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photo credit: Brittanica
On March 2, 1969, the world’s first supersonic passenger plane embarked upon its maiden flight. The Concorde, whose name was a tribute to the cooperation (or concorde, in French) between the British and French governments, caught the attention of the entire world. Its sleek, white design and novel wing shape instantly gave it an unforgettable look. Its droop snoot, the innovative solution to the challenge posed to pilots by the aircraft’s steep angle of takeoff and landing, solidified the Concorde’s place among the most ionic aviation designs in history. But the Concorde was much more than an inspiring, futuristic-looking aircraft; it was an engineering marvel. Indeed, the Concorde was capable of incredible feats. It flew at mach 2, twice the speed of sound, by which speeds the aircraft cut flight times in half. Remarkably, the Concorde during one flight flew from New York to London in an astonishingly fast 2 hours, 52 minutes, and 59 seconds. Today, that same flight is typically 7 hours long. And because it flew faster than the Earth rotates, flying westward the Concorde could arrive at a destination earlier than it had departed. At such speeds, atmospheric friction is so great that the Concorde had to be outfitted with a specially designed, highly reflective paint to keep the aircraft’s surface cool. Heating of the plane’s airframe caused it to stretch by up to 10 inches during flight. The passenger experience on board the Concorde was also excellent. Passengers were served fine meals prepared by award-winning chefs and enjoyed expensive wine selections. 60,000 feet in the sky, Concorde passengers witnessed dark blue, almost black, skies and could see the curvature of the Earth. Large digital screens situated at the front of the aircraft’s cabin displayed, in mach, the plane’s speed. Most significantly, the dramatically reduced flight times afforded by the Concorde’s design made for a much easier passenger experience in general. In all, 14 Concorde planes serviced 2.5 million passengers across 50,000 different flights. To many, it seemed that the Concorde had ushered in a new era of aviation, one in which supersonic jets would reign supreme.
Despite all its successes, the Concorde was plagued by economic and technical issues from the beginning. The development costs totaled what today equals $1.75 billion. The sleek design, which was optimized for supersonic flight, restricted the number of possible passengers to just 100. An Airbus A380-800, for comparison, can carry a maximum of 853 passengers. The Concorde also consumed much more fuel and routinely required extensive and expensive maintenance. Such factors made the price of a ticket aboard the supersonic plane exorbitant. By 1996, an Atlantic round trip could cost up to $12,500 in today’s money, reserving the plane’s services to the ultra-wealthy. The Concorde’s sonic boom, a shockwave created by planes flying faster than sound, became a serious complication. In the 1970s, many countries, including the United States, banned overland supersonic flight, citing concerns about its effects on human populations and natural environments. The Concorde was therefore restricted greatly in what flight routes it could take. While it could fly from London to New York, for example, it could not fly from New York to Los Angeles. The final nail in the coffin for the Concorde came on July 25, 2000, when Air France Flight 4590 crashed shortly after takeoff because of a ruptured tire. The crash killed all 109 aboard and 4 on the ground. Though Air France 4590 was the Concorde’s sole disaster in operational history, public confidence in the plane plummeted. The aircraft’s economic woes and tarnished reputation proved to be too much for it to endure, and in 2003, the Concorde was taken out of commission for good.
Today, interest in supersonic passenger jets has not disappeared, and research that could make this kind of travel possible again is moving forward with increasing vigor. Boom, a private aerospace company, has been working on its own version of a supersonic airliner, Overture. Boom plans for Overture to cruise at speeds of mach 1.7 and hold 64 to 80 passengers. While smaller and slightly slower than its predecessor, Overture will still fly twice as fast as modern passenger jets. Overture will also be much quieter and cheaper than the Concorde and will use sustainable jet fuel. Boom anticipates Overture to begin operations in 2029, and airline companies have already taken an interest. In June 2021, United Airlines ordered 15 of such aircraft, and in August that same year, American Airlines followed suit, ordering 20 of the aircraft. NASA recently unveiled its supersonic X-59 Quesst, the product of a collaboration between it and Lockheed Martin. While not a passenger plane, the X-59 is revolutionary because it aims to dramatically decrease the noise of a sonic boom. NASA claims that the X-59 will produce a “sonic thump” instead of boom, as the sound will be like that of a closing car door. NASA’s research has the potential to introduce technology that will render restrictions on overland supersonic flight obsolete. Future research regarding other aspects of supersonic passenger planes will help to correct past errors and make them more sustainable and economically viable.
Sources Cited
https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/concorde-chronology/
https://www.britannica.com/technology/Concorde
https://simpleflying.com/concorde-food-drink-guide/
https://simpleflying.com/concorde-cost/
https://supercarblondie.com/cost-of-concorde-plane-ticket/
https://simpleflying.com/boom-supersonic-overture-2023-review/
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/nasa-supersonic-flights-x59-scn/index.html
https://www.cnn.com/travel/boom-supersonic-ambitions-scn/index.html
https://simpleflying.com/when-boom-supersonic-overture-will-fly/
https://www.space.com/nasa-x-59-quesst-supersonic-jet-unveiled
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