Concorde

Associated With

British Aircraft Corporation and Aérospatiale under a British–French government programme - developer

Defining Feature

An ogee-delta-wing airliner designed for passenger flight at Mach 2 and 60,000 feet

Status

Preserved - British Airways withdrew Concorde on 24 October 2003; surviving airframes are preserved

Overview

Concorde carried paying passengers on scheduled routes at Mach 2.

Developed under a British–French agreement signed in 1962, British prototype 002 first flew from Filton on 09/04/1969. French prototype 001 broke the sound barrier in 10/1969.

Commercial service followed in 1976, turning Mach 2 flight into scheduled passenger transport. British Airways records a cruising speed of 1,350 mph at altitudes of up to 60,000 feet.

Why It Mattered

Concorde made supersonic travel a public experience rather than leaving it as an experimental achievement. It also demonstrated the demanding engineering and operating requirements involved in making Mach 2 flight a repeatable passenger service.

Joint Development Programme

• Britain and France signed a joint development agreement in 1962.
• British prototype 002 was built at Filton and first flew on 9 April 1969.

Ogee Wing Development

• Royal Aircraft Establishment wind-tunnel models tested the ogee shapes developed for Concorde's wing.
• The wing combined low drag at high speed with sufficient lift at low speed.

British Airways Service

• British Airways records a cruising speed of 1,350 mph, or Mach 2, at up to 60,000 feet.
• Its first commercial Concorde flight operated from Heathrow to Bahrain on 21 January 1976.
• British Airways operated its last commercial Concorde flight on 24 October 2003.

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