Commemorating the Anniversary of Concorde’s Maiden Flight

On 2 March 1969, the supersonic commercial passenger plane Concorde embarked on its maiden flight. This groundbreaking event showcased to the world the incredible developments in aeronautical engineering and heralded the beginning of a new era in air travel.

An Anglo-French partnership

Concorde was designed and built through a partnership between Britain and France. The two countries signed a treaty on 29 November 1962 in which they agreed to share the costs and risks of a supersonic transport (SST) project. The aim was to produce a commercial aircraft that could fly faster than the speed of sound, thus reducing transatlantic travel times by half.

The companies involved in Concorde’s Anglo-French design were British Aerospace, Rolls-Royce, Aérospatiale and SNECMA (Société Nationale d’Étude et de Construction de Moteurs d’Aviation). The result was a true masterpiece of aviation engineering. The construction included a delta wing design, which gave the aircraft an aerodynamic, streamlined shape. The long, needle-shaped nose cone could be angled down during take-off and landing to give the pilots a better view of the runway. Four powerful Rolls-Royce/SNECMA Olympus 593 turbojet engines provided the necessary thrust for take-off, cruising and landing. All four burned 25,629 litres of fuel per hour.

Twice the speed of sound

With a maximum cruising speed of 1,354 miles per hour, or Mach 2.04, Concorde was able to fly at more than twice the speed of sound. This meant that flight times between New York and London were around three hours.

Concorde’s maiden flight took place on 2 March 1969 at 3.40pm GMT. The 001 prototype took off from Toulouse-Blagnac Airport in France, piloted by André Turcat, along with a co-pilot and two engineers. The flight lasted for 27 minutes and the aircraft reached 10,000ft, but the speed didn’t go above 300mph. On returning to the airport, Turcat, was quoted as saying: “Finally the big bird flies, and I can say now that it flies pretty well.”

Synonymous with luxury

After the success of its maiden flight, Concorde was put through several years of refinements and tests by a series of engineers and test pilots. Finally, on 21 January 1976, Concorde embarked on its first commercial flights, with planes taking off simultaneously from London Heathrow to Bahrain and Paris Orly to Rio de Janeiro.

With a return fare from London to New York costing over £6,636, flying on Concorde became synonymous with luxury. Passengers drank champagne and dined on caviar and lobster. Famous passengers included the Queen Mother, who celebrated her 85th birthday on board the supersonic jet, and Sir Paul McCartney who regularly hosted sing-alongs of Beatles classics during his journeys.

Although it enjoyed a glamorous heyday, Concorde’s operations were ceased in 2003. This was due to a number of factors, including excessive noise, concerns over pollution and financial losses. The decision was compounded by the crash of the Concorde passenger jet Air France Flight 4590 on 25 July 2000, which killed 113 people. Although this was Concorde’s only fatal incident, it severely affected public confidence in the aircraft.

From its maiden flight in 1969 to its final landing in 2003, Concorde represented a feat of aeronautical innovation, the likes of which have never been repeated for passenger aircraft. This iconic aircraft remains a symbol of the era of supersonic travel, which still captivates the world today.