Concorde: A supersonic history
Last month, on the 21st of January, the 50th anniversary of British Airways flight 300 was celebrated: this was first passenger flight of the Concorde, a supersonic transport (SST) which had been the fruit of the cooperation between British and French test pilots and engineers since 1962. In that year, the two nations undertook once more to push the envelope of human achievement; in the decade that the United States raced the USSR to the moon, Britain and France would produce an aircraft which would comfortably exceed two-times the speed of sound, keep pace with the moon as it eclipsed the sun, and perform the fastest non-orbital circumnavigation of Earth.
This legacy reflects the age in which it was conceived. Concorde was devised in a time where speed took centre stage in discussions aeronautical. In the 1950s, the British had the lead, with aircraft such as the de Havilland Comet becoming the world’s first jetliner. However, the next decade, US companies such as Boeing and Douglas would negate Britain’s headstart in subsonic jet travel; and still ambitions climbed higher. In 1956, the Supersonic Transport Aircraft Committee was established with the aim of investigating the feasibility of SSTs. Alongside the research efforts of the soon to be British Aircraft Corporation, its findings proved the economic and technical potential for an ogival-wing design which could make the transatlantic crossing in under three hours, flying at Mach 2.0 (two-times the speed of sound).
Fears over property damage arising from it led to the US restricting overland supersonic flight, severely limiting the Concorde’s potential in the American market, limiting the potential profitability of the aircraft
Meanwhile, French engineers at Sud Aviation were working on their own SST, which was dubbed the Super-Caravelle. It was intended for the medium-range market so as not to come into direct competition with potential US designs. In fact, French designers were reliant on the licensed British engines to break the sound barrier. Instead of working independently, it was decided to combine the efforts of the two nations, with both BAC and Sud Aviation working to develop the aircraft. While the British cabinet saw in cooperation a means of being admitted to the European Economic Community, others such as Sir Arnold Hall, director of Bristol Siddeley, the manufacturer of the Concorde’s Olympus engines, saw the project of supersonic travel as facilitating further trade integration across the world, resulting in far-reaching political and economic benefits. A treaty, signed in November 1962, would mark the start of the partnership.
In the following decade the project took shape. By 1969, Concorde 001 had taken her maiden flight. For the next seven years, tests were carried out while orders were accumulated. Amongst these experiments was the eclipse flight of June 1973, where Concorde 001 intercepted the path of a total solar eclipse as it crossed over west Africa; the 74 minutes it flew in the shadow of the moon allowed scientists the longest ever period of observation of the phenomenon.
Further tests of the aircraft continued. However, initial interest was dampened by concerns over the sonic boom, a shockwave caused by the rapid displacement of air by an object travelling at supersonic speeds. Fears over property damage arising from it led to the US restricting overland supersonic flight, severely limiting the Concorde’s potential in the American market, limiting the potential profitability of the aircraft. Orders were rescinded and eventually, the only operators of the Concorde would be the flag carriers of the nations that built it. Only three years after its maiden commercial flight, production of the Concorde ceased after only 20 models.
Rising fuel costs ensured that the fuel-hungry Concorde would make its final voyage on 24th October 2003
Nevertheless, Concorde became the torch bearer for the fading golden age of aviation for the next 27 years. Making regular voyages from London and Paris to New York, the Concorde was able to remain profitable, earning British Airways £500m with only seven aircraft. The pricing was not uncompetitive either: since tickets were sold at 10% more than subsonic first class, it meant that first-class passengers could save five hours for only a fraction more cost. The cost caused the US airline Pan-Am to accuse the UK government of subsidising their competitor, allowing them to take premium clients.
Still the jet flew unabated. It completed the fastest non-orbital circumnavigation of Earth in 1995, coming in at 31 hours, 27 minutes, and 49 seconds. In five short years, however, tragedy would strike that would cripple the supersonic airliner. On 25th of July 2000, Air France 4590 crashed shortly after take-off with no survivors; the cause was runway debris causing a rupture in a fuel tank. The fleet was grounded and, though modifications were made to improve safety, their commercial reintroduction coinciding with the September 11 attacks precipitated a general decline in air travel. Rising fuel costs ensured that the fuel-hungry Concorde would make its final voyage on 24th October 2003.
What does the Concorde story tell us about the future of air travel? Its detractors consider the problem of noise and, more pressingly, the environment issue of burning the amount of fuel required to travel at supersonic speed to be intractable. Anna Hughes, director of Flight Free UK, believes that we should fly less, with the need to connect across continents accommodated by “Zoom, not Boom”. More optimistic voices, such as that of Blake Scholl, founder of Boom Supersonic, who plans to have the “Overture” flying at Mach 1.7 by the end of the decade, point to technological leaps which minimise the impact of the supersonic boom, and improved range, allowing for more varied destinations. He views supersonic travel as a way to disrupt the “duopoly” of Boeing and Airbus, and to reshape the way that commercial aviation is structured.
In the increasingly shifting sands of global politics and trade, the legacy of Concorde is one which the years continually reveal to be worth reconsidering
While the Concorde design is too old to economically fly today, the spirit which motivated its creation is one that we can learn from. The project served as a catalyst for international cooperation and integration, brought together the intellectual and technical resources of a generation, creating thousands of jobs and interest in aerospace. Today’s uncertain world offers even more opportunities for projects along the lines of Concorde. As supersonic flight is capable of slashing flight times to places like Sydney and Tokyo, diplomacy and commerce can be re-focalised on cities like London. It is possible to imagine supersonic flight creating hubs out of such cities, turning them into fora of negotiation. In the increasingly shifting sands of global politics and trade, the legacy of Concorde is one which the years continually reveal to be worth reconsidering.
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