Aviation News — September 2017

I

nnovations gradually recede into

obsolescence but Concorde is that

rare thing, a benchmark that remains

unequalled and unsurpassed: both

past icon and future vision. It was retired in

2003 and  rst  ew in 1969 yet its in uence

is still felt today on more recent aircraft

designs. Plus supersonic speed still has

its appeal with a crop of start-ups looking

at potential civil aircraft designs. Concorde

was an incredibly futuristic aircraft that still

inspires.

Concorde was forged in the heady

crucible of post-war engineering: a

partnership between Sud Aviation (later

Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft

Corporation (BAC). In November 1962 a

treaty was signed that uni ed the intent

and early designs (the Super-Caravelle

and Bristol Type 223) of both parties. The

importance of partnership was echoed

in the formation of Airbus Industrie later

in the decade. The history of Concorde

is intrinsically linked to Airbus (and also

to Toulouse and Filton) as the company

maintained parts support for Concorde –

the withdrawal of support being another

catalyst for eventual retirement.

The proposal for a Mach 2.0 airliner

carrying 100 passengers required

extraordinary solutions. Motivated by an

agreed lack of break clause (politically at

least, here was a take-off that couldn’t be

rejected) the Anglo-French team made

unprecedented efforts on slide rules and

 rst-generation computers. Of the advances

to rise from drawing boards on both sides of

the Channel, some were new, others already

in development or borrowed from military

applications. Some remain today, pioneering

what we take now for granted.

CONCORDE

THE LEGEND AND

THE INNOVATIONS

I

nnovations gradually recede into

obsolescence but Concorde is that

the withdrawal of support being another

catalyst for eventual retirement.

Aviation is progressive, iterations of design and procedure evolving

to defeat limitations. Robin Evans investigates how the unique

problems posed by the development of Concorde required exceptional

solutions, many of which are now commonplace in modern aircraft.

22 Aviation News incorporating Jets September 2017

Above: ‘V1...Rotate!’ Take-off from JFK with full

reheat – full vortex lift is now being generated.

Leonid Faerberg / Transport-Photo Images

22-26_concordeDC.mfDC.mfDC.indd 22 04/08/2017 13:03