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Scale 1:120  Length 20.2"  Wingspan 8.4"
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Photography by Action Asia Photo
© 2002-8 Action Asia Photo - All Rights Reserved
www.actionasiaphoto.com

The Concorde supersonic airliner, built jointly by France and Great Britain, was the only supersonic plane to operate successfully in commercial service and has earned a prominent place in aeronautical history.

The first experimental Concorde took to the air in 1969. Three years later there was serious doubt as to whether any airlines wanted to order the plane because it was extremely costly to operate as it burned vast quantities fuel to achieve its high speed - but carried only100 passengers/flight, which forced ticket prices to exorbitant heights.

By then the Boeing 747 had come into service and, while no faster than earlier jets, its unprecedented size offered new comfort for travelers; and at competitive prices because the giant aircraft could carry up to 400 passengers. Pan Am - the world's largest international carrier - embraced the 747 with enthusiasm and, in 1973, rejected the Concorde. TWA, another major international airline, also rejected Concorde citing "dismal economics."

With the oil crises of 1974 and 1979 - which greatly increased the cost of jet fuel - the effects for Concorde were catastrophic. While a 1982 round-trip Concorde ticket between New York and Paris had cost just under $4000, by the year 2000 the price was $8148.

A total 20 Concordes were built between 1966 and 1979. The first 2 Concordes were prototype models, one built in France and the other in England. Another 2 pre-production prototypes were built to further refine the design and then there was the production run - which was only 16 aircraft total in both countries.

In the end only British Airways and Air France purchased Concordes (5 and 4 aircraft respectively) and 5 surplus models were further placed with the airlines in 1980 at a nominal cost at the end of the Concorde program as part of a multi-million pound support costs deal. In the end, British Airways had a fleet of 7 aircraft while Air France had 5.

Though flown in limited numbers, the Concorde has enjoyed decades of glamorous service. There was very great prestige in flying to Paris on a Concorde, and the flight was whisper-quiet. The windows were small but one could see a velvet-purple sky that brightened to a light-colored band near the horizon. Coastlines were as distinct as on a map and one could even see the curvature of the Earth.

Able to fly across the Atlantic in just 3.5 hours, the Concorde set a standard for others to imitate. The Moscow firm of Tupolev built the Tu-144 airliner which looked like a close copy. Called the "Concordski", one crashed at an air show in 1973 and - after a short return to service - it proved too costly to operate and was withdrawn.

In1963, President Kennedy responded to the challenge of Concorde by launching a contract (won by Boeing) to build the American supersonic transport, or SST, which would reach Mach 3. But late in the 1960s, the SST drew strong opposition from a rising environmental movement with critics stating that SST engines were screeching noisy and - because the SST  would fly over cities - it would disturb millions of people with the sonic boom. Scientists charged that the SST's engine engine exhaust released so high in the atmosphere would damage the ozone layer and increase cancer-causing solar rays. So - in 1971 - Congress voted to cancel the SST program. However, the Concorde made a round-the-world trip in 1998, completing the feat in just 41 hours and 27 minutes... and remained unrivalled by any other commercial aircraft.

In mid-2000, a Concorde crashed and so led to Britain and France withdrawing the remaining planes from service until the cause of the crash was determined. After the investigation (which found that debris on the runway had caused a tire to explode and that caused rubber pieces to enter an engine which then resulted in catastrophic failure) the  remaining Concordes returned to service with improved tires in November 2001. However, two years later, British Airways discontinued Concorde service with the last Heathrow>New York flight being on October 24th, 2003; and  a trio of British Airways Concordes landed in close succession  for the last time at Heathrow later that day -  27 years after the first Concorde flew. One of the planes carried competition winners, BA staff and celebrities from Edinburgh; another was returning from a round trip over the Atlantic; and Flight BA002 (the return leg from New York) was the final British Airways Concorde to land. Air France had already retired its planes at the end of May, 2003... so ending the magic that Concorde had brought to many.

Length:      202 ft 4 in
Wingspan: 83 ft 10 in
Engines:     Four 
Cruise:       Mach 2.04 or 1350 mph
Ceiling:      60,000 ft
Range:       4,500 miles
Crew:         3 and 6 attendants for 128 passengers max.
                   (British Airways 100 passengers actual)
                   (Air France 92 passengers actual)