Who doesn’t miss the Concorde? The loveliest airliner ever built retired in 2003, after 25 years of passenger service, and the airports it frequented haven’t been the same. Few of us got the chance to fly on the supersonic jet, but simply seeing it was a memorable experience.
The Concorde can still be seen. Though only 20 prototype and production aircraft were built, 18 are on display at a fortunate group of museums, airports, and factories in Europe, the United States, and Barbados. If you can’t make it to one of them, we’d advise taking a look at the recently published Concorde (Zenith Press, 2006), a book for those who never tire of admiring the airliner’s magnificent lines.
With text by French journalist and pilot Frédéric Beniada and 120 images selected by photo editor Michel Fraile, Concorde provides a history of the supersonic transport’s career, starting with its joint development in the 1960s by Sud Aviation in France and British Aircraft Corporation in the United Kingdom. A design compromise only made the transport more exquisite. Engineers had considered giving the aircraft a delta wing. The triangular shape is excellent for generating lift and reducing drag at supersonic speeds, but when the airliner takes off, climbs out, maintains a holding pattern, or lands, it flies at subsonic speeds, and at those, the delta wing’s lift is insufficient. By gently curving the lines into an ogival shape, like a bullet’s nose, engineers gave the Concorde sufficient low-speed lift—and the appearance of a great white bird.
Flying at Mach 2.2, the Concorde could cross the Atlantic in under four hours. Compare that with the doleful seven to eight hours that a conventional jet requires and it’s easy to understand why the Concorde will always be the airliner of our dreams.
Click here to find out where to see a Concorde on display in the United States.
I saw Concorde first in 1972. It was on a test flight to Tullamarine Airport, Melbourne and at a very low altitude, with high attitude (nose drooping), it was making rather a lot of noise prior to approach. What a sight! I flew Concorde from London to New York in 1984. It still amazes me to think of that flight. I remember the feeling of thrust when the afterburners were on, the blackness of the sky when looking up out of the small windows at 53,000 feet, speeding along at Mach 2.03. The Captain mentioned that the fuselage length had extended by 9 inches, due to air friction, even though it was minus 53 degrees C outside. I saw the curvature of the earth really for the first time that flight. What a shame it no longer flies! An aviation icon, that has not been surpassed.
Posted by Richard Rhimes on March 27,2008 | 03:15AM
As an employee of American Airlines, i was one of the fortunate few to participate in a company exhibit on the Mall of Washington D.C. during the bicentenial Festival of American Folklife. In addition to the excitement and honor of attending this great event, a number of us aircraft maintenance professionals were invited to observe the Concorde as it was prepared and departed from Dulles International Airport. We were allowed onto the ramp for an up close and personal inspection of this beauty as she rested on the tarmac while being groomed for the forthcoming flight. As she taxied out for departure we were escorted to the end of the designated runway for a final thrill to watch take off. It was quite possibly the most beautiful aircraft I have ever seen as she gained flight!! As for the "supposed" noise she generated-it was music to my ears. She was no louder than a Boeing 707 during a take off. I wish she still flew! Al Sorensen, (retired AMT(T), American Airlines.
Posted by Alan Sorensen on April 14,2008 | 11:32AM