1996}}</ref> On 13 February 1985, a Concorde charter flight flew from London Heathrow to [[Sydney Airport|Sydney]]—on the opposite side of the world—in a time of 17 hours, 3 minutes and 45 seconds, including refuelling stops.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.concorde-art-world.com/html/record_breaker.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511025908/http://www.concorde-art-world.com/html/record_breaker.html|dead-url=yes|archive-date=2008-05-11|title=Concorde Supersonic Airliner – Record Breaker|work=concorde-art-world.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://concordesst.yuku.com/topic/4886/List-of-Concorde-Records|title=List of Concorde Records in Main Discussion area Forum|work=Yuku}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1301&dat=19850215&id=N8BWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PegDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2081,21154&hl=en|title=The Sydney Morning Herald – Google News Archive Search|work=google.com}}</ref>
The fastest transatlantic airliner flight was from New York JFK to London Heathrow on 7 February 1996 by the British Airways G-BOAD in 2 hours, 52 minutes, 59 seconds from take-off to touchdown aided by a 175&nbsp;mph (282&nbsp;km/h) tailwind.<ref name="SST makes record flight">{{cite news |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SL&p_theme=sl&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB04F816AA79462&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D |title=SST makes record flight |work=St Louis Post |access-date=30 June 2011 |date=9 February 1996 |archive-date=1 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001070114/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SL&p_theme=sl&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB04F816AA79462&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D |url-status=live}}</ref> On 13 February 1985, a Concorde charter flight flew from London Heathrow to [[Sydney Airport|Sydney]]{{snd}}on the opposite side of the world{{snd}}in a time of 17 hours, 3 minutes and 45 seconds, including refuelling stops.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.concorde-art-world.com/html/record_breaker.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511025908/http://www.concorde-art-world.com/html/record_breaker.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 May 2008|title=Concorde Supersonic Airliner – Record Breaker |publisher=concorde-art-world.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1301&dat=19850215&id=N8BWAAAAIBAJ&pg=2081,21154 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |title=Late, but the white dart is in time to claim record |author=Adrian Swift |date=15 February 1985 |access-date=28 November 2020 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414131209/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1301&dat=19850215&id=N8BWAAAAIBAJ&pg=2081,21154 |url-status=live}}</ref>


Concorde also set other records, including the official [[Fédération Aéronautique Internationale|FAI]] "Westbound Around the World" and "Eastbound Around the World" world air speed records.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Cramoisi|first1=George|title=Air Crash Investigations: The End of the Concorde Era, the Crash of Air France Flight 4590|date=2010|publisher=Lulu|isbn=9780557849505|page=518|url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=aekGAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA518}}</ref> On 12–13 October 1992, in commemoration of the 500th anniversary of Columbus’ first New World landing, Concorde Spirit Tours (US) chartered Air France Concorde F-BTSD and [[circumnavigation|circumnavigated]] the world in 32 hours 49 minutes and 3 seconds, from [[Lisbon]], Portugal, including six refuelling stops at [[Santo Domingo]], [[Acapulco]], [[Honolulu]], Guam, [[Bangkok]], and [[Bahrain]].<ref>{{cite news |title= French Concorde to attempt round-the-world record |publisher=''Anchorage Daily News,'' 12 October 1992}}</ref>
Concorde set the [[Fédération Aéronautique Internationale|FAI]] "Westbound Around the World" and "Eastbound Around the World" world air speed records.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Cramoisi|first1=George|title=Air Crash Investigations: The End of the Concorde Era, the Crash of Air France Flight 4590|date=2010|publisher=Lulu|isbn=978-0-557-84950-5|page=518|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aekGAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA518|access-date=26 August 2017|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414103518/https://books.google.com/books?id=aekGAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA518|url-status=live}}</ref> On 12–13 October 1992, in commemoration of the 500th anniversary of [[Christopher Columbus|Columbus]]' first voyage to the [[New World]], Concorde Spirit Tours (US) chartered Air France Concorde F-BTSD and [[circumnavigation|circumnavigated]] the world in 32 hours 49 minutes and 3 seconds, from [[Lisbon]], Portugal, including six refuelling stops at [[Santo Domingo]], [[Acapulco]], [[Honolulu]], Guam, [[Bangkok]], and [[Bahrain]].<ref>{{cite news |title=French Concorde to attempt round-the-world record |work=Anchorage Daily News |date=12 October 1992}}</ref>


The eastbound record was set by the same Air France Concorde (F-BTSD) under charter to Concorde Spirit Tours<ref name="spirit" /> in the US on 15–16 August 1995. This promotional flight circumnavigated the world from New York/JFK International Airport in 31 hours 27 minutes 49 seconds, including six refuelling stops at [[Toulouse]], [[Dubai]], Bangkok, Andersen AFB in [[Guam]], Honolulu, and [[Acapulco]].<ref>{{cite news |title= Concorde jets occupants on record ride |publisher=''Deseret News'' |date=17 August 1995}}</ref> By its 30th flight anniversary on 2 March 1999 Concorde had clocked up 920,000 flight hours, with more than 600,000 supersonic, many more than all of the other supersonic aircraft in the Western world combined.<ref>{{cite news |title= Rolls-Royce SNECMA Olympus |publisher=''Janes,'' 25 July 2000}}</ref>
The eastbound record was set by the same Air France Concorde (F-BTSD) under charter to Concorde Spirit Tours<ref name="spirit" /> in the US on 15–16 August 1995. This promotional flight circumnavigated the world from New York/JFK International Airport in 31 hours 27 minutes 49 seconds, including six refuelling stops at Toulouse, [[Dubai]], Bangkok, Andersen AFB in [[Guam]], Honolulu, and [[Acapulco]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Concorde jets occupants on record ride |website=Deseret News |date=17 August 1995}}</ref>


On its way to the [[Museum of Flight]] in November 2003, G-BOAG set a New York City-to-Seattle speed record of 3 hours, 55 minutes, and 12 seconds.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.museumofflight.org/aircraft/concorde |title=Concorde |publisher=Museum of Flight |accessdate=21 August 2011}}</ref> Due to the restrictions on supersonic overflights within the USA the flight was granted permission by the Canadian authorities for the majority of the journey to be flown supersonically over sparsely-populated Canadian territory.
On its way to the [[Museum of Flight]] in November 2003, G-BOAG set a New York City-to-Seattle speed record of 3 hours, 55 minutes, and 12 seconds. Due to the restrictions on supersonic overflights within the US the flight was granted permission by the Canadian authorities for the majority of the journey to be flown supersonically over sparsely-populated Canadian territory.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.museumofflight.org/aircraft/concorde |title=Concorde |publisher=Museum of Flight |access-date=21 August 2011 |archive-date=11 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811171754/http://www.museumofflight.org/aircraft/concorde |url-status=live}}</ref>


==Specifications==
==Specifications==
[[File:Concordev1.0.png|right|400px|Other line drawings of Concorde]]
[[File:Concorde v1.0.png|thumb|Other line drawings of Concorde]]
[[File:Concorde G-BOAC.png|thumb|right|Concorde G-BOAC]]
[[File:Concorde G-BOAC.png|thumb|Concorde G-BOAC]]


{{Aircraft specs
{{aircraft specifications
|ref= ''The Wall Street Journal'',<ref name="fliengi">{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB106504293992222300?mod=googlewsj |title=Final Boarding Call: As Concorde Departs, so do 3-Man Crews: In New Cockpits, Engineers are seen as Extra Baggage |work=The Wall Street Journal |first=Danial |last=Michaels |date=2 October 2003 |access-date=3 August 2017 |archive-date=5 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171005000348/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB106504293992222300?mod=googlewsj |url-status=live}}</ref> ''The Concorde Story'',{{sfn|Kelly|2005|p=52}} ''The International Directory of Civil Aircraft'',{{sfn|Frawley|2003|p=14}}
<!-- If you do not understand how to use this template, please ask at [[Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Aircraft]].
''Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde 1969 onwards (all models)''<ref>{{cite book
Please answer the following questions. -->
|last1=Leney
|plane or copter?= plane
|first1=David
|jet or prop?= jet
|last2=Macdonald <!-- Not a mistake: it's consistently printed as Macdonald in the book, not MacDonald -->
<!-- Now, fill in the specs. Please include units where appropriate (main comes first, alt in parentheses).
|first2=David
If an item doesn't apply, like capacity, leave it blank. For additional lines, end your alt units with a right parenthesis ")" and start a new, fully formatted line beginning with *
|title=Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde 1969 onwards (all models)
|publisher=Haynes Publishing
|location=Sparkford, Somerset
|date= 2020
|isbn=978-1-84425-818-5
}}</ref>
|prime units?= imp
<!-- General characteristics
-->
-->
|genhide=
|ref= ''Wall Street Journal'',<ref name="fliengi"/> ''The Concorde Story'',{{sfn|Kelly|2005|p=52}} ''The International Directory of Civil Aircraft'',{{sfn|Frawley|2003|p=14}}

|crew= 3 (2 pilots and 1 [[flight engineer]])
|crew= 3 (2 pilots and 1 [[flight engineer]])
|capacity= 92–120 passengers <br>(128 in high-density layout){{refn|BA and Air France Concordes originally had 100 seats. Due to weight considerations Air France removed 8 seats after the safety modifications of CY2000–2001.|group=N}}
|capacity= 92–120 passengers <br/>(128 in high-density layout)
|length main= 202 ft 4 in
|length alt= 61.66 m
|length m = 61.66
|length note=
|span main= 84 ft 0 in
|span alt= 25.6 m
|span m= 25.6
|span note=
|height main= 40 ft 0 in
|height alt= 12.2 m)
|height m= 12.2
|height note=
|wing area sqm= 358.25
|wing area note=
|airfoil=
|empty weight kg= 78,700
|gross weight kg= 111,130
|gross weight note=
|max takeoff weight kg= 185,070
|fuel capacity= {{convert|210940|lb|kg|abbr=on}}; {{cvt|119600|L}}
|more general=
* '''Fuselage internal length:''' {{convert|129|ft|0|in|m|abbr=on}}
* '''Fuselage internal length:''' {{convert|129|ft|0|in|m|abbr=on}}
* '''Fuselage width:''' maximum of {{convert|9|ft|5|in|m|abbr=on}} external {{convert|8|ft|7|in|m|abbr=on}} internal
* '''Fuselage width:''' maximum of {{convert|9|ft|5|in|m|abbr=on}} external, {{convert|8|ft|7|in|m|abbr=on}} internal
* '''Fuselage height:''' maximum of {{convert|10|ft|10|in|m |abbr=on}} external {{convert|6|ft|5|in|m|abbr=on}} internal
* '''Fuselage height:''' maximum of {{convert|10|ft|10|in|m |abbr=on}} external, {{convert|6|ft|5|in|m|abbr=on}} internal
|area main= 3,856&nbsp;ft<sup>2</sup>
|area alt= 358.25&nbsp;m<sup>2</sup>
|empty weight main= 173,500 lb
|empty weight alt= 78,700 kg
|max take-off weight main= 408,000 lb
|max take-off weight alt= 185,070 kg
|useful load main= 245,000 lb
|useful load alt= 111,130 kg
|more general= '''Maximum fuel load:''' {{convert|210940|lb|kg|abbr=on}}
* '''Maximum taxiing weight:''' {{convert|412000|lb|kg|abbr=on}}
* '''Maximum taxiing weight:''' {{convert|412000|lb|kg|abbr=on}}
<!-- Powerplant
|engine (jet)=[[Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593]] Mk 610
-->
|type of jet= Afterburning [[turbojet]]s
|number of jets= 4
|eng1 number= 4
|eng1 name= [[Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593]] Mk 610
|thrust main= 32,000 [[pound-force|lbf]]
|eng1 type= [[turbojet]]s with [[reheat]]
|thrust alt= 140 kN
|eng1 lbf=31000
|afterburning thrust main= 38,050 lbf
|eng1 kn= 140
|afterburning thrust alt= 169 kN
|eng1 note=
|max speed main= [[Mach number|Mach]] 2.04
|power original=
|max speed alt= ≈1,354 mph, 2,179 km/h, 1,176 knots
|thrust original=
|max speed more= at cruise altitude
|eng1 kn-ab= 169
|cruise speed main= Mach 2.02
|eng1 lbf-ab= 38,050
|cruise speed alt= ≈1,340 mph, 2,158 km/h, 1,164 knots
<!-- Performance
|cruise speed more= at cruise altitude
-->
|ceiling main= 60,000 ft
|perfhide=
|ceiling alt= 18,300 m

|climb rate main= 10,000 ft/min<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCLq4ptf9DI|title=British Airways Concorde take off -includes ATC and pilot / copilot call outs|first=|last=Amazing Info TV|date=28 February 2015|publisher=|via=YouTube}}</ref>
|max speed kmh= 2,179
|climb rate alt= 50.80 m/s
|max speed note=
|range main= 3,900 nmi
|max speed mach= 2.04 (temperature limited) <!-- temperature limited is relevant, since most aircraft are limited in speed by power or aerodynamics: Concorde is unusual in that is has the power and aerodynamics to go faster -->
|range alt= 4,488.04 mi, 7,222.8&nbsp;km
|cruise speed kmh= 2,158
|loading main=
|cruise speed note=
|loading alt=
|stall speed kmh=
|thrust/weight= 0.373
|stall speed note=
|lift to drag= ''Low speed–'' 3.94, ''Approach–'' 4.35, ''250 kn, 10,000 ft–'' 9.27, ''Mach 0.94–'' 11.47, ''Mach 2.04–'' 7.14
|never exceed speed kmh=
|fuel consumption= 46.85 lb/mi (13.2&nbsp;kg/km) operating for maximum range
|never exceed speed note=
|more performance=
|minimum control speed kmh=
* '''Maximum [[Heat shield|nose tip temperature]]:''' {{convert|260|°F|°C|abbr=on|sigfig=2}}
|minimum control speed note=
* '''[[Runway]] requirement''' (with maximum load): {{convert|3600|m|ft|abbr=on}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asiatraveltips.com/travelnews2001/17October2001AirFrance.htm|title=Extremely Comprehensive Concorde Relaunch Kit from Air France|author=smh|work=asiatraveltips.com}}</ref>
|range km= 7,222.8
|avionics=}}
|range note=
|endurance=<!-- if range unknown -->
|ceiling m= 18,300
|ceiling note=
|climb rate ms= 17–25
|climb rate note= at sea level<ref>{{cite journal |title=First Concorde Supersonic Transport Flies |date=17 March 1969 |pages=284 |url=http://aviationweek.com/site-files/aviationweek.com/files/uploads/2015/02/1969-%20First%20Concorde%20Flight%20%281%20of%202%29.pdf |access-date=27 January 2019 |journal= Aviation Week & Space Technology |archive-date=20 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220202734/http://aviationweek.com/site-files/aviationweek.com/files/uploads/2015/02/1969-%20First%20Concorde%20Flight%20%281%20of%202%29.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Concorde Airframe |url=https://www.heritageconcorde.com/airframe-performance |website=Heritage Concorde |access-date=27 January 2019 |language=en |archive-date=28 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190128030455/https://www.heritageconcorde.com/airframe-performance |url-status=live}}</ref>
|time to altitude=
|lift to drag= ''Low speed–'' 3.94; ''Approach–'' 4.35; ''250 kn, 10,000 ft–'' 9.27; ''Mach 0.94–'' 11.47, ''Mach 2.04–'' 7.14
|wing loading kg/m2=
|wing loading note=
|disk loading kg/m2=
|disk loading note=
|fuel consumption kg/km= 13.2
|power/mass=
|thrust/weight= 0.373
|more performance=
* '''Maximum [[Heat shield|nose tip temperature]]:''' {{convert|127|°C|°F+K|abbr=on|sigfig=2}}
* '''[[Runway]] requirement''' (with maximum load): {{convert|3600|m|ft|abbr=on}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asiatraveltips.com/travelnews2001/17October2001AirFrance.htm|title=Extremely Comprehensive Concorde Relaunch Kit from Air France|date=17 October 2001|website=Travel News Asia|access-date=13 January 2014|archive-date=13 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140113203252/http://www.asiatraveltips.com/travelnews2001/17October2001AirFrance.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

|avionics=
* [[Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593#Intake|Digital Air Intake Control Units]]
* Fly by wire flight controls
* Analogue electronic engine controls
* Triple [[inertial navigation unit]]s, one per flight crew
* Dual [[VHF omnidirectional range]] instruments
* Dual [[automatic direction finder]] instruments
* Dual [[distance measuring equipment]] instruments
* Dual [[instrument landing system]]s
* Automatic flight control system with dual [[autopilot]]s, [[autothrottle]]s, and [[Flight director (aeronautics)|flight director]]s: full autoland capability with visibility limits {{convert|250|m|ft|abbr=on}} horizontally, {{convert|15|ft|m|abbr=on}} decision height
* [[Ekco]] E390/564 weather radar<ref>{{cite periodical|title=Concorde|periodical=Interavia|volume=24|date=1969|page=397}}</ref>
* Radio altimeters <!-- Radio altimeter is the precise term used in the Haynes book -->
}}


==Notable appearances in media==
==Notable appearances in media==
<!-- Please READ [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft/page content#Popular culture]] before attempting to place "Popular culture" items. Tenuously connected material including all Ace Combat appearances and anime and fiction lookalike speculation, will be removed. Material here must be notable ***with respect to Concorde*** or should go in another article -->
<!-- Please READ [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft/page content#Popular culture]] before attempting to place "Popular culture" items. Tenuously connected material including all Ace Combat appearances and anime and fiction lookalike speculation, will be removed. Material here must be notable ***with respect to Concorde*** or should go in another article -->
{{Main article|Aircraft in fiction#Concorde}}
{{Main|Aircraft in fiction#Concorde}}


==See also==
==See also==
{{Portal|France|United Kingdom|Aviation}}
{{Portal|France|United Kingdom|Aviation|1970s}}
* [[Barbara Harmer]], the first qualified female Concorde pilot
{{aircontent
* [[Museo del Concorde]], a former museum in Mexico dedicated to the airliner
|see also= <!-- other related articles that have not already linked: -->
*[[Fairey Delta 2#BAC 221|BAC 221]]
*[[Barbara Harmer]], the first qualified female Concorde pilot.
*[[North American XB-70 Valkyrie]]
*[[Anti-Concorde Project]], Anti-Concorde campaign
|related= <!-- designs that were developed into or from this aircraft: -->
* [[Bristol Type 223]]
* [[Sud Aviation Super-Caravelle]]
* [[Fairey Delta 2]]
|lists= <!-- relevant lists that this aircraft appears in: -->
* [[List of jet airliners]]
* [[List of civil aircraft]]
<!-- See [[WP:Air/PC]] for more explanation of these fields. -->
}}


==References==
==Notes==

=== Notes ===
{{Reflist|group=N}}
{{Reflist|group=N}}
{{notelist}}


=== Citations ===
==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Reflist}}


=== Bibliography ===
===Bibliography===
* {{cite magazine|last=Armbruster|first=Michel|title=How to Avoid Uncontrolled Droop |magazine=[[Air Enthusiast]]|date=January–February 2005|issue= 115|page=75|issn=0143-5450}}
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |last= Conway |first= Eric |title= High-Speed Dreams: NASA and the Technopolitics of Supersonic Transportation, 1945–1999 |publisher=JHU Press |year= 2005 |isbn= 080188067X |ref= harv}}
* {{Cite book |last=Conway |first=Eric |title=High-Speed Dreams: NASA and the Technopolitics of Supersonic Transportation, 1945–1999 |publisher=JHU Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-8018-8067-4}}
* {{Cite book |last= Beniada |first= Frederic |title= Concorde |location= Minneapolis, Minnesota |publisher=Zenith Press |year= 2006 |isbn= 0-7603-2703-3 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Beniada |first=Frederic |title=Concorde |location=Minneapolis, Minnesota |publisher=Zenith Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-7603-2703-6}}
* {{Cite book |last= Calvert |first= Brian |title= Flying Concorde: The Full Story |location= London |publisher=Crowood Press|year= 2002 |isbn= 1-84037-352-0 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Calvert |first=Brian |title=Flying Concorde: The Full Story |location=London |publisher=Crowood Press |year=2002 |isbn=978-1-84037-352-3 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/flyingconcordefu0000calv}}
* {{Cite book |last= Deregel |first= Xavier |first2= Jean-Philippe|last2= Lemaire |title= Concorde Passion |location= New York |publisher=LBM, 2009 |isbn= 2-915347-73-5 }}
* {{Cite book |last1=Deregel |first1=Xavier |first2=Jean-Philippe|last2=Lemaire |title=Concorde Passion |year=2009 |location=New York |publisher=LBM |isbn=978-2-915347-73-9}}
* {{Cite book |last= Endres |first= Günter |title= Concorde |location= St Paul, Minnesota |publisher=MBI Publishing Company|year= 2001 |isbn= 0-7603-1195-1 |ref= harv}}
* {{Cite book |last=Endres |first=Günter |title=Concorde |location=St Paul, Minnesota |publisher=MBI Publishing Company|year=2001 |isbn=978-0-7603-1195-0}}
* {{Cite book |editor1-last= Ferrar |editor1-first= Henry |title= The Concise Oxford French-English Dictionary |location= New York |publisher=Oxford University Press|year= 1980 |isbn= 0-19-864157-5 |ref= harv}}
* {{Cite book |editor1-last=Ferrar |editor1-first=Henry |title=The Concise Oxford French-English Dictionary |location=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1980 |isbn=978-0-19-864157-5}}
* {{Cite book |last= Frawley |first= Gerald |title= The International Directory of Civil Aircraft, 2003/2004 |publisher= Aerospace Publications |year= 2003 |isbn= 1-875671-58-7 |ref= harv}}
* {{Cite book |last=Frawley |first=Gerald |title=The International Directory of Civil Aircraft, 2003/2004 |publisher=Aerospace Publications |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-875671-58-8}}
* {{Cite book |last= Gunn |first= John |title= Crowded Skies |publisher= Turnkey Productions |year= 2010 |isbn= 978-0-646-54973-6}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Gordon |first1=Yefim |first2=Vladimir |last2=Rigmant |title=Tupolev Tu-144 |location=Hinckley, Leicestershire, UK |publisher=Midland |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-85780-216-0}}.
* {{Cite book |last= Kelly |first= Neil |title= The Concorde Story: 34 Years of Supersonic Air Travel |location= Surrey, UK |publisher=Merchant Book Company Ltd|year=2005 |isbn= 1-904779-05-0 |ref= harv}}
* {{Cite book |last=Gunn |first=John |title=Crowded Skies |publisher=Turnkey Productions |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-646-54973-6}}
* {{Cite book |last= Knight |first= Geoffrey |title= Concorde: The Inside Story |location= London |publisher=Weidenfeld and Nicolson|year= 1976 |isbn= 0-297-77114-0 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Kelly |first=Neil |title=The Concorde Story: 34 Years of Supersonic Air Travel |location=Surrey, UK |publisher=Merchant Book Company Ltd|year=2005 |isbn=978-1-904779-05-6}}
* {{cite book |last=Lewis |first=Rob |last2=Lewis|first2= Edwin |title=Supersonic Secrets: The Unauthorised Biography of Concorde |year=2004 |publisher=Exposé |location=London |isbn=0-9546617-0-2 }}
* {{cite book |author1=Key Publishing |title=Concorde |series=Historic Commercial Aircraft Series, Vol 10 |date=2023 |publisher=Key Publishing |location=Stamford, Lincs, UK |isbn=9781802823752 |url={{GBurl|BR9CzwEACAAJ}}}}
* {{Cite book |last= McIntyre |first= Ian |title= Dogfight: The Transatlantic Battle over Airbus |location= Westport, Connecticut |publisher=Praeger Publishers|year= 1992 |isbn= 0-275-94278-3 |ref= harv}}
* {{Cite book |last=Knight |first=Geoffrey |title=Concorde: The Inside Story |location=London |publisher=Weidenfeld and Nicolson |year=1976 |isbn=978-0-297-77114-2}}
* {{cite book |title=Nunn's Applied Respiratory Physiology |first= John Francis |last= Nunn |location= Burlington, Maryland |publisher=Butterworth-Heineman|year= 1993 |isbn= 0-7506-1336-X |ref= harv}}
* {{cite book |last1=Lewis |first1=Rob |last2=Lewis |first2=Edwin |title=Supersonic Secrets: The Unauthorised Biography of Concorde |year=2004 |publisher=Exposé |location=London |isbn=978-0-9546617-0-0}}
* {{Cite book |title= Concorde: Story of a Supersonic Pioneer |location= London |publisher=Science Museum |first= Kenneth |last= Owen |year= 2001 |isbn= 978-1-900747-42-4 |ref= harv}}
* {{Cite book |last=McIntyre |first=Ian |title=Dogfight: The Transatlantic Battle over Airbus |location=Westport, Connecticut |publisher=Praeger Publishers |year=1992 |isbn=978-0-275-94278-6 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/dogfighttransatl00mcin}}
* {{Cite book |authorlink=Christopher Orlebar|last=Orlebar|first= Christopher |title= The Concorde Story |location= Oxford, UK |publisher=Osprey Publishing|year= 2004 |isbn= 1-85532-667-1 |ref= harv}}
* {{cite book |title=Nunn's Applied Respiratory Physiology |first=John Francis |last=Nunn |location=Burlington, Maryland |publisher=Butterworth-Heineman |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-7506-1336-1 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/nunnsappliedresp0004nunn}}
* {{Cite book |last= Ross |first= Douglas |title= The Concorde Compromise: The Politics of Decision-making |publisher= Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |date= March 1978 |ref= harv}}
* {{Cite book |author-link=Jean-Marc Olivier |last=Olivier |first=Jean-Marc |date=2018 |title=1969 First Flight of the Concorde |publisher=Editions midi-pyrénéennes |isbn=979-1-09-349833-1 |oclc=1066694697 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H5ENvwEACAAJ}}
* {{Cite book |last= Schrader |first= Richard K |title= Concorde: The Full Story of the Anglo-French SST |location= Kent, UK |publisher=Pictorial Histories Pub. Co.|year= 1989 |isbn= 0-929521-16-1 |ref= harv}}
* {{Cite book |title=Concorde: Story of a Supersonic Pioneer |location=London |publisher=Science Museum |first=Kenneth |last=Owen |year=2001 |isbn=978-1-900747-42-4}}
* {{Cite book |last= Taylor |first= John W. R. |title= Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1965–66 |publisher= Marston |year= 1965|ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |author-link=Christopher Orlebar |last=Orlebar |first=Christopher |title=The Concorde Story |location=Oxford, UK |publisher=Osprey Publishing|year=2004 |isbn=978-1-85532-667-5}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Ross |first1=Douglas |title=The Concorde Compromise: the politics of decision-making |journal=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |date=March 1978 |volume=34 |issue=3 |pages=46–53 |doi=10.1080/00963402.1978.11458481|bibcode=1978BuAtS..34c..46R }}
* {{Cite book |last= Towey |first= Barrie (ed.) |title= Jet Airliners of the World 1949–2007 |location= Tunbridge Wells, Kent, UK |publisher=Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd|year= 2007 |isbn= 0-85130-348-X |ref= harv}}
* {{Cite book |last= Winchester |first= Jim |title= The World's Worst Aircraft: From Pioneering Failures to Multimillion Dollar Disasters |location= London |publisher=Amber Books Ltd|year= 2005a |isbn= 1-904687-34-2 |ref= harv}}
* {{Cite book |last=Schrader |first=Richard K |title=Concorde: The Full Story of the Anglo-French SST |location=Kent, UK |publisher=Pictorial Histories Pub. Co.|year=1989 |isbn=978-0-929521-16-9}}
* {{Cite book |last= Winchester |first= Jim |title= X-Planes and Prototypes: From Nazi Secret Weapons to the Warplanes of the Future |publisher= Amber Books Ltd |year= 2005b |isbn= 1-84013-815-7 |ref= harv}}
* {{Cite book |last=Taylor |first=John W. R. |title=Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1965–66 |publisher=Marston |year=1965}}
* {{citation |title=Concorde A Designer's Life The Journey To Mach 2 |first=Ted |last=Talbot |date=2013 |publisher=The History Press |isbn=978-0-7524-8928-5}}
{{Refend}}
* {{Cite book |editor-last=Towey |editor-first=Barrie |title=Jet Airliners of the World 1949–2007 |location=Tunbridge Wells, Kent, UK |publisher=Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd|year=2007 |isbn=978-0-85130-348-2}}
* {{Cite book |last=Winchester |first=Jim |year=2005a |title=The World's Worst Aircraft: From Pioneering Failures to Multimillion Dollar Disasters |location=London |publisher=Amber Books Ltd |isbn=978-1-904687-34-4}}
* {{Cite book |last=Winchester |first=Jim |year=2005b |title=X-Planes and Prototypes: From Nazi Secret Weapons to the Warplanes of the Future |publisher=Amber Books Ltd |isbn=978-1-84013-815-3}}


==External links==
==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{commons}}

===Legacy===
* [http://www.britishairways.com/concorde/index.html British Airways Concorde page]
* [http://www.britishairways.com/concorde/index.html British Airways Concorde page]
* [https://www.baesystems.com/en/heritage/bac-concorde BAC Concorde at BAE Systems site]
* [http://www.designmuseum.org/design/concorde Design Museum (UK) Concorde page]
* [http://www.designmuseum.org/design/concorde Design Museum (UK) Concorde page]
* [http://heritageconcorde.com/ Heritage Concorde preservation group site]
* [http://heritageconcorde.com/ Heritage Concorde preservation group site]

* [http://www.concordelegacy.org.uk/ Concorde Legacy site]
=== Articles===
* [http://aviationweek.com/site-files/aviationweek.com/files/uploads/2015/02/1969-%20First%20Concorde%20Flight%20%281%20of%202%29.pdf First Concorde Supersonic Transport Flies] [http://aviationweek.com/site-files/aviationweek.com/files/uploads/2015/02/1969-%20First%20Concorde%20Flight%20%282%20of%202%29.pdf Concorde Enters Flight Test Phase] by Donald Fink, [[Aviation Week & Space Technology]] <!--from http://aviationweek.com/blog/1969-concordes-hopeful-first-flight -->
* {{cite news |url= http://aviationweek.com/site-files/aviationweek.com/files/uploads/2015/02/1969-%20First%20Concorde%20Flight%20%282%20of%202%29.pdf |title= Concorde Enters Flight Test Phase |author= Donald Fink |magazine= [[Aviation Week & Space Technology]] |date= 10 March 1969 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150316210132/http://aviationweek.com/site-files/aviationweek.com/files/uploads/2015/02/1969-%20First%20Concorde%20Flight%20(2%20of%202).pdf|archive-date= 16 March 2015|url-status=dead}} <!--from http://aviationweek.com/blog/1969-concordes-hopeful-first-flight -->
* [http://aviationweek.com/blog/2003-concorde-end-era End of an Era] by Dave North, Aviation Week & Space Technology
* {{cite news |url= http://aviationweek.com/site-files/aviationweek.com/files/uploads/2015/02/1969-%20First%20Concorde%20Flight%20%281%20of%202%29.pdf |title= First Concorde Supersonic Transport Flies |date= 17 March 1969 |magazine= [[Aviation Week & Space Technology]] |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150316232546/http://aviationweek.com/site-files/aviationweek.com/files/uploads/2015/02/1969-%20First%20Concorde%20Flight%20(1%20of%202).pdf|archive-date= 16 March 2015|url-status=dead}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pn0PJc-v510&list=PLNxwX7r4A557deayljDNLqVA7Pl9Y8K9Z&index=14 Video: Roll-out]
* {{cite news |title= Concorde as viewed from the flightdeck |author= Capt R. E. Gillman |date= 24 January 1976 |magazine= Flight International |url= https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1976/1976%20-%200119.html}}
* {{cite news |url= http://aviationweek.com/blog/2003-concorde-end-era |title= End of an Era |author= Dave North |work= [[Aviation Week & Space Technology]] |date= 20 October 2003}}
* {{cite news |url= https://www.airbus.com/en/newsroom/stories/2019-03-the-day-concorde-flew-into-the-history-books |title= The day Concorde flew into the history books |work= Airbus |date= 2 March 2019}}

===Videos===
<!--Only list videos from "official" accounts!-->
* "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pn0PJc-v510&list=PLNxwX7r4A557deayljDNLqVA7Pl9Y8K9Z&index=14 Video: Roll-out]." [[British Movietone]]/[[Associated Press]]. 14 December 1967, posted online on 21 July 2015.
* "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_wuykzfFzE This plane could cross the Atlantic in 3.5 hours. Why did it fail?]." [[Vox Media]]. 19 July 2016.


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Latest revision as of 17:05, 11 December 2024

Concorde
Concorde against a clear blue sky, seen from below. Its wheels are lowered.
British Airways Concorde in flight in 1986
General information
TypeSupersonic airliner
National originFrance and United Kingdom
Manufacturer
StatusRetired
Primary usersBritish Airways
Air France
See Operators below for others
Number built20 (including 6 non-commercial aircraft)[1][2]
History
Manufactured1965–1979
Introduction date21 January 1976
First flight2 March 1969
Retired
  • 24 October 2003; 21 years ago (24 October 2003) (last commercial flight)
  • 26 November 2003; 21 years ago (26 November 2003) (final flight to Bristol Filton Airport)[3]

Concorde (/ˈkɒŋkɔːrd/) is a retired Anglo-French supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France and the United Kingdom signed a treaty establishing the development project on 29 November 1962, as the programme cost was estimated at £70 million (£1.68 billion in 2023). Construction of the six prototypes began in February 1965, and the first flight took off from Toulouse on 2 March 1969. The market was predicted for 350 aircraft, and the manufacturers received up to 100 option orders from many major airlines. On 9 October 1975, it received its French Certificate of Airworthiness, and from the UK CAA on 5 December.[4]

Concorde is a tailless aircraft design with a narrow fuselage permitting 4-abreast seating for 92 to 128 passengers, an ogival delta wing and a droop nose for landing visibility. It is powered by four Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593 turbojets with variable engine intake ramps, and reheat for take-off and acceleration to supersonic speed. Constructed out of aluminium, it was the first airliner to have analogue fly-by-wire flight controls. The airliner had transatlantic range while supercruising at twice the speed of sound for 75% of the distance.[5]

Delays and cost overruns increased the programme cost to £1.5–2.1 billion in 1976, (£11–16 billion in 2023). Concorde entered service on 21 January 1976 with Air France from Paris-Roissy and British Airways from London Heathrow. Transatlantic flights were the main market, to Washington Dulles from 24 May, and to New York JFK from 17 October 1977. Air France and British Airways remained the sole customers with seven airframes each, for a total production of twenty. Supersonic flight more than halved travel times, but sonic booms over the ground limited it to transoceanic flights only.

Its only competitor was the Tupolev Tu-144, carrying passengers from November 1977 until a May 1978 crash, while a potential competitor, the Boeing 2707, was cancelled in 1971 before any prototypes were built.

On 25 July 2000, Air France Flight 4590 crashed shortly after take-off with all 109 occupants and four on the ground killed. This was the only fatal incident involving Concorde; commercial service was suspended until November 2001. The surviving aircraft were retired in 2003, 27 years after commercial operations had begun. All but 2 of the 20 aircraft built have been preserved and are on display across Europe and North America.

Development

[edit]

Early studies

[edit]

In the early 1950s, Arnold Hall, director of the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE), asked Morien Morgan to form a committee to study supersonic transport. The group met in February 1954 and delivered their first report in April 1955.[6] Robert T. Jones' work at NACA had demonstrated that the drag at supersonic speeds was strongly related to the span of the wing.[7] This led to the use of short-span, thin trapezoidal wings such as those seen on the control surfaces of many missiles, or aircraft such as the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter interceptor or the planned Avro 730 strategic bomber that the team studied. The team outlined a baseline configuration that resembled an enlarged Avro 730.[8]

This short wingspan produced little lift at low speed, resulting in long take-off runs and high landing speeds.[9] In an SST design, this would have required enormous engine power to lift off from existing runways and, to provide the fuel needed, "some horribly large aeroplanes" resulted.[8] Based on this, the group considered the concept of an SST infeasible, and instead suggested continued low-level studies into supersonic aerodynamics.[8]

Slender deltas

[edit]

Soon after, Johanna Weber and Dietrich Küchemann at the RAE published a series of reports on a new wing planform, known in the UK as the "slender delta".[10][11] The team, including Eric Maskell whose report "Flow Separation in Three Dimensions" contributed to an understanding of separated flow,[12] worked with the fact that delta wings can produce strong vortices on their upper surfaces at high angles of attack.[8] The vortex will lower the air pressure and cause lift. This had been noticed by Chuck Yeager in the Convair XF-92, but its qualities had not been fully appreciated. Weber suggested that the effect could be used to improve low speed performance.[11][8]

Küchemann's and Weber's papers changed the entire nature of supersonic design. The delta had already been used on aircraft, but these designs used planforms that were not much different from a swept wing of the same span. Weber noted that the lift from the vortex was increased by the length of the wing it had to operate over, which suggested that the effect would be maximised by extending the wing along the fuselage as far as possible. Such a layout would still have good supersonic performance, but also have reasonable take-off and landing speeds using vortex generation.[11] The aircraft would have to take off and land very "nose high" to generate the required vortex lift, which led to questions about the low speed handling qualities of such a design.[13]

Küchemann presented the idea at a meeting where Morgan was also present. Test pilot Eric Brown recalls Morgan's reaction to the presentation, saying that he immediately seized on it as the solution to the SST problem. Brown considers this moment as being the birth of the Concorde project.[13]

Supersonic Transport Aircraft Committee

[edit]
The HP.115 tested the low-speed performance of the slender delta layout.

On 1 October 1956 the Ministry of Supply asked Morgan to form a new study group, the Supersonic Transport Aircraft Committee (STAC)[14] (sometimes referred to as the Supersonic Transport Advisory Committee), to develop a practical SST design and find industry partners to build it. At the first meeting, on 5 November 1956, the decision was made to fund the development of a test-bed aircraft to examine the low-speed performance of the slender delta, a contract that eventually produced the Handley Page HP.115.[13] This aircraft demonstrated safe control at speeds as low as 69 mph (111 km/h), about one third that of the F-104 Starfighter.[15]

STAC stated that an SST would have economic performance similar to existing subsonic types.[8] Lift is not generated the same way at supersonic and subsonic speeds, with the lift-to-drag ratio for supersonic designs being about half that of subsonic designs.[16] The aircraft would need more thrust than a subsonic design of the same size. But although they would use more fuel in cruise, they would be able to fly more revenue-earning flights in a given time, so fewer aircraft would be needed to service a particular route. This would remain economically advantageous as long as fuel represented a small percentage of operational costs.[8]

STAC suggested that two designs naturally fell out of their work, a transatlantic model flying at about Mach 2, and a shorter-range version flying at Mach 1.2. Morgan suggested that a 150-passenger transatlantic SST would cost about £75 to £90 million to develop, and be in service in 1970. The smaller 100-passenger short-range version would cost perhaps £50 to £80 million, and be ready for service in 1968. To meet this schedule, development would need to begin in 1960, with production contracts let in 1962.[8] Morgan suggested that the US was already involved in a similar project, and that if the UK failed to respond it would be locked out of an airliner market that he believed would be dominated by SST aircraft.[17]

In 1959, a study contract was awarded to Hawker Siddeley and Bristol for preliminary designs based on the slender delta,[18] which developed as the HSA.1000 and Bristol 198. Armstrong Whitworth also responded with an internal design, the M-Wing, for the lower-speed shorter-range category. Both the STAC group and the government were looking for partners to develop the designs. In September 1959, Hawker approached Lockheed, and after the creation of British Aircraft Corporation in 1960, the former Bristol team immediately started talks with Boeing, General Dynamics, Douglas Aircraft, and Sud Aviation.[18]

Ogee planform selected

[edit]

Küchemann and others at the RAE continued their work on the slender delta throughout this period, considering three basic shapes; the classic straight-edge delta, the "gothic delta" that was rounded outward to appear like a gothic arch, and the "ogival wing" that was compound-rounded into the shape of an ogee. Each of these planforms had advantages and disadvantages. As they worked with these shapes, a practical concern grew to become so important that it forced selection of one of these designs.[19]

Plan-view silhouette of the Bristol Type 223 SST project

Generally the wing's centre of pressure (CP, or "lift point") should be close to the aircraft's centre of gravity (CG, or "balance point") to reduce the amount of control force required to pitch the aircraft. As the aircraft layout changes during the design phase, it is common for the CG to move fore or aft. With a normal wing design this can be addressed by moving the wing slightly fore or aft to account for this. With a delta wing running most of the length of the fuselage, this was no longer easy; moving the wing would leave it in front of the nose or behind the tail. Studying the various layouts in terms of CG changes, both during design and changes due to fuel use during flight, the ogee planform immediately came to the fore.[19]

To test the new wing, NASA assisted the team by modifying a Douglas F5D Skylancer to mimic the wing selection. In 1965 the NASA test aircraft successfully tested the wing, and found that it reduced landing speeds noticeably over the standard delta wing. NASA also ran simulations at Ames that showed the aircraft would exhibit a sudden change in pitch when entering ground effect. Ames test pilots later participated in a joint cooperative test with the French and British test pilots and found that the simulations had been correct, and this information was added to pilot training.[20]

Partnership with Sud Aviation

[edit]

France had its own SST plans. In the late 1950s, the government requested designs from the government-owned Sud Aviation and Nord Aviation, as well as Dassault. All three returned designs based on Küchemann and Weber's slender delta; Nord suggested a ramjet powered design flying at Mach 3, and the other two were jet-powered Mach 2 designs that were similar to each other. Of the three, the Sud Aviation Super-Caravelle won the design contest with a medium-range design deliberately sized to avoid competition with transatlantic US designs they assumed were already on the drawing board.[21]

As soon as the design was complete, in April 1960, Pierre Satre, the company's technical director, was sent to Bristol to discuss a partnership. Bristol was surprised to find that the Sud team had designed a similar aircraft after considering the SST problem and coming to the same conclusions as the Bristol and STAC teams in terms of economics. It was later revealed that the original STAC report, marked "For UK Eyes Only", had secretly been passed to France to win political favour. Sud made minor changes to the paper and presented it as their own work.[22]

France had no modern large jet engines and had already decided to buy a British design (as they had on the earlier subsonic Caravelle).[23] As neither company had experience in the use of heat-resistant metals for airframes, a maximum speed of around Mach 2 was selected so aluminium could be used – above this speed, the friction with the air heats the metal so much that it begins to soften. This lower speed would also speed development and allow their design to fly before the Americans. Everyone involved agreed that Küchemann's ogee-shaped wing was the right one.[21]

The British team was still focused on a 150-passenger design serving transatlantic routes, while France was deliberately avoiding these. Common components could be used in both designs, with the shorter range version using a clipped fuselage and four engines, and the longer one a stretched fuselage and six engines, leaving only the wing to be extensively re-designed.[24] The teams continued to meet in 1961, and by this time it was clear that the two aircraft would be very similar in spite of different ranges and seating arrangements. A single design emerged that differed mainly in fuel load. More powerful Bristol Siddeley Olympus engines, being developed for the TSR-2, allowed either design to be powered by only four engines.[25]

Cabinet response, treaty

[edit]

While the development teams met, the French Minister of Public Works and Transport Robert Buron was meeting with the UK Minister of Aviation Peter Thorneycroft, and Thorneycroft told the cabinet that France was much more serious about a partnership than any of the US companies.[26] The various US companies had proved uninterested, likely due to the belief that the government would be funding development and would frown on any partnership with a European company, and the risk of "giving away" US technological leadership to a European partner.[18]

When the STAC plans were presented to the UK cabinet, the economic considerations were considered highly questionable, especially as these were based on development costs, now estimated to be £150 million (US$420 million), which were repeatedly overrun in the industry. The Treasury Ministry presented a negative view, suggesting that there was no way the project would have any positive financial returns for the government, especially in light that "the industry's past record of over-optimistic estimating (including the recent history of the TSR.2) suggests that it would be prudent to consider" the cost "to turn out much too low."[26]

This led to an independent review of the project by the Committee on Civil Scientific Research and Development, which met on the topic between July and September 1962. The committee rejected the economic arguments, including considerations of supporting the industry made by Thorneycroft. Their report in October stated that it was unlikely there would be any direct positive economic outcome, but that the project should still be considered because everyone else was going supersonic, and they were concerned they would be locked out of future markets. It appeared the project would not be likely to significantly affect other, more important, research efforts.[26]

At the time, the UK was pressing for admission to the European Economic Community, and this became the main rationale for moving ahead with the aircraft.[27] The development project was negotiated as an international treaty between the two countries rather than a commercial agreement between companies and included a clause, originally asked for by the UK government, imposing heavy penalties for cancellation. This treaty was signed on 29 November 1962.[28] Charles de Gaulle vetoed the UK's entry into the European Community in a speech on 25 January 1963.[29]

Naming

[edit]

At Charles de Gaulle's January 1963 press conference the aircraft was first called 'Concorde'.[30] The name was suggested by the eighteen-year-old son of F.G. Clark, the publicity manager at BAC's Filton plant.[30] Reflecting the treaty between the British and French governments that led to Concorde's construction, the name Concorde is from the French word concorde (IPA: [kɔ̃kɔʁd]), which has an English equivalent, concord. Both words mean agreement, harmony, or union. The name was changed to Concord by Harold Macmillan in response to a perceived slight by de Gaulle. At the French roll-out in Toulouse in late 1967,[31] the British Minister of Technology, Tony Benn, announced that he would change the spelling back to Concorde.[32] This created a nationalist uproar that died down when Benn stated that the suffixed "e" represented "Excellence, England, Europe, and Entente (Cordiale)". In his memoirs, he recounted a letter from a Scotsman claiming, "you talk about 'E' for England, but part of it is made in Scotland." Given Scotland's contribution of providing the nose cone for the aircraft, Benn replied, "it was also 'E' for 'Écosse' (the French name for Scotland) – and I might have added 'e' for extravagance and 'e' for escalation as well!"[33]

In common usage in the United Kingdom, the type is known as "Concorde" without an article, rather than "the Concorde" or "a Concorde".[34][35]

Sales efforts

[edit]
British Airways Concorde in early BA livery at London-Heathrow Airport in the early 1980s

Advertisements for Concorde during the late 1960s placed in publications such as Aviation Week & Space Technology predicted a market for 350 aircraft by 1980.[36] The new consortium intended to produce one long-range and one short-range version, but prospective customers showed no interest in the short-range version, thus it was later dropped.[28]

Concorde's costs spiralled during development to more than six times the original projections, arriving at a unit cost of £23 million in 1977 (equivalent to £180.49 million in 2023).[37] Its sonic boom made travelling supersonically over land impossible without causing complaints from citizens.[38] World events also dampened Concorde sales prospects; the 1973–74 stock market crash and the 1973 oil crisis had made airlines cautious about aircraft with high fuel consumption, and new wide-body aircraft, such as the Boeing 747, had recently made subsonic aircraft significantly more efficient and presented a low-risk option for airlines.[39] While carrying a full load, Concorde achieved 15.8 passenger miles per gallon of fuel, while the Boeing 707 reached 33.3 pm/g, the Boeing 747 46.4 pm/g, and the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 53.6 pm/g.[40] A trend in favour of cheaper airline tickets also caused airlines such as Qantas to question Concorde's market suitability.[41] During the early 2000s, Flight International described Concorde as being "one of aerospace's most ambitious but commercially flawed projects",[42][43]

The consortium received orders (non-binding options) for more than 100 of the long-range version from the major airlines of the day: Pan Am, BOAC, and Air France were the launch customers, with six aircraft each. Other airlines in the order book included Panair do Brasil, Continental Airlines, Japan Airlines, Lufthansa, American Airlines, United Airlines, Air India, Air Canada, Braniff, Singapore Airlines, Iran Air, Olympic Airways, Qantas, CAAC Airlines, Middle East Airlines, and TWA.[28][44][45] At the time of the first flight, the options list contained 74 options from 16 airlines:[46]

Airline Number Reserved Cancelled Remarks
Pan Am 6 3 June 1963 31 January 1973 2 extra options in 1964
Air France 6 3 June 1963 2 extra options in 1964
BOAC 6 3 June 1963 2 extra options in 1964
Continental Airlines 3 24 July 1963 March 1973
American Airlines 4 7 October 1963 February 1973 2 extra options in 1965
TWA 4 16 October 1963 31 January 1973 2 extra options in 1965
Middle East Airlines 2 4 December 1963 February 1973
Qantas 6 19 March 1964 June 1973[47] 2 cancelled in May 1966
Air India 2 15 July 1964 February 1975
Japan Airlines 3 30 September 1965 1973
Sabena 2 1 December 1965 February 1973
Eastern Airlines 2 28 June 1966 February 1973 2 extra options on 15 August 1966
2 other extra options on 28 April 1967
United Airlines 6 29 June 1966 26 October 1972
Braniff 3 1 September 1966 February 1973
Lufthansa 3 16 February 1967 April 1973
Air Canada 4 1 March 1967 6 June 1972[48]
CAAC 2 24 July 1972 December 1979[49]
Iran Air 2 8 October 1972 February 1980

Testing

[edit]
Concorde 001 first flight in 1969

The design work was supported by a research programme studying the flight characteristics of low ratio delta wings. A supersonic Fairey Delta 2 was modified to carry the ogee planform, and, renamed as the BAC 221, used for tests of the high-speed flight envelope;[50] the Handley Page HP.115 also provided valuable information on low-speed performance.[51]

Construction of two prototypes began in February 1965: 001, built by Aérospatiale at Toulouse, and 002, by BAC at Filton, Bristol. 001 made its first test flight from Toulouse on 2 March 1969, piloted by André Turcat,[52] and first went supersonic on 1 October.[53][54] The first UK-built Concorde flew from Filton to RAF Fairford on 9 April 1969, piloted by Brian Trubshaw.[55][56] Both prototypes were presented to the public on 7–8 June 1969 at the Paris Air Show. As the flight programme progressed, 001 embarked on a sales and demonstration tour on 4 September 1971, which was also the first transatlantic crossing of Concorde.[57][58] Concorde 002 followed on 2 June 1972 with a tour of the Middle and Far East.[59] Concorde 002 made the first visit to the United States in 1973, landing at Dallas/Fort Worth Regional Airport to mark the airport's opening.[60]

Concorde on early visit to Heathrow Airport on 1 July 1972

Concorde had initially held a great deal of customer interest, but the project was hit by order cancellations. The Paris Le Bourget air show crash of the competing Soviet Tupolev Tu-144 had shocked potential buyers, and public concern over the environmental issues of supersonic aircraft – the sonic boom, take-off noise and pollution – had produced a change in the public opinion of SSTs. By 1976 the remaining buyers were from four countries: Britain, France, China, and Iran.[38] Only Air France and British Airways (the successor to BOAC) took up their orders, with the two governments taking a cut of any profits.[61]

The US government cut federal funding for the Boeing 2707, its supersonic transport programme, in 1971; Boeing did not complete its two 2707 prototypes. The US, India, and Malaysia all ruled out Concorde supersonic flights over the noise concern, although some of these restrictions were later relaxed.[62][63] Professor Douglas Ross characterised restrictions placed upon Concorde operations by President Jimmy Carter's administration as having been an act of protectionism of American aircraft manufacturers.[64]

Programme cost

[edit]

The original programme cost estimate was £70 million in 1962,[65] (£1.68 billion in 2023).[66] After cost overruns and delays the programme eventually cost between £1.5 and £2.1 billion in 1976,[67] (£11.4 billion – 16 billion in 2023).[66] This cost was the main reason the production run was much smaller than expected.[68]

Design

[edit]
Concorde flight deck layout

General features

[edit]

Concorde is an ogival delta winged aircraft with four Olympus engines based on those employed in the RAF's Avro Vulcan strategic bomber. It has an unusual tailless configuration for a commercial aircraft, as does the Tupolev Tu-144. Concorde was the first airliner to have a fly-by-wire flight-control system (in this case, analogue); the avionics system Concorde used was unique because it was the first commercial aircraft to employ hybrid circuits.[69] The principal designer for the project was Pierre Satre, with Sir Archibald Russell as his deputy.[70]

Concorde pioneered the following technologies:

For high speed and optimisation of flight:

For weight-saving and enhanced performance:

  • Mach 2.02 (~2,154 km/h or 1,338 mph) cruising speed[73] for optimum fuel consumption (supersonic drag minimum and turbojet engines are more efficient at higher speed);[74] fuel consumption at Mach 2 (2,120 km/h; 1,320 mph) and at altitude of 60,000 feet (18,000 m) was 4,800 US gallons per hour (18,000 L/h).[75]
  • Mainly aluminium construction using a high-temperature alloy similar to that developed for aero-engine pistons.[76] This material gave low weight and allowed conventional manufacture (higher speeds would have ruled out aluminium)[77]
  • Full-regime autopilot and autothrottle[78] allowing "hands off" control of the aircraft from climb out to landing
  • Fully electrically controlled analogue fly-by-wire flight controls systems[69]
  • High-pressure hydraulic system using 28 MPa (4,100 psi) for lighter hydraulic components.[79]
  • Air data computer (ADC) for the automated monitoring and transmission of aerodynamic measurements (total pressure, static pressure, angle of attack, side-slip).[80]
  • Fully electrically controlled analogue brake-by-wire system[81]
  • No auxiliary power unit, as Concorde would only visit large airports where ground air start carts were available.[82]

Powerplant

[edit]
The four powerplants mounted in two nacelles under the wings.
Twin air intake assembly for each nacelle.
Engines and twin exhaust system for each nacelle.

A symposium titled "Supersonic-Transport Implications" was hosted by the Royal Aeronautical Society on 8 December 1960. Various views were put forward on the likely type of powerplant for a supersonic transport, such as podded or buried installation and turbojet or ducted-fan engines.[83][84] Concorde needed to fly long distances to be economically viable; this required high efficiency from the powerplant. Turbofan engines were rejected due to their larger cross-section producing excessive drag (but would be studied for future SSTs). Olympus turbojet technology was already available for development to meet the design requirements.[85] Rolls-Royce proposed developing the RB.169 to power Concorde during its initial design phase,[86] but developing a wholly-new engine for a single aircraft would have been extremely costly,[87] so the existing BSEL Olympus Mk 320 turbojet engine, which was already flying in the BAC TSR-2 supersonic strike bomber prototype, was chosen instead.[25]

Boundary layer management in the podded installation was put forward as simpler with only an inlet cone, however, Dr. Seddon of the RAE favoured a more integrated buried installation. One concern of placing two or more engines behind a single intake was that an intake failure could lead to a double or triple engine failure. While a ducted fan over the turbojet would reduce noise, its larger cross-section also incurred more drag.[88] Acoustics specialists were confident that a turbojet's noise could be reduced and SNECMA made advances in silencer design during the programme.[89] The Olympus Mk.622 with reduced jet velocity was proposed to reduce the noise[90] but was not pursued. By 1974, the spade silencers which projected into the exhaust were reported to be ineffective but "entry-into-service aircraft are likely to meet their noise guarantees".[91]

The powerplant configuration selected for Concorde highlighted airfield noise, boundary layer management and interactions between adjacent engines and the requirement that the powerplant, at Mach 2, tolerate pushovers, sideslips, pull-ups and throttle slamming without surging.[92] Extensive development testing with design changes and changes to intake and engine control laws addressed most of the issues except airfield noise and the interaction between adjacent powerplants at speeds above Mach 1.6 which meant Concorde "had to be certified aerodynamically as a twin-engined aircraft above Mach 1.6".[93]

Situated behind the wing leading edge, the engine intake had a wing boundary layer ahead of it. Two-thirds were diverted and the remaining third which entered the intake did not adversely affect the intake efficiency[94] except during pushovers when the boundary layer thickened and caused surging. Wind tunnel testing helped define leading-edge modifications ahead of the intakes which solved the problem.[95] Each engine had its own intake and the nacelles were paired with a splitter plate between them to minimise the chance of one powerplant influencing the other. Only above Mach 1.6 (1,960 km/h; 1,220 mph) was an engine surge likely to affect the adjacent engine.[93]

The air intake design for Concorde's engines was especially critical.[96] The intakes had to slow down supersonic inlet air to subsonic speeds with high-pressure recovery to ensure efficient operation at cruising speed while providing low distortion levels (to prevent engine surge) and maintaining high efficiency for all likely ambient temperatures in cruise. They had to provide adequate subsonic performance for diversion cruise and low engine-face distortion at take-off. They also had to provide an alternative path for excess intake of air during engine throttling or shutdowns.[97] The variable intake features required to meet all these requirements consisted of front and rear ramps, a dump door, an auxiliary inlet and a ramp bleed to the exhaust nozzle.[98]

As well as supplying air to the engine, the intake also supplied air through the ramp bleed to the propelling nozzle. The nozzle ejector (or aerodynamic) design, with variable exit area and secondary flow from the intake, contributed to good expansion efficiency from take-off to cruise.[99] Concorde's Air Intake Control Units (AICUs) made use of a digital processor for intake control. It was the first use of a digital processor with full authority control of an essential system in a passenger aircraft. It was developed by BAC's Electronics and Space Systems division after the analogue AICUs (developed by Ultra Electronics) fitted to the prototype aircraft were found to lack sufficient accuracy.[100] Ultra Electronics also developed Concorde's thrust-by-wire engine control system.[101]

Engine failure causes problems on conventional subsonic aircraft; not only does the aircraft lose thrust on that side but the engine creates drag, causing the aircraft to yaw and bank in the direction of the failed engine. If this had happened to Concorde at supersonic speeds, it theoretically could have caused a catastrophic failure of the airframe. Although computer simulations predicted considerable problems, in practice Concorde could shut down both engines on the same side of the aircraft at Mach 2 without difficulties.[102] During an engine failure the required air intake is virtually zero. So, on Concorde, engine failure was countered by the opening of the auxiliary spill door and the full extension of the ramps, which deflected the air downwards past the engine, gaining lift and minimising drag. Concorde pilots were routinely trained to handle double-engine failure.[103] speeds Concorde used reheat (afterburners) only at take-off and to pass through the transonic speed range, between Mach 0.95 and 1.7.[104]

Heating problems

[edit]

Kinetic heating from the high speed boundary layer caused the skin to heat up during supersonic flight.[105] Every surface, such as windows and panels, was warm to the touch by the end of the flight.[106] Apart from the engine bay, the hottest part of any supersonic aircraft's structure is the nose, due to aerodynamic heating. Hiduminium R.R. 58, an aluminium alloy, was used throughout the aircraft because it was relatively cheap and easy to work with. The highest temperature it could sustain over the life of the aircraft was 127 °C (261 °F), which limited the top speed to Mach 2.02.[107] Concorde went through two cycles of cooling and heating during a flight, first cooling down as it gained altitude at subsonic speed, then heating up accelerating to cruise speed, finally cooling again when descending and slowing down before heating again in low altitude air before landing. This had to be factored into the metallurgical and fatigue modelling. A test rig was built that repeatedly heated up a full-size section of the wing, and then cooled it, and periodically samples of metal were taken for testing.[108][109] The airframe was designed for a life of 45,000 flying hours.[110]

Concorde skin temperatures. They depended on the balance of heat transfer from the boundary layer, heat picked up from solar radiation, heat radiated back from the surface to the atmosphere, and heat transferred to the internal structure.[111]

As the fuselage heated up it expanded by as much as 300 mm (12 in). The most obvious manifestation of this was a gap that opened up on the flight deck between the flight engineer's console and the bulkhead. On some aircraft that conducted a retiring supersonic flight, the flight engineers placed their caps in this expanded gap, wedging the cap when the airframe shrank again.[112] To keep the cabin cool, Concorde used the fuel as a heat sink for the heat from the air conditioning.[113] The same method also cooled the hydraulics. During supersonic flight a visor was used to keep high temperature air from flowing over the cockpit skin.[114]

Concorde had livery restrictions; the majority of the surface had to be covered with a highly reflective white paint to avoid overheating the aluminium structure due to heating effects. The white finish reduced the skin temperature by 6 to 11 °C (11 to 20 °F).[115] In 1996, Air France briefly painted F-BTSD in a predominantly blue livery, with the exception of the wings, in a promotional deal with Pepsi.[116] In this paint scheme, Air France was advised to remain at Mach 2 (2,120 km/h; 1,320 mph) for no more than 20 minutes at a time, but there was no restriction at speeds under Mach 1.7. F-BTSD was used because it was not scheduled for any long flights that required extended Mach 2 operations.[117]

Structural issues

[edit]
Fuel pitch trim

Due to its high speeds, large forces were applied to the aircraft during turns, causing distortion of the aircraft's structure. There were concerns over maintaining precise control at supersonic speeds. Both of these issues were resolved by ratio changes between the inboard and outboard elevon deflections, varying at differing speeds including supersonic. Only the innermost elevons, attached to the stiffest area of the wings, were used at higher speeds.[118] The narrow fuselage flexed,[71] which was apparent to rear passengers looking along the length of the cabin.[119]

When any aircraft passes the critical mach of its airframe, the centre of pressure shifts rearwards. This causes a pitch-down moment on the aircraft if the centre of gravity remains where it was. The wings were designed to reduce this, but there was still a shift of about 2 metres (6 ft 7 in). This could have been countered by the use of trim controls, but at such high speeds, this would have increased drag which would have been unacceptable. Instead, the distribution of fuel along the aircraft was shifted during acceleration and deceleration to move the centre of gravity, effectively acting as an auxiliary trim control.[120]

Range

[edit]

To fly non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean, Concorde required the greatest supersonic range of any aircraft.[121] This was achieved by a combination of powerplants which were efficient at twice the speed of sound, a slender fuselage with high fineness ratio, and a complex wing shape for a high lift-to-drag ratio. Only a modest payload could be carried and the aircraft was trimmed without using deflected control surfaces, to avoid the drag that would incur.[10][120]

Nevertheless, soon after Concorde began flying, a Concorde "B" model was designed with slightly larger fuel capacity and slightly larger wings with leading edge slats to improve aerodynamic performance at all speeds, with the objective of expanding the range to reach markets in new regions.[122] It would have higher thrust engines with noise reducing features and no environmentally-objectionable afterburner. Preliminary design studies showed that an engine with a 25% gain in efficiency over the Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593 could be produced.[123] This would have given 500 mi (805 km) additional range and a greater payload, making new commercial routes possible. This was cancelled due in part to poor sales of Concorde, but also to the rising cost of aviation fuel in the 1970s.[124]

Radiation concerns

[edit]

Concorde's high cruising altitude meant people on board received almost twice the flux of extraterrestrial ionising radiation as those travelling on a conventional long-haul flight.[125][126] Upon Concorde's introduction, it was speculated that this exposure during supersonic travels would increase the likelihood of skin cancer.[127] Due to the proportionally reduced flight time, the overall equivalent dose would normally be less than a conventional flight over the same distance.[128] Unusual solar activity might lead to an increase in incident radiation.[129] To prevent incidents of excessive radiation exposure, the flight deck had a radiometer and an instrument to measure the rate of increase or decrease of radiation. If the radiation level became too high, Concorde would descend below 47,000 feet (14,000 m).[126]

Cabin pressurisation

[edit]

Airliner cabins were usually maintained at a pressure equivalent to 6,000–8,000 feet (1,800–2,400 m) elevation. Concorde's pressurisation was set to an altitude at the lower end of this range, 6,000 feet (1,800 m).[130] Concorde's maximum cruising altitude was 60,000 feet (18,000 m); subsonic airliners typically cruise below 44,000 feet (13,000 m).[131]

A sudden reduction in cabin pressure is hazardous to all passengers and crew.[132] Above 50,000 feet (15,000 m), a sudden cabin depressurisation would leave a "time of useful consciousness" up to 10–15 seconds for a conditioned athlete.[133] At Concorde's altitude, the air density is very low; a breach of cabin integrity would result in a loss of pressure severe enough that the plastic emergency oxygen masks installed on other passenger jets would not be effective and passengers would soon suffer from hypoxia despite quickly donning them. Concorde was equipped with smaller windows to reduce the rate of loss in the event of a breach,[134] a reserve air supply system to augment cabin air pressure, and a rapid descent procedure to bring the aircraft to a safe altitude. The FAA enforces minimum emergency descent rates for aircraft and noting Concorde's higher operating altitude, concluded that the best response to pressure loss would be a rapid descent.[135] Continuous positive airway pressure would have delivered pressurised oxygen directly to the pilots through masks.[134]

Flight characteristics

[edit]
A BA Concorde, wheels and nose-cone lowered as if for landing, with a crowd of spectators in the foreground
Concorde performing a low-level fly-by at an air show in August 1981

While subsonic commercial jets took eight hours to fly from Paris to New York (seven hours from New York to Paris), the average supersonic flight time on the transatlantic routes was just under 3.5 hours. Concorde had a maximum cruising altitude of 18,300 metres (60,000 ft) and an average cruise speed of Mach 2.02 (2,150 km/h; 1,330 mph), more than twice the speed of conventional aircraft.[131]

With no other civil traffic operating at its cruising altitude of about 56,000 ft (17,000 m), Concorde had exclusive use of dedicated oceanic airways, or "tracks", separate from the North Atlantic Tracks, the routes used by other aircraft to cross the Atlantic. Due to the significantly less variable nature of high altitude winds compared to those at standard cruising altitudes, these dedicated SST tracks had fixed co-ordinates, unlike the standard routes at lower altitudes, whose co-ordinates are replotted twice daily based on forecast weather patterns (jetstreams).[136] Concorde would also be cleared in a 15,000-foot (4,570 m) block, allowing for a slow climb from 45,000 to 60,000 ft (14,000 to 18,000 m) during the oceanic crossing as the fuel load gradually decreased.[137] In regular service, Concorde employed an efficient cruise-climb flight profile following take-off.[138]

The delta-shaped wings required Concorde to adopt a higher angle of attack at low speeds than conventional aircraft, but it allowed the formation of large low-pressure vortices over the entire upper wing surface, maintaining lift.[139] The normal landing speed was 170 miles per hour (274 km/h).[140] Because of this high angle, during a landing approach Concorde was on the backside of the drag force curve, where raising the nose would increase the rate of descent; the aircraft was thus largely flown on the throttle and was fitted with an autothrottle to reduce the pilot's workload.[141]

The only thing that tells you that you're moving is that occasionally when you're flying over the subsonic aeroplanes you can see all these 747s 20,000 feet below you almost appearing to go backwards, I mean you are going 800 miles an hour or thereabouts faster than they are. The aeroplane was an absolute delight to fly, it handled beautifully. And remember we are talking about an aeroplane that was being designed in the late 1950s – mid-1960s. I think it's absolutely amazing and here we are, now in the 21st century, and it remains unique.

— John Hutchinson, Concorde Captain, 'The World's Greatest Airliner' (2003)[142]

Brakes and undercarriage

[edit]

Because of the way Concorde's delta-wing generated lift, the undercarriage had to be unusually strong and tall to allow for the angle of attack at low speed. At rotation, Concorde would rise to a high angle of attack, about 18 degrees. Prior to rotation, the wing generated almost no lift, unlike typical aircraft wings. Combined with the high airspeed at rotation (199 knots or 369 kilometres per hour or 229 miles per hour indicated airspeed), this increased the stresses on the main undercarriage in a way that was initially unexpected during the development and required a major redesign.[143] Due to the high angle needed at rotation, a small set of wheels was added aft to prevent tailstrikes. The main undercarriage units swing towards each other to be stowed but due to their great height also needed to contract in length telescopically before swinging to clear each other when stowed.[144]

The four main wheel tyres on each bogie unit are inflated to 232 psi (1,600 kPa). The twin-wheel nose undercarriage retracts forwards and its tyres are inflated to a pressure of 191 psi (1,320 kPa), and the wheel assembly carries a spray deflector to prevent standing water from being thrown up into the engine intakes. The tyres are rated to a maximum speed on the runway of 250 mph (400 km/h).[145]

The high take-off speed of 250 miles per hour (400 km/h) required Concorde to have upgraded brakes. Like most airliners, Concorde has anti-skid braking  to prevent the tyres from losing traction when the brakes are applied. The brakes, developed by Dunlop, were the first carbon-based brakes used on an airliner.[146] The use of carbon over equivalent steel brakes provided a weight-saving of 1,200 lb (540 kg).[147] Each wheel has multiple discs which are cooled by electric fans. Wheel sensors include brake overload, brake temperature, and tyre deflation. After a typical landing at Heathrow, brake temperatures were around 300–400 °C (570–750 °F). Landing Concorde required a minimum of 6,000 feet (1,800 m) runway length; the shortest runway Concorde ever landed on carrying commercial passengers was Cardiff Airport.[148] Concorde G-AXDN (101) made its final landing at Duxford Aerodrome on 20 August 1977, which had a runway length of just 6,000 feet (1,800 m) at the time.[149][150] This was the last aircraft to land at Duxford before the runway was shortened later that year.[151]

Droop nose

[edit]

Concorde's drooping nose, developed by Marshall's of Cambridge,[152] enabled the aircraft to switch from being streamlined to reduce drag and achieve optimal aerodynamic efficiency during flight, to not obstructing the pilot's view during taxi, take-off, and landing operations. Due to the high angle of attack, the long pointed nose obstructed the view and necessitated the ability to droop. The droop nose was accompanied by a moving visor that retracted into the nose prior to being lowered. When the nose was raised to horizontal, the visor would rise in front of the cockpit windscreen for aerodynamic streamlining.[152]

a BAC-liveried aircraft a few feet above a runway, with wheels down
Concorde landing at Farnborough in September 1974, with dropping nose lowered

A controller in the cockpit allowed the visor to be retracted and the nose to be lowered to 5° below the standard horizontal position for taxiing and take-off. Following take-off and after clearing the airport, the nose and visor were raised. Prior to landing, the visor was again retracted and the nose lowered to 12.5° below horizontal for maximal visibility. Upon landing the nose was raised to the 5° position to avoid the possibility of damage due to collision with ground vehicles, and then raised fully before engine shutdown to prevent pooling of internal condensation within the radome seeping down into the aircraft's pitot/ADC system probes.[152]

The US Federal Aviation Administration had objected to the restrictive visibility of the visor used on the first two prototype Concordes, which had been designed before a suitable high-temperature window glass had become available, and thus requiring alteration before the FAA would permit Concorde to serve US airports. This led to the redesigned visor used in the production and the four pre-production aircraft (101, 102, 201, and 202).[153] The nose window and visor glass, needed to endure temperatures in excess of 100 °C (210 °F) at supersonic flight, were developed by Triplex.[154]

Operational history

[edit]

Concorde began scheduled flights with British Airways (BA) and Air France (AF) on 21 January 1976.[155] AF flew its last commercial flight on 30 May 2003[156][157] with BA retiring its Concorde fleet on 24 October 2003.[3]

Operators

[edit]
  • Air France
  • British Airways
  • Braniff International Airways operated Concordes at subsonic speed between Dulles International Airport and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, from January 1979 until May 1980, utilizing its own flight and cabin crew, under its own insurance and operator's license. Stickers containing a US registration were placed over the French and British registrations of the aircraft during each rotation, and a placard was temporarily placed behind the cockpit to signify the operator and operator's license in command.[158]
  • Singapore Airlines had its livery placed on the left side of Concorde G-BOAD, and held a joint marketing agreement which saw Singapore insignias on the cabin fittings, as well as the airline's "Singapore Girl" stewardesses jointly sharing cabin duty with British Airways flight attendants. All flight crew, operations, and insurances remained solely under British Airways however, and at no point did Singapore Airlines operate Concorde services under its own operator's certification, nor wet-lease an aircraft. This arrangement initially only lasted for three flights, conducted between 9–13 December 1977; it later resumed on 24 January 1979, and operated until 1 November 1980. The Singapore livery was used on G-BOAD from 1977 to 1980.[159]

Accidents and incidents

[edit]

Air France Flight 4590

[edit]

On 25 July 2000, Air France Flight 4590, registration F-BTSC, crashed in Gonesse, France, after departing from Charles de Gaulle Airport en route to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, killing all 100 passengers and nine crew members on board as well as four people on the ground. It was the only fatal accident involving Concorde. This crash also damaged Concorde's reputation and caused both British Airways and Air France to temporarily ground their fleets.[160] According to the official investigation conducted by the Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA), the crash was caused by a metallic strip that had fallen from a Continental Airlines DC-10 that had taken off minutes earlier. This fragment punctured a tyre on Concorde's left main wheel bogie during take-off. The tyre exploded, and a piece of rubber hit the fuel tank, which caused a fuel leak and led to a fire. The crew shut down engine number 2 in response to a fire warning, and with engine number 1 surging and producing little power, the aircraft was unable to gain altitude or speed. The aircraft entered a rapid pitch-up then a sudden descent, rolling left and crashing tail-low into the Hôtelissimo Les Relais Bleus Hotel in Gonesse.[161]

Before the accident, Concorde had been arguably the safest operational passenger airliner in the world with zero passenger deaths, but there had been two prior non-fatal accidents and a rate of tyre damage 30 times higher than subsonic airliners from 1995 to 2000.[162][163][164][165] Safety improvements made after the crash included more secure electrical controls, Kevlar lining on the fuel tanks and specially developed burst-resistant tyres.[166] The first flight with the modifications departed from London Heathrow on 17 July 2001, piloted by BA Chief Concorde Pilot Mike Bannister. In a flight of 3 hours 20 minutes over the mid-Atlantic towards Iceland, Bannister attained Mach 2.02 and 60,000 ft (18,000 m) then returned to RAF Brize Norton. The test flight, intended to resemble the London–New York route, was declared a success and was watched on live TV, and by crowds on the ground at both locations.[167]

The first flight with passengers after the 2000 grounding landed shortly before the World Trade Center attacks in the United States. This was not a commercial flight: all the passengers were BA employees.[160] Normal commercial operations resumed on 7 November 2001 by BA and AF (aircraft G-BOAE and F-BTSD), with service to New York JFK, where Mayor Rudy Giuliani greeted the passengers.[168][169]

Other accidents and incidents

[edit]
Rear end of aircraft G-BOAF, in BA livery with a large chunk missing. The tail-strike wheel is lowered.
Damage to Concorde rudder after an accident in 1989

On 12 April 1989, Concorde G-BOAF, on a chartered flight from Christchurch, New Zealand, to Sydney, Australia, suffered a structural failure at supersonic speed. As the aircraft was climbing and accelerating through Mach 1.7, a "thud" was heard. The crew did not notice any handling problems, and they assumed the thud they heard was a minor engine surge. No further difficulty was encountered until descent through 40,000 feet (12,000 m) at Mach 1.3, when a vibration was felt throughout the aircraft, lasting two to three minutes. Most of the upper rudder had separated from the aircraft at this point. Aircraft handling was unaffected, and the aircraft made a safe landing at Sydney. The UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) concluded that the skin of the rudder had been separating from the rudder structure over a period before the accident due to moisture seepage past the rivets in the rudder. Production staff had not followed proper procedures during an earlier modification of the rudder; the procedures were difficult to adhere to.[162] The aircraft was repaired and returned to service.[162]

On 21 March 1992, G-BOAB while flying British Airways Flight 001 from London to New York, also suffered a structural failure at supersonic speed. While cruising at Mach 2, at approximately 53,000 feet (16,000 m), the crew heard a "thump". No difficulties in handling were noticed, and no instruments gave any irregular indications. This crew also suspected there had been a minor engine surge. One hour later, during descent and while decelerating below Mach 1.4, a sudden "severe" vibration began throughout the aircraft.[163] The vibration worsened when power was added to the No 2 engine. The crew shut down the No 2 engine and made a successful landing in New York, noting that increased rudder control was needed to keep the aircraft on its intended approach course. Again, the skin had separated from the structure of the rudder, which led to most of the upper rudder detaching in flight. The AAIB concluded that repair materials had leaked into the structure of the rudder during a recent repair, weakening the bond between the skin and the structure of the rudder, leading to it breaking up in flight. The large size of the repair had made it difficult to keep repair materials out of the structure, and prior to this accident, the severity of the effect of these repair materials on the structure and skin of the rudder was not appreciated.[163]

The 2010 trial involving Continental Airlines over the crash of Flight 4590 established that from 1976 until Flight 4590 there had been 57 tyre failures involving Concordes during takeoffs, including a near-crash at Dulles International Airport on 14 June 1979 involving Air France Flight 54 where a tyre blowout pierced the plane's fuel tank and damaged a left engine and electrical cables, with the loss of two of the craft's hydraulic systems.[170]

Aircraft on display

[edit]

Twenty Concorde aircraft were built: two prototypes, two pre-production aircraft, two development aircraft and 14 production aircraft for commercial service. With the exception of two of the production aircraft, all are preserved, mostly in museums. One aircraft was scrapped in 1994, and another was destroyed in the Air France Flight 4590 crash in 2000.

Comparable aircraft

[edit]

Tu-144

[edit]
Concorde (left) and Tu-144 in Auto & Technik Museum Sinsheim
Boeing 2707 3-view diagram
Lockheed L-2000 mockup

Concorde was one of only two supersonic jetliner models to operate commercially; the other was the Soviet-built Tupolev Tu-144, which operated in the late 1970s.[171][172] The Tu-144 was nicknamed "Concordski" by Western European journalists for its outward similarity to Concorde.[173] Soviet espionage efforts allegedly stole Concorde blueprints to assist in the design of the Tu-144.[174][page needed] As a result of a rushed development programme, the first Tu-144 prototype was substantially different from the preproduction machines, but both were cruder than Concorde. The Tu-144S had a significantly shorter range than Concorde. Jean Rech, Sud Aviation, attributed this to two things,[175] a very heavy powerplant with an intake twice as long as that on Concorde, and low-bypass turbofan engines with too high a bypass ratio which needed afterburning for cruise. The aircraft had poor control at low speeds because of a simpler wing design. The Tu-144 required braking parachutes to land.[176] The Tu-144 had two crashes, one at the 1973 Paris Air Show,[177][178] and another during a pre-delivery test flight in May 1978.[179][180]

Passenger service commenced in November 1977, but after the 1978 crash the aircraft was taken out of passenger service after only 55 flights, which carried an average of 58 passengers. The Tu-144 had an inherently unsafe structural design as a consequence of an automated production method chosen to simplify and speed up manufacturing.[181] The Tu-144 program was cancelled by the Soviet government on 1 July 1983.[182]

SST and others

[edit]

The main competing designs for the US government-funded supersonic transport (SST) were the swing-wing Boeing 2707 and the compound delta wing Lockheed L-2000. These were to have been larger, with seating for up to 300 people.[183][184] The Boeing 2707 was selected for development. Concorde first flew in 1969, the year Boeing began building 2707 mockups after changing the design to a cropped delta wing; the cost of this and other changes helped to kill the project.[185] The operation of US military aircraft such as the Mach 3+ North American XB-70 Valkyrie prototypes and Convair B-58 Hustler strategic nuclear bomber had shown that sonic booms were capable of reaching the ground,[186] and the experience from the Oklahoma City sonic boom tests led to the same environmental concerns that hindered the commercial success of Concorde. The American government cancelled its SST project in 1971 having spent more than $1 billion without any aircraft being built.[187]

Impact

[edit]

Environmental

[edit]

Before Concorde's flight trials, developments in the civil aviation industry were largely accepted by governments and their respective electorates. Opposition to Concorde's noise, particularly on the east coast of the United States,[188][189] forged a new political agenda on both sides of the Atlantic, with scientists and technology experts across a multitude of industries beginning to take the environmental and social impact more seriously.[190][191] Although Concorde led directly to the introduction of a general noise abatement programme for aircraft flying out of John F. Kennedy Airport, many found that Concorde was quieter than expected,[71] partly due to the pilots temporarily throttling back their engines to reduce noise during overflight of residential areas.[192] Even before commercial flights started, it had been claimed that Concorde was quieter than many other aircraft.[193] In 1971, BAC's technical director stated, "It is certain on present evidence and calculations that in the airport context, production Concordes will be no worse than aircraft now in service and will in fact be better than many of them."[194]

Concorde produced nitrogen oxides in its exhaust, which, despite complicated interactions with other ozone-depleting chemicals, are understood to result in degradation to the ozone layer at the stratospheric altitudes it cruised.[195] It has been pointed out that other, lower-flying, airliners produce ozone during their flights in the troposphere, but vertical transit of gases between the layers is restricted. The small fleet meant overall ozone-layer degradation caused by Concorde was negligible.[195] In 1995, David Fahey, of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the United States, warned that a fleet of 500 supersonic aircraft with exhausts similar to Concorde might produce a 2 per cent drop in global ozone levels, much higher than previously thought. Each 1 per cent drop in ozone is estimated to increase the incidence of non-melanoma skin cancer worldwide by 2 per cent. Dr Fahey said if these particles are produced by highly oxidised sulphur in the fuel, as he believed, then removing sulphur in the fuel will reduce the ozone-destroying impact of supersonic transport.[196]

Concorde's technical leap forward boosted the public's understanding of conflicts between technology and the environment as well as awareness of the complex decision analysis processes that surround such conflicts.[197] In France, the use of acoustic fencing alongside TGV tracks might not have been achieved without the 1970s controversy over aircraft noise.[198] In the UK, the CPRE has issued tranquillity maps since 1990.[199]

Public perception

[edit]
BA-liveried Concorde leading a V-formation with seven of the Red Arrow's Gnat aircraft in view. The Gnats are trailing blue and white smoke
Parade flight with the Red Arrows at the Queen's Golden Jubilee, June 2002

Concorde was normally perceived as a privilege of the rich, but special circular or one-way (with return by other flight or ship) charter flights were arranged to bring a trip within the means of moderately well-off enthusiasts.[200] As a symbol of national pride, an example from the BA fleet made occasional flypasts at selected Royal events, major air shows and other special occasions, sometimes in formation with the Red Arrows.[201] On the final day of commercial service, public interest was so great that grandstands were erected at Heathrow Airport. Significant numbers of people attended the final landings; the event received widespread media coverage.[202]

The aircraft was usually referred to by the British as simply "Concorde".[203] In France it was known as "le Concorde" due to "le", the definite article,[204] used in French grammar to introduce the name of a ship or aircraft,[205] and the capital being used to distinguish a proper name from a common noun of the same spelling.[204][206] In French, the common noun concorde means "agreement, harmony, or peace". [N 1] Concorde's pilots and British Airways in official publications often refer to Concorde both in the singular and plural as "she" or "her".[208]

In 2006, 37 years after its first test flight, Concorde was announced the winner of the Great British Design Quest organised by the BBC (through The Culture Show) and the Design Museum. A total of 212,000 votes were cast with Concorde beating other British design icons such as the Mini, mini skirt, Jaguar E-Type car, the Tube map, the World Wide Web, the K2 red telephone box and the Supermarine Spitfire.[209][210]

Special missions

[edit]
The Queen, in a pink floral dress, cream hat and long white gloves, descends from a BA-liveried aircraft via a set of movable aircraft steps, with the Duke, in a grey suit and dark tie, close behind her
Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh disembark Concorde in 1991

The heads of France and the United Kingdom flew in Concorde many times.[211] Presidents Georges Pompidou,[212] Valéry Giscard d'Estaing[213] and François Mitterrand[214] regularly used Concorde as French flagship aircraft on foreign visits. Elizabeth II and Prime Ministers Edward Heath, Jim Callaghan, Margaret Thatcher, John Major and Tony Blair took Concorde in some charter flights such as the Queen's trips to Barbados on her Silver Jubilee in 1977, in 1987 and in 2003, to the Middle East in 1984 and to the United States in 1991.[215] Pope John Paul II flew on Concorde in May 1989.[216]

Concorde sometimes made special flights for demonstrations, air shows (such as the Farnborough, Paris-Le Bourget, Oshkosh AirVenture and MAKS air shows) as well as parades and celebrations (for example, of Zurich Airport's anniversary in 1998). The aircraft were also used for private charters (including by the President of Zaire Mobutu Sese Seko on multiple occasions),[217] for advertising companies (including for the firm OKI), for Olympic torch relays (1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville) and for observing solar eclipses, including the solar eclipse of 30 June 1973[218][219] and again for the total solar eclipse on 11 August 1999.[220]

Records

[edit]

The fastest transatlantic airliner flight was from New York JFK to London Heathrow on 7 February 1996 by the British Airways G-BOAD in 2 hours, 52 minutes, 59 seconds from take-off to touchdown aided by a 175 mph (282 km/h) tailwind.[221] On 13 February 1985, a Concorde charter flight flew from London Heathrow to Sydney – on the opposite side of the world – in a time of 17 hours, 3 minutes and 45 seconds, including refuelling stops.[222][223]

Concorde set the FAI "Westbound Around the World" and "Eastbound Around the World" world air speed records.[224] On 12–13 October 1992, in commemoration of the 500th anniversary of Columbus' first voyage to the New World, Concorde Spirit Tours (US) chartered Air France Concorde F-BTSD and circumnavigated the world in 32 hours 49 minutes and 3 seconds, from Lisbon, Portugal, including six refuelling stops at Santo Domingo, Acapulco, Honolulu, Guam, Bangkok, and Bahrain.[225]

The eastbound record was set by the same Air France Concorde (F-BTSD) under charter to Concorde Spirit Tours[219] in the US on 15–16 August 1995. This promotional flight circumnavigated the world from New York/JFK International Airport in 31 hours 27 minutes 49 seconds, including six refuelling stops at Toulouse, Dubai, Bangkok, Andersen AFB in Guam, Honolulu, and Acapulco.[226]

On its way to the Museum of Flight in November 2003, G-BOAG set a New York City-to-Seattle speed record of 3 hours, 55 minutes, and 12 seconds. Due to the restrictions on supersonic overflights within the US the flight was granted permission by the Canadian authorities for the majority of the journey to be flown supersonically over sparsely-populated Canadian territory.[227]

Specifications

[edit]
Other line drawings of Concorde
Concorde G-BOAC

Data from The Wall Street Journal,[228] The Concorde Story,[229] The International Directory of Civil Aircraft,[73] Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde 1969 onwards (all models)[230]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 3 (2 pilots and 1 flight engineer)
  • Capacity: 92–120 passengers
    (128 in high-density layout)
  • Length: 202 ft 4 in (61.66 m)
  • Wingspan: 84 ft 0 in (25.6 m)
  • Height: 40 ft 0 in (12.2 m)
  • Wing area: 3,856.2 sq ft (358.25 m2)
  • Empty weight: 173,504 lb (78,700 kg)
  • Gross weight: 245,000 lb (111,130 kg)
  • Max takeoff weight: 408,010 lb (185,070 kg)
  • Fuel capacity: 210,940 lb (95,680 kg); 119,600 L (26,300 imp gal; 31,600 US gal)
  • Fuselage internal length: 129 ft 0 in (39.32 m)
  • Fuselage width: maximum of 9 ft 5 in (2.87 m) external, 8 ft 7 in (2.62 m) internal
  • Fuselage height: maximum of 10 ft 10 in (3.30 m) external, 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) internal
  • Maximum taxiing weight: 412,000 lb (187,000 kg)
  • Powerplant: 4 × Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593 Mk 610 turbojets with reheat, 31,000 lbf (140 kN) thrust each dry, 38,050 lbf (169.3 kN) with afterburner

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 1,354 mph (2,179 km/h, 1,177 kn)
  • Maximum speed: Mach 2.04 (temperature limited)
  • Cruise speed: 1,341 mph (2,158 km/h, 1,165 kn)
  • Range: 4,488.0 mi (7,222.8 km, 3,900.0 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 60,000 ft (18,300 m)
  • Rate of climb: 3,300–4,900 ft/min (17–25 m/s) at sea level[231][232]
  • Lift-to-drag: Low speed– 3.94; Approach– 4.35; 250 kn, 10,000 ft– 9.27; Mach 0.94– 11.47, Mach 2.04– 7.14
  • Fuel consumption: 47 lb/mi (13.2 kg/km)
  • Thrust/weight: 0.373
  • Maximum nose tip temperature: 127 °C (260 °F; 400 K)
  • Runway requirement (with maximum load): 3,600 m (11,800 ft)[233]

Avionics

Notable appearances in media

[edit]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ concorde s.f. concord, unity, harmony, peace.[207]

References

[edit]

Citations

[edit]
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