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Concorde
The fascinating dream during the 60s and 70s was the supersonic civil transport. After Boeing leapt ahead of the Comet, “in a mood almost of desperation, and knowing that the British industry could not match American production capability, a supersonic airliner could, yet again, steal a march on the subsonic Americans” (R.E.G. Davies: Airlines of the jet Age). In 1954 the idea was put forward by Dr. Morien Stanley at the Royal Aeronautical Establishment at Farnborough. Two years later the Supersonic Transport Aircraft Committee (STAC) launched the project. According to ‘Geheimprojekte der Luftwaffe’ (by D. Herwig and H. Rode), the German engineers D. Kuechemann, J. Weber and K. Doetsch participated in charge of constructing the Concorde at Farnborough. World’s first successful supersonic transport project emerged from the delta-winged Bristol 223 design and Pierre Sartre’s “Super Caravelle” development, started independently by Dassault and Sud-Aviation in France. The bi-lateral agreement to build the Concorde with a 50% share each by Britain and France was concluded in November 1962, to the surprise of Americans. Concorde had been pushed through politically by French president Charles de Gaulle. The British Labour Party’s intention to stop it, was prevented. Instead, the TSR.2 supersonic bomber was “killed”. The delta-winged Concorde was designed for Mach2, the official maximum operational speed being c.2,300km/h. The plane of Aerospatiale/ British Aerospace Corp. was powered by 4 Rolls-Royce/SNECMA “Olympus” turbojet engines with afterburners, developed for the Vulcan bomber, integrated in the wing. The maiden flight on March02, 1969 meant a European triumph.
 Concorde (Air France folder)
There were orders (not obligatory) by CAAC of communist China and by Iran Air at the Shah’s time, both withdrawn, and options by the well-known airlines, (according to Wikipedia) 74 orders from 16 costumers, including Pan American. Concorde was shown to Saudi King Fahd and even Ceausescu of poor Romania admired Concorde, as TV pictures indicated it. Some renowned trade press predicted a commercial success for airlines buying the Concorde, but finally only the state-carriers Air France and British Airways introduced Concorde. British Airways started in January 1976 Concorde flights to Bahrain and on the same day Air France to Rio de Janeiro. In May 1976 services to Washington started, the international airport being situated far away from the city. Air France and British Airways Concordes were allowed to enter New York not before 1977. Air France flights to Washington were extended to Mexico in 1978. A British Singapore service in 1977, in cooperation with Singapore Airlines in 1979, was an interlude. An extension to Australia had only been an early dream. Air France services to Rio, Caracas and Mexico were withdrawn in 1982. Braniff offered a Dallas – Washington subsonic service only between 1978 and 1980 with Concordes leased from British Airways and Air France, which continued the flights supersonically across the Atlantic. Overland restrictions were always an obstacle. The airliner’s price, being 4x the price of a Boeing 707, and the development, 6x more costly than initially projected, had to be financed by the taxpayers (who could not afford a Concorde flight). The sleek fuselage allowed only a 2+2 seating layout, offering 100 seats – and fuel consumption per seat-mile was several times higher than for subsonics. Concorde was announced to continue service until 2010 or 2015, though there had been defects by metal fatigue. And already on 14 Jan 1979 “a tire blew on take-off from Washington, and wheel parts damaged the wing” (so reported by R.E.G. Davies). After the fatal crash of F-BTSC at Paris CDG in 2000, caused by a burst tire, throwing up debris which punctured the light fuel tanks, services were stopped. After technical improvements they were restarted in 2001, by British Airways from London to New York, once weekly to Barbados, and by Air France Paris – New York. However, passenger numbers were down, the planes were reported flying half empty, and in 2003 the Concorde was withdrawn. Richard Branson’s offer to take over the London Concorde services by his Virgin Atlantic and to re-equip the plane with luxury, was not taken seriously, like already an earlier offer by Freddy Laker.
Concorde Stories For the passenger, a Concorde flight was a unique experience, seeing the earth and a dark-blue sky from an altitude up to 18,300m or 55,000ft. From November 1977 New York was the main destination, while flights to Singapore via Bahrain, to Rio de Janeiro via Dakar, to Caracas via the Azores and to Mexico City via Washington have proved too uneconomic. For Rio de Janeiro flights, an occupancy rate of c.55% was reported. Rudolf Braunburg, an experienced Lufthansa pilot (and historian), pointed out that for the few Concordes, flying in the stratosphere, the shortest routes have been selected, but a greater number of supersonics would have been tied to longer fixed airtracks, like the crowd of subsonics. And at the airports the Concordes were handled with priority. Passengers on regular flights were 80% businessmen, but also the Duchess of York on her shopping tours, ex-Beatle Sir Paul McCartney and the Miami jet set were Concorde-ing at round-trip fares of roughly $10,000. Famous conductor Kurt Masur, who conducted in Germany and then also in New York’s Metropolitan Opera, was asked how he could do it. “I shuttled with the Concorde”, he answered on occasion of a concert in Leipzig, which he conducted on his 80th birthday. And the Concorde became the fashion express. “Naomi Campbell takes the Concorde like you and I take taxis”, wrote Newsweek. Henry Kissinger told later in a N24 report that due to the dense seating he was missing privacy. The sonic boom prevented supersonic continental flights, but one of the British Concordes, chartered by Braniff, was reported having attained Mach1.1 on the last flight over the USA. Also aged people or handicapped people appreciated the short traveling time and the story of the “Concorde Grandma” Charlotte Hughes, more than hundred years old, who celebrated her anniversary during a London – New York flight, is well known. Jazz legend Count Basie, dependent already on a wheelchair, took the Concorde on his last visit to London. Famous astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, heavily disabled, was granted a Concorde flight – and he missed the plane. Concorde flights were offered in connection with North Atlantic passages aboard the “Queen Elizabeth 2” and the Concorde undertook also charter flights, for tourists even to places such as St. Petersburg, Aqaba in Jordan and Kangerlussuaq in Greenland - and Concorde was flying for Zaire’s dictator Mobutu Sese Seko. He built his palace in the jungle together with a landing strip for the Concorde (according to Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Dec22, 2018). Concorde was a movie-star, too. In one of the movies, mysterious tycoons planned Concorde crashes, but finally an excellent pilot made a safe landing on the Arctic ice… And in some regions, Concorde flights provoked hysterics. When a Concorde special flight for Salzburg was announced, a Munich daily newspaper predicted a “tape of noise” for south-eastern Bavaria. A deputy tried to prevent a single special flight to Munich, defying the “interests of the citizens”. But then thousands of citizens came to the airport in order to see the miracle and to enjoy its powerful sound. Maybe the protest campaigns were a contribution to Concorde’s fame. After withdrawal from service, Concordes were given to museums and those ones which got one, became the places of prestige. At London Heathrow airport it was a nice surprise to see the Concorde parked like other planes. Concorde was more than an aircraft, she was and is a myth. After the crash in 2000, La Republica had written: “The Titanic of the air has crashed the white iceberg.”  Concorde, exhibition at Sinsheim (Anton Soelch, 2012)  Concorde flying over Salzburg, Easter Monday 1984 (WS)
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