Photo: British Airways
Is there anything that hasn't been said about the Anglo-French Concorde supersonic passenger airliner that hasn't already been said? Even over half a century after its first flight, no aircraft from the Western world has come even remotely close to matching Concorde's supreme abilities. And no, the absolute dumpster fire that was the Tupolev Tu-144 "Concordski" doesn't count. That was more like a tin can with four turbojets.
In any case, Concorde made its final flight from New York's John F. Kennedy Airport across the Atlantic to London's Heathrow Airport twenty years ago today. When Concorde's massive landing gear arrangement came to its final stop at Heathrow that afternoon, it marked the end of an era in commercial aviation wherein the virtues of raw speed hadn't yet been usurped in the airliner space in favor of more fuel-efficient aircraft in the 21st century. In a time before the world was far more concerned about conserving every last drop of petrochemical fuel, Concorde was its crown jewel, its beacon on a hill, the very pinnacle of civil aerospace technology.
As the last batch of Concordes still in service made low-altitude passes over Birmingham, Belfast, Manchester, Edinburgh, and Cardiff in the week leading up to its retirement, crowds from across the British Isles pointed their cameras skyward in hopes of catching one last glimpse of the jet in flight before retirement. A handful of further flights did take place in late October through early November 2003, as the remaining Concorde jets transported themselves to their final resting place in museums across the U.S. and Europe. But never again after October 24th would the plane carry high-paying passengers.
In the case of Concorde's final flight over North America from New York's JFK Airport to Boeing Field in Seattle, the jet smashed civil transcontinental records from coast to coast by being given permission to go supersonic between the Canadian Provinces of Quebec and Alberta. In just three hours and 55 minutes, Concorde exited the North American domestic market with a bang rather than a whimper. If you'd have asked any av-geek at the time, they would have likely said it was the last time a civil supersonic transport would ever leave the tarmac.
But in 2023, a consortium of international Aerospace contractors is dead set on proving this notion completely false. With particular emphasis on the Colorado-based Boom Technology group, their Overture SST proposal, should it make it off the ground, would be the first time a civil airliner has even come close to matching Concorde's flight performance. But even so, trouble sourcing engines for the jet has plagued the program recently. Will Concorde remain the only relevant SST in service? The answer remains to be seen.
As the last batch of Concordes still in service made low-altitude passes over Birmingham, Belfast, Manchester, Edinburgh, and Cardiff in the week leading up to its retirement, crowds from across the British Isles pointed their cameras skyward in hopes of catching one last glimpse of the jet in flight before retirement. A handful of further flights did take place in late October through early November 2003, as the remaining Concorde jets transported themselves to their final resting place in museums across the U.S. and Europe. But never again after October 24th would the plane carry high-paying passengers.
In the case of Concorde's final flight over North America from New York's JFK Airport to Boeing Field in Seattle, the jet smashed civil transcontinental records from coast to coast by being given permission to go supersonic between the Canadian Provinces of Quebec and Alberta. In just three hours and 55 minutes, Concorde exited the North American domestic market with a bang rather than a whimper. If you'd have asked any av-geek at the time, they would have likely said it was the last time a civil supersonic transport would ever leave the tarmac.
But in 2023, a consortium of international Aerospace contractors is dead set on proving this notion completely false. With particular emphasis on the Colorado-based Boom Technology group, their Overture SST proposal, should it make it off the ground, would be the first time a civil airliner has even come close to matching Concorde's flight performance. But even so, trouble sourcing engines for the jet has plagued the program recently. Will Concorde remain the only relevant SST in service? The answer remains to be seen.
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