The Tragic Tale Of Concorde: Yesterday's Masterpiece; Today's Loss...

Hello everyone. Now, I make no bones about the fact that this is a "railway blog" BUT this is something different; something that I believe to be of relevant significance. Today, I watched Channel 4's very interesting, moving and inspiring documentary entitled; "The Last Flight of Concorde". The documentary not only talked of the aircraft's last flight, but also of it's design, its expense, its pro's and con's and, finally, the disasters leading to 'her' downfall. Taking everything into account, my mind now see's no clear reason why a masterpiece such as Concorde could not be made profitable in the 21st century. If you would care to click "PLAY" on the above video, see a nice little tribute to the Supersonic Aircraft that "should have still been". Concorde was the creation of a British-French amalgimation of designs and two prototypes were built in 1965. Concorde was to be "the plane of the future" and would have the ability to travel safely at speeds up to and including Mach II; twice the speed of sound. The first test run took place on 2/3/1969 and the first Supersonic test took place on the following October 1st. On 4/9/1971, Concorde 001 took off from Britain on a worldwide sales tour. (Afterall, Concorde was a sales pitch, not a toy!!). Concorde 002 also followed suit and both toured seperate parts of the world. However, reviews were mixed; some saw the aircraft as revolutionary, stylish and beautiful whilst others saw it as environmentally damaging, costly and too modern for its own good. Click "PLAY" below to see a normal Concorde take off procedure; note the 'After-Burners' at the rear of the 4 engines as the exhausted fuel is ignited, creating much more thrust...With a top take-off speed of up to 250mph, Concorde carried 4 engines made by, "guess who?"; Rolls Royce and Snecma. They were known as the 'Olympus 593's. They were an 'After-Burning' (reheated) Turbojet engine. Operating at Mach II whilst fitted to Concorde, the 593 was the most efficient jet engine ever made. The engines had a speciliast Air Intake as, at Mach II, the Air would enter the engine far too quickly and damage it. Therefore, the Air had to be slowed right down before being allowed to cool the "red hot" engines. In all, sixty-seven Olympus 593 engines were made. In fact, before Concorde was retired, the 593's were famous in aviation as the only Reheated Turbojet engines to be powering a commerical aircraft! The engines were not the only part of the aircraft to get "really hot"; the well-designed Fuselage, when travelling at Mach II, could reach temperatures of 120 degree's!! Therefore, special 'coolers' had to be installed in the window's to ensure that passengers did not burn their fingers!! Concorde could cruise at heights of up to 60, 000ft whilst her Cabin Pressurisation remained at around 6000ft. 'Her' smaller windows would then allow for 'less air loss per second' in the event of a breach. Concorde is characterised by her "Drop Nose" that, when in the 'UP' position, allowed the plane to be further streamlined and reduced drag. However, in the 'DOWN' position, crew visability was much improved, especially during taxi-ing and taking off. Concorde could carry up to 100 passengers, much less than an ordinary passenger plan (i.e. a Boeing 757) but the Supersonic counterpart travelled much, much faster. In fact, the journey time from London to New York was cut to a little under 3.5 hours!! Concorde was a businessman's dream and was a far cry from the cramped cabins of more conventional aircraft. Though the fares were higher, the journey times were shorter and the comfort level was worth the price (so I'm told!). Concorde mainly operated, successfully at least, between New York and Britain, though flights could also be chartered, wether privately or by other airlines as only British Airways and Air France (both in the 'amalgimation'), owned Concorde's. Though, even today, many Pilot's, passengers and designers consider Concorde a very, very safe aircraft, the type has not escaped tragedy. On 25th July 2000, Concorde suffered a horrific and major crash. Witness below, a shocking insight into the last moments of Air France Flight 4590...The Aircraft involved was leaving Charles De Gaulle International Airport in France. On attempting to take off, the Concorde ran over a piece of metal debry dropped by the previous taking-off plane. The metal, measuring 3cm x 43cm, ruptured a tyre on the landing gear, prompting a large lump of rubber to eject upwards and strike the bottom of a fuel tank. Though there was no puncture in the tank, the shockwave created by the strike sent the fuel up into the top of the top of the tank before bringing it back down. The pressure caused a weakspot in the tank to fail and fuel poured from the Concorde's underside. This, when igniting with the engine thrust, caused the huge flame seen in the above video. No2 Engine then failed and the plane came down less than 90 seconds after take off. It was a huge tragedy with all 100 passengers and 9 crew members killed; and another 4 members of the public killed on the ground. The Concorde was destroyed by the crash and the news shook the world. What had been the safest plane in the sky had now become the most dangerous. All Concorde's were then grounded pending investigation whilst the world grieved for those involved in Flight 4590; may they rest in peace. Following this disastrous event, many of Concorde's regular passengers began to turn away from the aircraft's flights. This led many to believe that it was the beginning of the end of the 'Supersonic Dream'. However, Concorde's continued to fly and one attended the Queen's Jubilee in 2002, performing a fly past with the Red Arrows...
However, though Concorde's public appeal was still huge, her profits were down and BA and Air France finally announced the retirement of the fleet on 10th April 2003. Lower profits, the Tragedy of Flight 4590, and the slump in air travel following the 9/11 Attacks were all part of the reasoning for Concorde's retirement. Richard Branson offered to buy the fleet with a final offer of "£5 million" yet, no sale was reached. Branson had plans to continue operating Concorde's as part of Virgin Air but, as we have seen, it was not to be. On November 26th 2003, the last retirement flight took place and Concorde took up her place in the history books. Click HERE for a BBC report on one of the last emotional flights. Public support for the last flights was amazing and countless onlookers turned out to see the last of these Supersonic marvels touch-down for the final time. Interesting fact; When at Mach II, the heat of Concorde's Fuselage made it expand by up to 8 inches or so, therefore, before the retirement, some Pilot's wedged their caps in these gaps so that, when the aircraft cooled, they were sealed forever; a nice touch I thought! However, the planes are by no means scrapped; out of 20 Concorde's that were produced, 18 survive in museums worldwide. In fact, one, just one, is undergoing restoration for re-certification, resulting in displays at Air Shows and Exhibitions. One goal is to have the craft ready to fly for the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics. Now, wouldn't that be a sight to see?! I support the restoration of Concorde no end and believe that the fact that these Supersonic masterpieces have been retired is a travesty. As many have been known to exclaim; "They should be flying today!". I hope that you have all enjoyed my little tale regarding Concorde; the world's only commercial Supersonic Jet Plane. I hope one day that we will see one fly again. Thank you for reading folks, any comments are most welcome and I would love to hear your opinions. Also thanks to all the video owners for use of their films. Good evening...