Wikipedia says March 27, 1970, was first-ever flight of the Concorde. Not the program on HBO, I mean, but the actual jet. I think Wikipedia is wrong (I know, I know, who would have thought?!) – British Airways says the first flight occurred on March 2, 1969. Either way, we’re in the anniversary month of the first flight, so I thought it would be a good topic for a Q10 (don’t worry… the superfluous body parts sequel is still coming).
1. That little “e” on “Concorde” was a pretty big deal at one point in time. “Concorde” is the French spelling, but U.K. Prime Minister Harold Macmillan got in an argument with Charles de Gaulle and officially had the “e” yanked to spite him. In 1967, Tony Benn, the British Minister for Technology, had it changed back to the original spelling. He said the superfluous letter stood for “Excellence, England, Europe and Entente Cordiale, a 1904 series of agreements between England and France. However, the “E stands for England” theory further ruffled some feathers, because Scotland soon pointed out that Concorde’s nose cone was made in Scotland. Benn replied, “It was also ‘E’ for Ecosse (French for “Scotland”) – and I might have added ‘e’ for extravagance and ‘e’ for escalation as well!”
2. The record time for Paris-to-NY was (and still is) two hours, 52 minutes and 59 seconds. On average, the Concorde traveled one mile every two and three quarter seconds. It was so fast that on westbound flights, it was possible to arrive at a local time that was earlier than when you left your original destination. And of course Concorde’s publicists didn’t miss that opportunity: British Airways used the slogan “Arrive before you leave.”
3. At low speeds, it was highly inefficient. It could burn two tons of fuel just taxiing to the runway. However, it was designed to be operated at Mach 2 – and when it was, it was the most fuel-efficient jet engine ever built.
4. Concorde could stretch anywhere from 6-10 inches during flight because the heating of the airframe was so intense.
5. You know where you are based on what it’s called. OK, you probably know where you are anyway, but go with me here. In the U.S., it’s the Concorde. In the U.K., it’s simply Concorde. And in France, it’s le Concorde (go figure).
6. It was quite noticeable when the Concorde passed through the sound barrier: first of all, the pilot would announce it. But also, there was a surge in acceleration and the air compression was such that the windows would actually get warm to the touch.
7. The Concorde had just one major crash, but it was the beginning of the downfall for the supersonic jet. Air France Flight 4590 was headed from Charles de Gaulle in Paris to JFK in New York on July 25, 2000, when a piece of debris on the runway punctured a tire. The tire burst, and a big chunk of it flew up and hit a wing, which ruptured the fuel tank under the landing gear. This led to a fire, which ultimately ended up in the pilots losing control of the plane and crashing into a nearby hotel. There were no survivors, and four people on the ground died as well. Even though this was Concorde’s only disaster, it led to flights being grounded for a while so improvements to safety could be made – including tires that wouldn’t burst and Kevlar-lined fuel tanks. The improvements were tested and the first post-crash passenger flight was made on September 11, 2001. Yep. Obviously, after that, the airline industry suffered. Between that and the public’s uncertainty after the 2000 Concorde crash, the customer base was no longer there. Air France and British Airways both announced on April 10, 2003, that they would be ending all Concorde flights and retiring the planes.
8. The last flight from New York to Heathrow in London, was basically an exclusive party. Attendees included Joan Collins, Models Jodie Kidd and Christie Brinkley, British Airways chairman Lord Marshall, the aforementioned Tony Benn, broadcaster Sir David Frost and stock exchange chairman Chris Gibson-Smith. When it left JFK, it flew through water cannons spraying jets of red, white and blue water. When it arrived at Heathrow, it was greeted by 1,000 spectators seated in a grandstand built just for the occasion. The Queen even consented to have Windsor Castle lit up when the last flight flew over it – usually, Windsor Castle is only illuminated for visiting dignitaries and heads of state.
9. Pieces and parts of the Concorde have been auctioned off in both France and England – everything from the Machmeter to salt and pepper shakers and blankets with the Concorde logo.
10. The band Flight of the Conchords really does take their name from the Concorde. Bret McKenzie has said that he had a dream about flying guitars that looked kind of like Concordes and when he talked to bandmate Jemaine Clement about it, the name “Flight of the Conchords” just happened. Of course, he could be kidding… it sounds suspiciously like Paul McCartney’s flaming pie dream that named the Beatles, and they’ve got the same spelling pun in their name, so…
Did any of you ever fly on a Concorde before they were retired? We’d love to hear about it in the comments! And if not (I suspect that’s the category most of us fall in), how about this: if you could fly anywhere in three hours, where would you go? Think of the possibilities…
Have a good Q10 suggestion for me? Send me a Tweet!
Comments (18)
Comment
- subscribe /
- give a gift /
- terms of service /
- about /
- contact us /
- write for us /
- ad info /
- subscriber services /
- press /
- privacy policy /
- rss /
© 2012 Mental Floss Inc. All Rights Reserved. Mental Floss is a registered trademark owned by Felix Dennis. mentalfloss.com is a trademark owned by Felix Dennis.
Disclaimer: All submissions made to mental_floss become the property of Mental Floss Inc and may be used without further permission by the submitter and without compensation to the submitter. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not submit anything to mental_floss.
Anywhere in three hours?…I think I’d head to Endor for some hiking.
posted by TXCherokee on 3-26-2009 at 3:21 pm
Arriving before you leave is not limited to the Concorde. We used to fly from Schiphol to Vancouver, and always arrived within a few minutes either way of when we left since it was both a 9 hour flight and a 9 hour time difference. Whether you got back before or after you left was generally a matter of what way the wind was blowing.
posted by Jacquilynne on 3-26-2009 at 3:45 pm
lennon told the flaming pie story.
mccartney had an album named flaming pie
posted by antonio on 3-26-2009 at 3:54 pm
My father-in-law once flew back on the Concorde to get home in time for my husband’s birthday. My FIL is a CFO and travels a lot at the end of the year, which also happens to be when my husband was born. Unable to delay a business trip to France, my FIL somehow convinced his company to pay for him to fly him back on the Concorde. He made it just in time to celebrate his son’s 16th birthday. Is that a great dad or what?
posted by Jenny on 3-26-2009 at 3:59 pm
mmmmmm…flaming pie…
i would go to Africa
posted by the creature on 3-26-2009 at 4:04 pm
I flew on the Concorde twice, both times from Dulles Airport in VA to Heathrow. It was very cramped inside and required most to stoop a bit when walking down the aisle- sideways might I add. There was a digital “Mach-meter” on the bulk head and yes, the pilot did warn prior to breaking the sound barrier. I don’t recall the actual breaking of the sound barrier being too eventful other than the cheers inside and the opening of champagne. The food was good (by English standards anyway) and the service and atmosphere was lively and fun. For the expense though (I think I paid $11,000 and $13,000), I would rather take the longer flight in business or first- not that I have a choice today.
Where would I go in three hours? I’d probably fly circles around the Capitol building in DC to make the idiots there as dizzy as their laws and BS make us citizens.
posted by Scott-O on 3-26-2009 at 5:13 pm
I love the Concorde. I read that the expansion of length was used at the last flight to stuff the flight crew’s hats between two panels that would then shrink together too close to remove them. I think it’s great that the crew knew this and took advantage of it.
Concorde: I know you got soul.
posted by Dave on 3-26-2009 at 5:22 pm
I forgot: Given three hours in a Concorde, I would be ok if it just landed back were I started.
The Concorde was superb, but a more interesting story is the Tupolev TU-144. Look it up sometime.
posted by Dave on 3-26-2009 at 5:26 pm
My Grandfather (English) helped design and build the first Concorde….
posted by Sandie on 3-26-2009 at 6:03 pm
A friend who made ice cream for restaurants in northern Virginia was the exclusive ice cream supplier for Concorde flights out of Dulles.
posted by PartiallyDeflected on 3-26-2009 at 7:40 pm
Since it’s not mentioned anywhere – those red planes flying formation with the Concorde appear to be the Red Arrows, the Royal Canadian Air Force counterpart of the USAF Thunderbirds.
posted by PartiallyDeflected on 3-26-2009 at 7:44 pm
I flew on the Concorde from Montreal to Heathrow on the first leg of a trip to Finland in 1980. I was 14 yrs old and got to see the cockpit. I also stll have the Concorde branded Mastermind game and deck of cards the stewardess gave me.Our in- flight movie was the three hour long masterpiece:This is Elvis.Great trip!Thanks Grandma.
posted by squ1nt on 3-26-2009 at 10:18 pm
err.. the Red Arrows are actually part of the Royal Air Force – completely UK based
posted by JC on 3-27-2009 at 4:31 am
I’ve been aboard Concorde although unfortunately not flown on her, one of them is now run as a museum of sorts in Filton, Bristol (England) where she (I know not all of ‘em were but I believe she’s one of the ones tha was) was built – my Dad watched the first one being tested there as a boy and that last one land when it returned. He’d always wanted to fly aboard her but never had the opportunity, so we went together and really got to look around and even go onto the flight deck! Was absolutely amazing to see her!
Also as a side note, as that looks like a BA Concorde I’d imagine it’s the British Red Arrows they flew formation with her several times including at the Queen’s Golden Jubilee.
posted by Steph on 3-27-2009 at 8:06 am
The Museum of Flight in Seattle has one of the Concordes. It is open for the public to walk through. It is worth the trip since the whole museum is wonderful. It also has the the old retired “Air Force One” that you can visit.
posted by Sylvia on 3-27-2009 at 11:13 am
The Caribbean island of Barbados has one of the retired aircraft on display. There were regularly scheduled flights between London and Barbados during the winter holiday season.
posted by N on 3-31-2009 at 1:03 am
yerr i own all theconcords there in my pocket right now so merr
posted by chris on 4-22-2009 at 7:18 am
I also worked on the design/building of Concorde at Filton at the end of the 60s/beginning of the 70s. My brother-in-law became a Concorde captain for BA but I never got any freebies. However, redundancy from the aerospace industry in the mid-80s provided a little money to achieve my dream and I managed to afford a ‘Flight of Fancy’ on her from Heathrow to Budapest. As she wasn’t permitted to fly across Europe at Mach 2, after take off she headed directly north to fly faster than the speed of sound. And there certainly was a difference – it was so, so quiet!
posted by Linda on 9-8-2009 at 4:40 am