rise and fall from grace of the favorite plane of celebrities and millionaires

Two decades ago, a plane that broke new ground and was capable of transporting passengers from one continent to another at supersonic speeds stopped flying. An iconic aerial vehicle whose aerodynamic design, characterized by its tilting nose, slim profile and wings in the shape of ogival deltanever went unnoticed at the airports where it operated.

We are talking about Concorde, the result of a Franco-British project that aspired to substantially change commercial flights. The future seemed to be supersonic, so powers like the United States and the Soviet Union rushed to launch their own alternatives to this, the Boeing 2707 and Tu-144respectively, although they never managed to match it.

Concorde, an unforgettable plane

The Concorde was not a perfect aircraft. In fact, everything that distinguished him from others was precisely what ended up mortgaging his future. I could fly from London to New York In approximately three and a half hours, it flew so high that passengers could see the curvature of the Earth while They enjoyed gourmet meals on fine china and drank champagne.

Unlike the Soviet proposal, which had an extremely noisy cabin, the Concorde moved at speeds of Mach 2 (2,469.6 kilometers per hour) with surprising serenity. The idea was not only to get from one point to another quickly, but to do so with the greatest amount of comfort and luxury. Traveling on the Concorde was synonymous with status and glamour.

It was the favorite plane of businessmen and celebrities. What some called the unofficial Match 2 club had even been formed, by virtue of its distinctive speed. And it included well-known figures such as Elton John, Paul McCartney, Phil Collins, Rupert Murdoch, Robert Maxwell, Henry Kravis, John Gutfreund and George Soros, among many others.

To move through the air, this technological prodigy of titanium and aluminum It was supported by four Olympus 593 engines, two in each of the wings. This 2-shaft turbojet-type propulsion system with superheating had a peculiar intake system with air intake at the front and a variable geometry exhaust nozzle at the rear.

Throughout its life cycle, Concorde was operated by only two companies. We are talking about British Airways and Air Francetwo actors that began offering regular flights starting in 1976. However, the manufacturer received dozens of orders from other airline companies, which for various reasons never operated one of these aircraft as owners.

As we say, the Concorde’s differential qualities were also its condemnation. The price of the tickets was extremely expensive. Take a round trip transatlantic flight It cost about $7,500. (14,000 dollars today). Despite its popularity, this reality often meant that airlines were unable to fill the plane’s capacity.

a burning machine

Furthermore, the aircraft’s propulsion system consumed an average of more than 20,000 liters of fuel per hourwhich translated into a huge economic and environmental impact. For comparison, a typical flight of a much larger and heavier airplane like the Boeing 747, which did not reach supersonic speeds, It could consume about 13,000 liters of fuel per hour.

Another challenge that the Aérospatiale and BAC project suffered was the sonic boom. Due to the noise pollution of this “boom”, airlines had to redesign their routes and reach sonic speeds only over the ocean. The United States, for example, prohibited supersonic aircraft from passing through populated areas, something that could change with NASA’s X-59.

An accident that occurred in July 2000 also damaged the continuity of the Concorde. One of these planes crashed at Charles de Gaulle airport in France. shortly after takeoff. As a result of the aforementioned episode, all passengers and crew members died and British Airways and Air France grounded their planes during the investigation.

Interest in supersonic flights faded as the operation and maintenance costs of this type of aircraft grew and, in a way, became a heavy economic obstacle for companies. The end for Concorde came on October 24, 2003, when he made his last flight. Since then there has not been another commercial supersonic aircraft.

Images| British Airways | Eduard Marmet | Dmitry Avdeev | Christian Kate | Jerry Wilson

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