CONCORDE AUCTION
OPENING THE EXHIBITION OF PARTS
A thousand pieces belonging to Concorde are presented this month - from Saturday 8 to Thursday 27 September - in Toulouse, as part of the exceptional auction that will take place at the end of September in the city that saw the birth of the first supersonic aircraft commercial.
This exhibition of coins at the Saint-Aubin Auction House is free and open to the public.
The visitor will be able to discover the majority of Concorde parts put on sale: instruments (anemometer, flight horizon), parts of the commercial layout (set plate / cutlery, pilot helmet), structural design parts, but also photographs and models signed by the crew of the first flight.
An exhibition of photographs Concorde (artist: Benoît Rajau) not included in the sale will enhance the discovery of the prizes.
The auction will take place at the Grains Hall of Toulouse on 28, 29, 30 September and 1 October next. Many collectors, passionate and curious, French or from abroad, are expected for this exceptional event. People wishing to acquire a souvenir of the "beautiful white bird" will be able to participate in 3 ways:
- by directly assisting the sale
- by placing purchase orders (forms available in the catalog or on the website www.concorde-encheres.com),
- by bidding by phone. To do this, register in advance with the auctioneer, no later than 48 hours before the start of the sale: 05 61 23 58 78.
The four days of sales will be punctuated by two highlights: Saturday, September 29 evening and Sunday, September 30 afternoon, when major lots will be proposed (machmètre, landing gear). On September 29, an official reception on the theme Concorde years will welcome personalities from the institutional, industrial, financial and cultural world and will be an opportunity to pay tribute to all the actors of this event. Big names that bore the image of Concorde, including the test pilot André Turcat, aeronautical engineers, designers, or renowned chefs of French cuisine, are expected at this evening.
Several personalities (Prince Henrik of Denmark, Jacques Chirac ...), have also signed, during the summer, copies of the catalog which will be put on sale as well, and according to the wide use of Internet sites related to the sale Concorde (www.concorde-encheres.com, www.interencheres.com), it is clear that this mythical plane always arouses a strong craze ...
Useful information :
- Catalog: 15 € (sale: Paris airports, Toulouse bookstores, Internet)
- Website: www.concorde-encheres.com
- Exhibition of exhibits: from 8 to 27 September 2007 (9h-12h and 14h-18h from Monday to Friday 15h-19h on Saturday and 10h-12h30 and 15h-19h on Sunday), at the Hôtel des Ventes Saint-Aubin, 3 Boulevard Michelet - Toulouse - Free admission.
- Auction sale: 28, 29, 30 September and 1 October 2007 - Halle aux Grains / Toulouse
MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CONCORDE
First supersonic civilian aircraft
Concorde is the first and only supersonic civil transport aircraft. In supersonic cruising, this exceptional aircraft moves to Mach 2, twice the speed of sound!
A "neo-Gothic" delta wing
Concorde is equipped with a wing whose shape is an evolution of the delta wing. This wing is named "neo-Gothic".
A rocking nose
The ingenious tilting nose system gives pilots better visibility in approach, takeoff and landing. This originality ensures a better adaptation to the different phases of flight.
Olympus 593 engines
Concorde is equipped with four Olympus 593 engines, jointly designed by Rolls Royce and SNECMA. These engines develop 70 tons of thrust.
CONCORDE: IDENTITY CARD
DIMENSIONS / CONTENANCE
Wingspan: 25,56 m
Length: 62, 1 O m
Height: 12, 20 m
Sail area: 328, 25 m2
Empty weight: 81 t
Fuel tank capacity: 119,000 liters
Maximum take-off weight: 185 t
ACCOMMODATION CAPACITY
Air France / British Airways version: 100 passengers
SPEED
Cruising speed: Mach 2.02 (2,179 km / h)
Maximum speed: Mach 2.23 (2,405 km / h)
PERFORMANCE
Operational altitude: 18,300 m
Walking distance: 6,250 km (100 passengers)
PROPULSION
4 Rolls Royce -SNECMA Olympus 593 reactors
CHRONOLOGY OF THE CONCORDE PROGRAM
At the origin of the program
The idea of designing a supersonic aircraft first appeared in Rome in 1935. In 1947, the sound barrier was crossed for the first time in the United States by Chuck Yeager aboard the Bell X-1 . Since the 1950s, the United States and Europe have been conducting studies on a supersonic transport aircraft.
At the end of the fifties, French and British confront their work. The first ones (Sud Aviation) are working on a "Super Caravelle" project; the latter (the future British Aircraft Corporation) are designing the BAC 223, two fairly comparable projects.
In 1961, the consulting firms of Sud Aviation and British Aircraft Corporation come closer. An intergovernmental agreement was signed in London on November 29, 1962. It enshrines the principle of equal sharing between the two countries: each country has its own assembly line, builds its own prototype, and alternately manages the technical division. They also share program funding, development work and production.
In 1967, after four years of heated debate, it was decided that the supersonic name would be "Concorde", the final "e" evoking "Excellence", "England", "Europe" and "Entente".
The progress of the program
Parallel to the American (Boeing 2707) and Soviet (Tupolev 144) projects, the development of Concorde continued from 1965 to 1976. On March 2, 1969 it was the first flight (duration: 29 minutes); André Turcat is at the controls. A month later, the British prototype takes off. Then it's the demonstration tours around the world.
But the problems are linked together (successive delays of the program, prohibition of overflight of the United States). From 1973 to 1975, two black years. Out of 7 4 call options, only 16 are confirmed by Air France and British Airways. Commercial exploitation begins with the opening of lines to Dakar, Rio de Janeiro, Caracas, Bahrain and New York, after many twists and turns. Commercial exploitation proves unprofitable. Air France and British Airways then develop special flights, "charter flights" and "world tours".
The last flight of Concorde was made at the end of 2003. The imprint of the "beautiful white bird" remains forever that of a remarkable human and technological achievement, having paved the way for the future achievements of the European aviation industry.
Supersonic of the future
Aircraft manufacturers participate in several research or watch programs in the supersonic field. But the evolution of air transport means that the future use of a new supersonic or even hypersonic aircraft should only be made if flying from East to West.
KEY DATES OF THE CONCORD PROGRAM
- 29/11/1962 : Franco-British signature for the design and manufacture of a supersonic civil aircraft
- 02/05/1963 : First chips of the French prototype
- 01/10/1965 : Beginning of the assembly
- 11/12/1967 : "Concorde" with an "e": official name of the supersonic future
- 02/03/1969 : First flight of the French prototype F-WTSS - duration: 29 minutes
- 09/04/1969 : First flight of the British prototype G-BSST
- 01/10/1969 : Concorde 001 crosses the wall of sound, MACH 1
- 04/11/1970 : Concorde 001 passes MACH 2
- 09/10/1975 : Issuance of the French Certificate of Airworthiness, followed by the British Certificate
- 21/01/1976 : First entry into service: Paris-Dakar-Rio lines of Air France and London-Bahrain of British Airways
- 22/11/1977 : Inauguration of the first regular service on New York
- 08/11/1986 : 16-day first round of the world tour of British Airways
- 12/10/1992 : Air France Concorde breaks world speed record: 33 hours and 27 minutes
- 31/05/2003 : Last commercial flight of Concorde under the colors of Air France
- 27/06/2003 : Last flight of the Concorde "Fox Charlie" -Paris CDG / Toulouse
- 24/10/2003 : Last commercial flight of Concorde under the colors of British Airways
Aéroscopia
AERONAUTICAL DISCOVERY COURSE
Aéroscopia is the ambitious project to set up an aeronautical discovery park, supported by Greater Toulouse, close to the Toulouse-Blagnac international airport and the Airbus A380 assembly site.
Aeroscopia, which will open its doors in 2010, was launched at the initiative of several partners: Association Terre d'Envol (bringing together the Aerothèque, the Ancient Wings, Cape Future Concorde, Virtu'ailes), the Grand Toulouse and Airbus.
Beyond the creation of a museum space, the designers have resolutely directed their project towards the future by affirming their will to transmit the knowledge of technological know-how and industrial excellence to the younger generations, to share the passion of the aeronautical adventure of the twentieth century and to generate interest and vocations for research, science and technology of the future.
The visit circuit integrates all these objectives, proposing a coherent approach between discovery-leisure and teaching-pedagogy.
An exhibition hall of 7000 m2 will host the legendary aircraft that were Concorde, Caravelle, Super Guppy, one of the first Airbus A300 and many other legendary aircraft.
This presentation will be complemented by the outdoor exhibition of other aircraft that have marked their era. Flight simulators, including a single copy of the Concorde simulator, will be presented in working order. A 1 / 25th model collection will retrace the aeronautical filiation of France, particularly in the south of France. Rare pieces will complete all these collections: jet engines, aircraft engines, equipment.
Aéroscopia will also host temporary exhibitions and will complete Airbus Visit's industrial tourism activity (150,000 visitors a year).
The Aérothèque,
CONSERVATORY OF THE HISTORIC HERITAGE OF DEWOITINE AT AIRBUS
His history
In 1988, it was decided to create a conservatory of the cultural, social and technological heritage of Aérospatiale Toulouse, called "Aérothèque". Born from the common will of Toulouse Aerospace Institution's management, active and retirees, the Aerothèque association is reviving the aeronautical epic of Toulouse, which is the culture and identity of the company.
Within this association, men and women of Aerospatiale, active or retired, found themselves with the same passion, looking for a history of traditions whose witnesses are becoming rare. To achieve this goal, it was to gather, process and expose what constitutes the memory of the factories "Aerospace" of Toulouse (today Airbus France), from 1920 -date of the creation of the Dewoitine workshops - today.
Aerothèque is a living and evolving museum, which expands its collection at the same time as Airbus designs, builds and flies new aircraft in Toulouse.
Her goals
A major aeronautical hub, Toulouse had to present to the public the history of its main industry since the beginning of the 20th century. It's done with the Aerothèque, which retraces the history of aeronautics from 1922 to the present day, through the history of aircraft and professions related to the profession.
Aerothèque revives the work and passion of all men who participated in the development of the company in the Toulouse area.
The Constituent Assembly of the Aerothèque has defined the main goals of its action, namely:
- to avoid forgetting all those who have allowed hundreds of planes to be built;
- build an archive;
- value past and present historical capital;
- create a showcase for the general public.
Today, the large amount of objects and documents on the inventory are all testimonials to the great adventure of conquering the 3rd dimension with the fabulous adventure that led to Airbus.
The technical objects and models allow us to evaluate the extent of the journey, from the pioneering projects of Emile Dewoitine to the most recent developments such as the Airbus A380 ...
Contacts / Visits
Aeroport -18, rue Montmorency-31200 Toulouse
Tel: 05 61 93 93 57
E-mail: aerotheque@wanadoo.fr
Website: www.aerotheque.f