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Magazine
Farewell Speed bird
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It's time for the end of Concorde's dream run. T.S. SHANKAR writes.
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VINO JOHN
A time when Concorde went around the world ... in Chennai in 1999.
FOR those, especially aviation enthusiasts, who can remember the maiden flight of Concorde, the prospect that the aircraft might never fly again is a poignant one. However, it is astonishing that it has lasted so long. As the world's only supersonic passenger aircraft, Concorde has always seemed to be at the cutting edge of aviation technology, yet it was the product of another age.
That the first flight on a Sunday afternoon in 1969 was watched by millions on black and white television sets, was an era when pilots were called Trubshaw and a suitably-awed commentary was delivered in cut glass accents by the likes of Raymond Baxter.
Hailed as the technological legacy of the swinging Sixties, an icon of post-war optimism and current developments in the global aviation scenario, it will really be the end for Concorde and a shattering blow to the morale of the European Carriers — the British Airways (BA) and Air France (AF) — and to all those who felt pride at the jetliner's realisation of the dream of supersonic flight.
After the gruesome Air France disaster on July 25, 2000, as the plane took off from Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris and later after detailed post investigation clearances and certification, the Concorde made guest appearances for air shows and special charters — all this as the airlines were struggling hard to restore daily scheduled services on the world's busiest air route, the Atlantic. When airlines say that safety is their paramount concern, they are not just pandering to the phobias of anxious flyers; they are stating a hard business fact. No big player can risk a reputation for safety if it wanted to survive.
This is the brutal commercial truth of the two European carriers as they had this flying machine as their flagship. In much of the world, the aircraft and the airline are regarded synonymous. Concorde's high fuel consumption about three times as much per passenger as a Boeing-747, also put off potential buyers, as did the burgeoning Seventies environmental movement, vocal opponents of Concorde's noise levels.
By the 1990s, only the daily shuttles to New York remained, although BA and AF generated a minor income stream through up-market charters and winter sun runs to the Carribbean. Meanwhile, various schemes for supersonic successors never achieved any credibility with potential financial backers.
With disaster striking flight AF-4590 in 2000 and both BA and AF announcing their plans to "ground for ever the Concorde fleet by end of this year", the dream of Concorde soaring in the skies appears to be over.
Nicknamed the "Rocket", the flying machine was a cynosure of all eyes — the fleet of 100-seater seven Concorde in service with the BA and six wth AF. Holding many of the world records including the fastest to cross the Atlantic from New York to London in two hours and 52 minutes and 59 seconds, the aluminium alloy fuselage of the "winged bird" was designed to stretch during flight at 60,000 ft as she adapts to the heated airflow at Mach 2 cruising speed, (2,160 kph). Her colour has to be white to radiate and reflect the heat. To give extra thrust, the engine reheat method was used which alights fuel in the jet pipe, giving her the title "Rocket".
While aviation watchers describe Concorde as a work of art and triumph of mechanical engineering, its unique style incorporating its marriage of aesthetics and sophisticated engineering, its reputation for comfort and unfaltering efficiency, had assured its landmark status. Indeed its ability to sustain a cruising speed of Mach 2 for upto three hours remains unchallenged.
Having flown more than 2.5 million passengers supersonically on BA's Concorde since it entered commercial service in 1976 and with two pilots, one flight engineer cockpit configuration, the catchy slogan of the supersonic boomer was "arrive before you leave".
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EARLY each morning a gaggle of aviation enthusiasts gathers near a hangar at Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport northeast of Paris to catch a glimpse of the famed transatlantic aircraft as it departs for New York.
"I think it is truly special plane, beautifully designed, it is the most beautiful in the world," said Jean-Pierre Ghillebart, a keen photographer, one of around 50 people who turned up to admire the jet.
But Gregory Anique, a former employee at Roissy airport, was bitter: "It is a shame they are retiring it. It gave France a good image, it had not been matched for 30 years."
... Concorde is to fly into retirement on a farewell people's tour of the United Kingdom, with seats up for grabs at just £5 a head. British Airways is staging a prize charity draw for tickets to give the nation's favourite jet a grand send-off. A total of around five individual flights will take place. A source at BA revealed: "It's Concorde's farewell tour and she's going out with a supersonic bang. Celebrities have been invited to ensure she will be given the right send-off."
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