An exceptional plane
Concorde is an exceptional aircraft: moving at a supersonic rhythm, this "big white bird" fascinates by the elegance of its delta wing and surprises by its tilting nose.
First supersonic civilian aircraft
Concorde is the first supersonic civil aircraft, the result of a Franco-British collaboration. Its ability to cross the "wall of sound" distinguishes it from conventional aircraft. In supersonic cruising, Concorde moves to Mach 2, twice the speed of sound!
"We entered this completely revolutionary time zone: the wall of sound ... The wall of sound is for me a wall that has a real sound. Cross the wall of sound. "
Claude Nougaro
A neo-Gothic delta wing
Unlike the first planes whose wings were perpendicular to the fuselage, then in the shape of an arrow, Concorde is endowed with a delta wing. By varying its angle of attack, the wing of the supersonic allows a full range of speeds. In addition, from a certain angle of incidence, the delta wing has an additional lift of nearly 25%.
A rocking nose
Concorde is curiously equipped with a long swinging nose. This ingenious system allows pilots to see the runway on landing when the tip is lowered.
This originality ensures a better adaptation to the different phases of flight:
- low take-off, for initial climb and approach,
- nose up for the climb, the cruise and the descent,
- strong lowering in the final approach, landing and taxiing phase.
The tilting nose includes a transparent retractable visor, which comes to re-establish in supersonic flight the aerodynamic contour of the aircraft. This also protects the windshield from the effects of kinetic heating.
Olympus 593 engines
Concorde is equipped with four Olympus 593 engines, jointly designed by Rolls Royce and SNECMA. These engines, housed in pairs under the wings, develop 70 tons of thrust. They are equipped with an afterburner system providing the necessary power for takeoff and acceleration to reach the supersonic speed. Concorde air intakes have been the subject of significant innovations: their flow rate is variable according to the speed and the ejection nozzle with "eyelids" at the rear, which allows a reverse thrust to slow down the flow. airplane in flight or landing.
A fabulous epic
The premises of Concorde
The idea of designing a supersonic aircraft first appeared in Rome in 1935, during a meeting under the auspices of the Fondazione Alessandro Volta, which brings together fifty or so international aerodynamicists.
It was in the United States that the sound barrier was crossed for the first time in 1947 by Chuck Yeager aboard the Bell X-1. The United States is continuing its studies on a supersonic aircraft. In parallel, Europe is testing experimental aircraft: Triton, Swordfish, Trident, SE "Durandal", Gerfaut, Griffon, etc.
At the end of the Second World War, the British embarked on the supersonic flight, especially with the attempt of the Cornet. Advances in the military aeronautics industry benefit civil aviation. In 1959, the Supersonic Transport Aircraft Committee was created in Great Britain.
In France, Sud Aviation launches the Caravelle, sold 282 copies but quickly competed by the DC9. Georges Héreil, President of Sud Aviation, and Marcel Dassault signed a cooperation agreement to pool their know-how acquired with Caravelle and Mirage, in order to design a civil supersonic transport plane.
On both sides of the Channel, research institutes (ONERA, Royal Aircraft Establishment Farnborough) are studying the feasibility of a supersonic.
The delicate question of Franco-British harmony
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. The main difference is that the French are looking to design a medium-haul and the British a long-haul.
The two sides meet on the principle of the delta wing. The British offer a tilting nose, formula already applied to the Fairey Delta 2. They also agree on the choice of material: an aluminum alloy, the AU2GN. The engines will be Olympus 593, co-produced by Bristol Siddeley Engines Ltd (future Rolls Royce) for the basic thruster and SNECMA for the ejection system.
In 1961, the consulting firms of Sud Aviation, led by Lucien Servanty, and British Aircraft Corporation, led by WJ Strang, are getting 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.
This cooperation, however, poses a number of practical difficulties (alternation of the presidency, language, units of measurement) and technical (working methods). At the time of the rejection of Britain's entry into the European Community, tensions between the two Governments are increasing. Finally, despite their threats, the British do not withdraw from the project.
In 1963, a discussion began on the name of the supersonic. General de Gaulle calls it "Concord", a term common to both languages and referring to the agreement between the partners. A controversy over the presence or not of the "e" final opposes the two countries. In 1967, it was finally decided that the supersonic name would be "Concorde" in both languages, the "e" evoking "Excellence", "England", "Europe" and "Entente".
"Concorde means peace between men. Concorde is peace. "
Claude Nougaro
Exceptional aircraft, exceptional resources: an extraordinary program
Exceptional resources are deployed to launch the Concorde program. In terms of design, new materials must be able to withstand high temperatures. In production, the first numerically controlled milling machines are emerging. Two new assembly halls and a new track are located in Toulouse. In total, about 600 companies are involved in the construction of Concorde coins.
Race against time: rivals
The great American and Soviet powers also have plans for civilian supersonic projects: Boeing 2707 for the United States and Tupolev 144 for the Soviet Union. Only the Tupolev will fly in December 1968, 3 months before Concorde! He crossed the sound barrier for the first time in June 1969 and went to Mach 2 in May 1970. This machine is almost identical to the Concorde, so much so that it will be named "Concordsky" by the spectators at the Paris Air Show of 1973. But a dramatic accident puts an end to the career of the plane: it disintegrates on the ground during the Paris Air Show.
The time of learning
Ground tests
Concorde will spend more than 10 years in testing from 1965 to 1976: 20,000 hours of materials testing, 4,000 hours of wind tunnel testing and 30,000 hours of engine testing. Never seen. At the end of 1967, Concorde was released for the first time from the hangar. A year and a half later is his first official ride. In the meantime, it is the first start-up of the engines (fixed point of the reactors) and the first tests of rolling. Fatigue tests are used to check the resistance of the aircraft for thirty years or more.
Flight tests
The flight tests are spread over seven years. Eight aircraft participate, totaling more than 5,500 hours of flight, including nearly 2,000 in supersonic aircraft.
March 2, 1969 is a great day: the first flight in Toulouse. This flight will last 29 minutes. The crew consists of pilot André Turcat, co-pilot Jacques Guignard, flight engineer Henri Perrier and flight engineer Michel Rétif. The Concorde myth is being born in the presence of thousands of spectators who have come to watch this unique event.
A month later, on April 9, 1969, the British prototype took off, with Brian Trubshaw and John Cochrane at the helm. In October 1969, the French prototype broke the sound barrier. In November 1970, he passes Mach 2.
Then start a series of demonstration tours of the two prototypes. The whole world salutes their passages: Latin America (Brazil), Asia, Oceania, Africa, etc. Concorde goes on to test cold weather (in Alaska under -43 °) and warm weather (in the Middle East, by 47 ° in the shade). The supersonic also knows exceptional flights: 1973, the big white bird flies to meet a solar eclipse, a real laboratory of observation in flight for a team of international scientists. That day, Concorde stayed in the shadow of the moon for 74 minutes!
Shrunken span
But the difficulties are not slow to follow each other. The program is experiencing successive delays, leading to the postponement of the first flight. These delays are explained by the technological unknowns faced by the engineers and the successive changes made to the aircraft to meet the requirements of the client companies. These delays are amplified by the obligation to respect the principle of equality between French and British. The prohibition by the United States of overflight of their territory in supersonic will have dramatic consequences.
From 1973 to 1975, two black years: first oil shock. Fuel becomes a major issue in the aviation industry. The Concorde order book, which reached a total of 74 aircraft for 16 airline customers, registered a number of cancellations, including Pan Am and TW A. In the end, only 16 of the series were manufactured and put into service by Air France and British Airways. .
Commercial exploitation
The French authorities certify Concorde on October 9, 1975, after about 5,500 flight hours. The British certificate is issued on December 5, 1975. Then begins the commercial exploitation. Air France opened in 1976 the line Paris - Dakar - Rio, then Paris - Caracas. British Airways inaugurates the London - Bahrain line. The same year, the companies obtain the long-awaited authorization for the overflight of the United States. In May 1976, two Concords land simultaneously at Washington Dulles Airport to inaugurate the opening of the line. In November 1977, the connection to New York was inaugurated in turn, after many twists and turns. Despite the development and extension of scheduled flights, the introduction of supersonic does not offer the expected profitability, due to a high operating cost. Oil shocks and maintenance costs contribute significantly. Some links are gradually interrupted.
Exceptional flights
Air France and British Airways are developing special flights or "charter flights" to improve the profitability of supersonic aircraft. Special flights connect Washington to Nice or London to Sidney. In November 1986, British Airways launched a "world tours" formula. The British supersonic travels the globe in 16 days, via New York, San Fransisco, Honolulu, Guam, Hong Kong, Bali and Cairo. Air France makes some time later the same journey in 18 days. The world tours follow one another, during which Concorde records speed records. In 1987, Concorde traveled nearly 43,000 km in 31 hours and 57 minutes. In 1992, the supersonic goes around the world going through the West in 32 hours 49 minutes. In 1995, a tour of the world to the East is carried out in just 22 hours and 39 minutes. During this period, Concorde made about thirty tours around the world. Wealthy travelers climb aboard the white bird. Agencies offer "supersonic air baptisms". Concorde is also the subject of advertising campaigns: in 1996, Concorde displays the colors of Pepsi for its new advertising campaign.
The end of the journey, the beginning of a myth
On July 25th, 2000, this extraordinary plane died, shortly after the accident of one aircraft of the Air France fleet: the F-BTSC, in Gonesse. The commercial operation of the Concorde of the two airlines is interrupted for one year. The supersonic flies again in September 2001, an unfavorable moment. Air traffic is severely disrupted following the tragedy of 11 September. Air France and British Airways announce the discontinuation of Concorde operations. The imprint left by the 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. A dream come true; shared ambitions; technological prowess accomplished.
CONCORDE: IDENTITY CARD
DIMENSIONS / CONTENANCE
Wingspan: 25,56 m
Length: 62, 10 m
Height: 11, 41m
Sail area: 328, 25 m2
Empty weight: 77.500 kg
Fuel tank capacity: 119,750 liters
ACCOMMODATION CAPACITY
Standard version: 128 passengers
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)
Landing speed: 360 km / h
PERFORMANCE
Operational altitude: 18,300 m
Walking distance: 6.250 km (100 passengers)
PROPULSION
4 Rolls Royce Reactors - SNECMA Olympus 593
An undisputed star
A privileged clientele
The Concorde traveler is welcomed as a distinguished guest. His least requirement must be fully satisfied. Every detail is carefully studied at boarding and on board. A specially designed short circuit allows travelers quick access to the supersonic. A special number is available for reservations. A special bus service takes them to Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle airport, where they are greeted by porters at their service. Passengers enjoy a registration in a reserved area indicated by a "special Concorde" sign. Waiting for registration is tempered by the provision of luxurious private rooms. Customs formalities are speeded up and "Concorde spaces" welcome "bonded" passengers. On board, delicacies are served as well as a range of luxurious presents. The Concorde staff ensures the total well-being of its customers, at all times of the trip.
The showcase of design
Concorde represents for the designer an ideal showcase to exercise his artistic talents. The interior decoration of the aircraft and the clothing of the aircrew are entrusted to famous creators. The first cabin of the supersonic is designed by Raymond Loewy, famous representative of industrial design in the seventies. One of his students, Pierre-Gautier Delaye, redeveloped the supersonic in 1988. Andrée Putman, icon of French design, also creates an interior decoration. Each object bears the Concorde signature, from ashtrays to dishes. To pass the millennium, the collective Radi Designers endows the Concorde with a new interior that it will keep until its last flight. The aircrew costumes are also designed by the greatest French fashion designers Carven, Christian Dior, Balenciaga, Nina Ricci, Jean Patou, and Christian Lacroix.
Exceptional menus
The menus and wines served on board are the subject of a drastic selection. Close to the best restaurants, the menus are accompanied by champagnes and grands crus selected by renowned sommeliers. In order to preserve the quality and flavors of the dishes, the dishes are cooked a few hours before takeoff, by chefs trained in the center of Alain Ducasse. A special menu, developed by great ambassadors of French gastronomy, is proposed for any remarkable event.
The plane of celebrities
Concorde is an extraordinary plane. The greatest of this world, personalities, and celebrities make up a large part of its clientele. The French Presidents have frequently traveled aboard the supersonic, object of national pride. Georges Pompidou, Valery Giscard d'Estaing, François Mitterrand and Jacques Chirac used it during official trips. General de Gaulle also traveled aboard the supersonic. Numerous political or religious personalities have borrowed Concorde: Pope John Paul II, Queen Elizabeth II, the Shah of Iran, etc. Many artists have moved supersonic: singers (Mireille Mathieu, Patricia Kaas), actors (John Travolta), musicians (Aldo Ciccolini), etc. Among the designers, fashion designer Karl Lagarfeld is not forgotten. Finally, businessmen are also particularly fond of supersonic.
"Little by little, Concorde became a star of the journey in the air. He has jet set side. It is a luxurious jewel. "
Claude Nougaro
A technological feat
Concorde represents a remarkable technological advance, so much has its repercussions been
many in the aeronautical sector as industrial. Supersonic research and development has led to many innovations, affecting
fields as varied as production concepts, tools, and materials.
"My first flight aboard Concorde left me with the memory of being in the cabin of a completely new, modern animal. The impression of being in the genius of man. "
Claude Nougaro
Systems and equipment
- Concorde is the first commercial aircraft equipped with electric flight controls. These have been generalized at Airbus from the A320, then on all of its aircraft offering the advantage of a range of aircraft flying very close.
- Airbus side-to-side piloting was tested for the first time on Concorde (on the F-WTSB propotype).
- Carbon brakes, as strong but much lighter than steel brakes, have also made their appearance on Concorde. They withstand 1,200 ° C in emergency braking over 2,000 meters. A large majority of aircraft today have this type of materials in their braking systems.
- The detection of underinflation of tires appears for the first time on Concorde.
- Miniaturization and automation have also made a huge leap in steering and navigation systems, but also in tools and robots. The miniaturization of electronic components has benefited medicine for pacemakers.
- Various types of automatic controls have been developed on Concorde, such as motor control controls (electrical and electronic) and automatic air intake controls.
Methods and tools
- The first numerically controlled machine tools, such as large-scale milling machines for machining complex parts from simple ingots, were introduced in France thanks to Concorde.
- Telemetry - a real-time ground-based evaluation of the performance and behavior of aircrafts during flight tests - has grown considerably with Concorde.
- The SP AD brake system, a traction control device from which the famous ABS of our cars is derived, appeared for the first time on Concorde. All current commercial aircraft are equipped with this device.
- Concorde is at the origin of the Automatic Test Equipment for Concorde (ATEC) type system, which allows the detection of faults before their appearance by relying on the double or even triple redundancy of sensitive equipment. It is now marketed by Airbus and Boeing worldwide.
- Concorde has been a forerunner in the field of flight simulation. The simulator improved with the development of the aircraft, any new data measured on the real aircraft being integrated in parallel in the simulator programs.
- Concorde is the first civilian aircraft to have a fuel transfer procedure, allowing the aircraft to be rebalanced by shifting the center of gravity for alignment at the center of aerodynamic thrust.
- Concorde is the first airplane with a honeycomb structure, which allows, while gaining weight, to have a better resistance.
- In aerodynamics. the numerical computation of the three-dimensional flows - in subsonic as in supersonic - allowed to optimize the forms.
- In calculation of structures. the implementation of a three-dimensional finite element code has been the strong point on which the bases for calculating aircraft structures designed after Concorde are based.
- In system studies, the use of a system-wide test bench, coupled with a study simulator modeling flight equations, is also an innovation.
The materials
The development of Concorde has enabled the development, manufacture and machining of materials, such as:
- The AU2GN light alloy: this material withstands temperatures up to 150 ° C. It is currently used on Airbus, helicopters, and in the mechanical and nuclear industries.
- Special and refractory steels: high-strength steels and materials with very high temperatures have emerged as a result of studies conducted for Concorde. The latter is the first aircraft using the special steel 35NCD16 for landing gear, which is present on all Airbus aircraft.
- Titanium and its alloys: the Concorde era favored the use of larger amounts of titanium alloys in aeronautical (Airbus) and space (satellite) programs, helping to lighten the masses.
- Non-metallic materials: long-term, high-temperature aging studies required by Concorde (from 120 to 150 ° C) have ensured a thorough knowledge of the behavior of various materials: glass, glues, paints, elastomers. Thus, the reinforced glass portholes and windshield, which was developed for Concorde, now equips all TGVs. New paints have been developed to resist both low and high temperatures. The popular Teflon from our pans and pans was originally designed for flight control axes. Microcontacts, made to withstand extended temperature variations, are also used in the nuclear industry.
- Composite materials: carbon fiber-based structures (train hatches, elevons) were tested on Concorde prototypes. These developments have facilitated the integration of composite materials from the very beginning of the Airbus program. Fiberglass composite materials developed using supersonic are now used in recreational aviation, the automotive industry and pleasure craft.
What happened to Concorde?
Twenty Concords were built, six for development and fourteen for commercial flights. Air France and British Airways respectively held seven Concorde. Most of the supersonic twenty are now exhibited in major aeronautical museums or European and American airports.
Concorde for development
Among the aircraft devoted to development, there are two prototypes, two pre-production aircraft and two of sixteen production aircraft, for non-commercial use.
- The prototypes:
The F-WTSS, the famous Concorde of the first flight, and the G-BSST are respectively exposed to the Bourget Air and Space Museum (France) and the Fleet Air Arm Museum in Yeovilton (England). - Pre-production devices:
F-WTSA and G-AXDN are located at the Orly Delta Museum (France) and the Duxford Aeronautical Museum (England). - Production devices:
The F-WTSB is exhibited on the Airbus site in Toulouse (France) and the G-BBDG was given at the Brookland Museum in Weybridge (England).
The Air France Concorde
Five supersonic in the colors of Air France are still visible.
The F-BVFA (Fox Alpha), the oldest Concorde in the Air France fleet, was donated to the National Air and Space Museum in Whasington, United States. The F-BVFB (Fox Bravo) was bequeathed to the Museum of Automotive and Technology Sinsheim (Germany). The F-BVFC (Fox Charlie) also joined the Airbus site in Toulouse. He will join the Grand Toulouse Aeronautics Discovery Route, which will open in 2009. The FBTSD (Sierra Delta) faces the prototype, at the Air and Space Museum of Le Bourget (France). Finally, the F-BVFF (Fox Fox) is exposed at Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle airport (France).
The British Airways Concorde
G-BOAA is now exhibited at the Scottish National Museum. The G-BOAB is at London Heathrow Airport. G-BOAC is at the park of Manchester Airport (England). G-BOAD is at the Air and Space Museum in New York. The GBOAE is at Grantley Adams Airport in Bridgetown. G-BOAF is located at Airbus and Bristol Aviation Heritage Museum (England). Finally, the G-BOAG is exhibited in Seattle, at the Museum of Flight.
The Concorde myth
Sublime success of human and technological cooperation, but commercial pitfall
Expensive to exploit and less profitable than expected, Concorde represents an economic failure. On a technical level, supersonic is a great success. The innovations generated by the supersonic are up to the challenge set. These innovations result from research carried out to solve new problems: for example, it was necessary to adapt the cabin of the supersonic to the fact that it extends 20 cm under the effect of expansion due to heat! Concorde's technological prowess thus opens the way to the success of European aeronautics and in particular that of the Airbus programs.
The symbol of the influence of France and Great Britain
Concorde has enabled France and Great Britain to demonstrate to the world their performance, even their technological superiority. The supersonic has thus strongly contributed to the prestige and pride of the Franco-British Governments. Revolutionary by design, this device has raised the enthusiasm of industry. Concorde also arouses curiosity and the admiration of the general public, who comes in large numbers to watch it take off and land, so much so that traffic jams are created at its approach. Beyond its detractors, Concorde is dreaming, especially since it corresponds to a time of effervescence
intellectual, cultural, industrial, economic and political Let's not forget that the first flight of the Concorde took place just a few months before the man's first step on the moon ...
" traffic jams "
Michel Rétif, the flight engineer for the first flight
The future of supersonic
Following the cessation of activity of Concorde, studies have been conducted on a supersonic future. The various projects developed have relied on the integration of innovations allowing better adaptation to new environmental constraints. The regulations in force since the new millennium, in fact, require major changes, especially to meet the standards defined in terms of noise and air emissions. In addition, for a new-generation supersonic to be profitable, it appears necessary to increase its range of action, and reduce fuel consumption and maintenance costs. Faced with these requirements, studies on an improved version of supersonic have not yet been completed. When will a successor in Concorde?
