So, did you know that Concorde was the first supersonic passenger-carrying commercial airplane (or supersonic transport, SST)? Well... yeaah, it´s true. Britain and France held hands and agreed to colaborate on this supersonic jet for fourteen years (Gooooood they took it sooo long, but it was worth the wait, really).
But, how did the all thing started? Let's figure out then.
In the late 1950s, it was in the interest of the American, French, English and Soviet agencies to create a supersonic passenger transport aircraft. Each of these countries had its own project, but in the early 1960s, due to the enoooormous costs demanded (trust me, it was very pricy), the governments of England and France decided to join forces, and on October 25, 1962, they signed a treaty to jointly produce a supersonic aircraft. After 14 years of development, Concorde’s maiden commercial flights on this day in 1976 were the final culmination of this agreement.
"Fasten your seat belts! Mach 2 on the way"
Britain and France had faced competition from the US and the USSR, both of whom were attempting to create their own supersonic planes. In fact, the Soviets, worked partly from details stolen from the Anglo-French project. Whait whait, stealing and working on this massive "plane".... now are two jobs in one!
Three months later, in March 1969, Concorde made its maiden test flight. The 27-minute test flight was a resounding success. Whaaaat a record!!!! I'm surprised! So much so that, in the heady days after March 2, 1969, many airlines around the world expressed interest in the new, ground-breaking aircraft.
During the interval between the maiden test flight and Concorde’s commercial development this interest gradually fell away, that was so sad. Concerns over the sonic booms produced by Concorde’s engines and worries about operating costs left British Airways (then Government run) and Air France (state run) the only two airlines who ever operated Concorde jets.
Whilst Concorde’s eventual transatlantic London/New York and Paris/New York routes would become iconic, in the early days the plane was banned from flying over US territory. This meant that the routes flown on January 21, 1976 were London Heathrow to Bahrain and Paris Orly to Rio de Janeiro. Captain Norman Todd piloted flight BA300 to Bahrain on this day in 1976.
It wasn’t until later in 1976 that the first passenger Concordes were given permission to land at Dulles Airport in Washington. New York held out until 1977, when the first scheduled Concorde flights to New York began on November 22.
Concorde’s era of supersonic travel lasted for nearly 30 years. The iconic ‘Speedbird’ took its final flight on October 24, 2003. Dwindling passenger numbers, rising costs and a fatal accident in 2000 all sealed the fate of the ground-breaking aircraft.
Some curiosities...
The fastest transatlantic crossing made by Concorde took 2 hours, 52 minutes and 59 seconds when Concorde 210 – G-BOAD (“Alpha Delta”) flew from New York to London on February 7, 1996.
Concorde could seat 100 people and had a maximum cruising speed of 1,350mph (honestly, they couldn't get to Usain Bolt's feet but yes, it was a good attempt). It could fly at altitudes of up to 60,000 ft – high enough for passengers to see the curvature of the Earth.
There were only ever 16 Concordes in service.
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