She Took the Job for the Money and Lost Herself

 

The Concorde was a supersonic passenger jet that was a symbol of technological advancement and luxury travel in the late 20th century. Heraldviews takes a look at the life and death of Concorde – Biggest plane ever flown.

 

From the Wright brothers to NASA, flying and above all conquering the air has always been man's dream and passion. Humans don't seem to be satisfied with flying, whether it's hot air balloons and airplanes or supersonic biplanes, the desire is trying to go higher, go faster and do it more efficiently until the invention of the Concorde

 

The Concorde was a European invention that took the world by storm and took many around the world. Here we look at the life and death of this amazing ship.

 

 Despite its popularity and iconic status, Concorde was finally retired in 2003, with its final flight on October 2 of that year. In this article Heraldviews explore the reasons why Concorde was canceled and what led to the demise of this remarkable aircraft.

 

Concorde was a joint project between the British and French governments and was developed by British Aerospace and French Aerospatiale. The first Concorde flight took place in 1969 and the aircraft entered service in 1976.

 

 Concorde was designed to fly at twice the speed of sound, which meant it could travel from London to New York in just over three hours.

                                

Initially, the Concorde was considered a huge success because wealthy travelers were willing to pay a premium for the luxury and speed it offered. Despite its initial popularity, the Concorde encountered a number of challenges that eventually led to its discontinuation.

 

 One of Concorde's biggest challenges was high running costs. The aircraft was incredibly expensive to operate, with high maintenance and fuel costs. As a result, Concorde ticket prices were very high, limiting the number of passengers who could fly it. This made it difficult for airlines to profit from Concorde flights, which ultimately led to a drop in demand for the aircraft.

 

Another challenge that Concorde faced was environmental issues. The plane was incredibly loud and the sonic boom it created could be heard a mile away. This led to complaints from people who lived near airports where Concorde operated and concerns about the aircraft's impact on the environment. 

In addition to these challenges, Concorde suffered a major setback in 2000 when an Air France Concorde crashed shortly after takeoff from Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.

 

The crash, which killed all 109 passengers and crew on board, was caused by debris on the runway that punctured one of the plane's tires, causing it to explode. A flat tire sent debris flying into the fuel tanks, causing a massive fire that eventually caused the crash.

 

The accident was a major blow to Concorde’s reputation and caused a drop in demand for the aircraft. Following the accident, both British Airways and Air France temporarily grounded their Concorde aircraft pending an investigation. New safety measures such as the design of the fuel tanks and improvements to the tires were implemented when the aircraft was brought back into service.

 

Despite these initiatives, the accident continued to have a lasting impact on the public's perception of Concorde, with many passengers reluctant to fly the plane after the incident.

 

Notwithstanding its iconic status and significant technological achievements, the Concorde was simply too expensive to operate, too noisy and too risky to continue flying.

 

In 2003, British Airways and Air France announced that they would be retiring their Concorde fleets, and the last Concorde flight took place on October 24th of that year.

                               

The Concorde was a remarkable aircraft that pushed the boundaries of what was possible in aviation. However, despite its initial popularity and success, the Concorde faced several challenges that ultimately led to its discontinuation.

 

The Concorde’s timeline

1. November, 1956:  The Supersonic Transportation Advisory Committee was formed on this day to study the feasibility of supersonic flight in commercial jet aircraft. The team has produced several reports showing that a commercial flying vehicle of this caliber is possible. The committee includes experts from all aspects of aeronautical engineering, both public and private.

 

2. January 1, 1963: 1963 marks the first big leap in Concorde's life. The name Concorde was coined after a quick scan of the thesaurus by a senior official of the British Aircraft Corporation.

 

3.  May 1, 1963: Filton and Toulouse are two modest regions that will soon become thriving centers of the supersonic giant. Concorde confirmed that 0% of the airframe and 60% of the engines would be built in the UK.

 

4. December 11, 1967:  Toulouse is once again the star of the building. In 1967, the French base installed the first 001 prototype at the Aerospatiale plant. 

 

5.  March 2, 1969: Prototype 001 made its maiden flight from Toulouse at 250 knots and 10,000 feet. A month later, in April, the British model made her maiden voyage. On the big day of 001, the Concorde supersonic aircraft achieved supersonic flight at Mach 1, or simply more.

6. November, 1970:  Concorde 002 is born, breaking the Mach 2 mark. In 1970, Concorde finally arrived at one of the UK's largest airports; Heathrow.

 

 7. June 1, 1972:  Concorde begins its tour of Australia, the United Arab Emirates and other countries, completing a global sales tour of  5,000 miles. 8.  September 26, 1973: Concorde 002 made the first transatlantic crossing, traveling from Washington to Paris in just over 3.5 hours. 

 

9.  December 6, 1973: The maiden flight of the first Concorde is complete, and the Toulouse-built 201 takes off reaching Mach 1.57 or 1,205 miles per hour!

 

10. January 21, 1976: British Airways' first Concorde (British Airways) took off from London to Bahrain on its maiden flight, piloted by Norman Todd. The plane had only arrived at Filton, Bristol, a few days earlier. The flight was broadcast live.

 

11.  January 21, 1981: Celebrating its fifth anniversary, Concorde's greatness begins to be appreciated. With more than 700,000 passengers, 50,000 flight hours and more than 15,800 flights, the plane is  one of the largest aircraft ever built.

 

12.  March 31, 198: The British government decides that its involvement in Concorde is too strong and hands over all funding and decision-making powers to BA. 

 

13. 13 July 1985: Phil Collins demonstrates the power and reliability of Concorde after using the service to travel from the day of the  concert in the US to the Live Aid concert in the UK.

14. November 1, 1986: After celebrating its first decade of commercial flight in January, Concorde completes its first charter flight around the world  in  1 day, 7 hours and 51 minutes. 

 

15, 25 March 1993: First female pilot to take over; Barbara Hama. Later that year, I flew from the UK to JFK in the US.

 

16.  February 7, 1996: The transatlantic flight record is about to be broken as Concorde completes the flight in 172 minutes and 59 seconds. 

 

17.  August 11, 1999: Two Concordes fly in supersonic formation for the visual feat of chasing a total solar eclipse.

 

18.  July 25, 2000: A bad day in Concorde history. In Paris, France, an Air France Concorde crashed that day, killing 113 people. 

 

19.  August 15, 2000: The first Concorde dies, and British Airways announces that it will stop operating the Concorde. The decision was made so quickly that it resulted in an aircraft being grounded mid-flight after its certificate of airworthiness was revoked. 

 

20.  January 21, 2001: A day full of mixed emotions for many Concorde fans, not long after their favorite plane was kicked out of the sky, but it was the 25th anniversary of Concorde's commercial flight.

 

 21.  November 7, 2001: Concorde returns. The  plane returned to the skies as a commercial airliner after the team aboard Concorde carried out a lengthy and expensive safety upgrade.

 

22.  January 12, 2002: The results of the Paris accident are known, and the French accident commission declares that the cause of the accident was a piece of rubber, punctured by a disordered metal band and thrown into the fuel tank, which caused a leak. 

 

23.  April 10, 2003: British Airways and Air France start ringing the  final bells. The two companies agreed to stop operating the plane after the decline in the number of commercial flights, which was questioned by the plane crash in Paris.

 

24. May 31-2, 2003: Air France makes the last Concorde flight between JFK and Paris Charles de Gaulle. All the Concordes of France are on display all over the world. The last BA Concorde flight took place in October.