I wrote this for the relaunch issue of FLAPS but since it has been delayed and is poised for a January 2004 launch this article will be too old for the newsletter. This was also published in a daily here in India. And here it is for you all.:)
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Concorde – The Dream That Was.
On a bitterly cold morning in December 1967, the prototype of the sleek, exhilarating aircraft named the Concorde was rolled out from its assembly hall in Toulouse. The Concorde was a winner and a looser at the same time. The aircraft was an engineering marvel, taking passengers at speeds of Mach 2 on a daily basis. But it did suffer heavily. US beurocracy killed of many orders of the Concorde from US airlines. US also planned a SST, which never left the drawing boards. Concorde was left with just a handful of operations with British Airways and Air France, who operated 7 each.
Concorde had a great impact on the whole world being the only Supersonic Transport (SST) serving for the last 3 decades. It took its first flight on March 2, 1969 getting great media attention, and for the next 3 decades the Concorde never failed to get the same type of attention it got on the first day of its flying career.
The Concorde suffered the biggest setback on July 25th 2000 when an Air France Concorde crashed during take off from Paris, after this Concorde’s career was questioned. Since the Concorde was proving to be expensive, after the crash Air France found a good opportunity to put an end to the Concorde’s 30 years of flying. Even when majority of the people still wanted the Concorde flying. One crash in 30 odd years, and taking the aircraft out of service because of that is no doubt making a mockery out of a legend.
British Airways was the last to take the Concorde out of service with the last three flights landing minutes apart from each other on October 24, 2003, marking an end to supersonic travel. Britain and France had just lost a national icon, which they flaunted to the world. Now France and Britain join the rest of the world in civil aviation with the Concorde leaving there fleet making them “just another airline”.
People questioned with disappointment when it was announced that the Concorde would retire that “Where has the passion of flying gone?” The passion of flying apparently has been subsided with the passion of survival and these days accountants are more important than CEOs! What the accountant says, CEO agrees. Since post-Sept. 11 the airline industry has faced turmoil. Survival has been tough which in return has killed of the passion of flying. Money is more important these days than pride. British Airways could still have kept the Concorde in the air if they still had that fire within them. They seem not to realize that the Concorde has served them so heftily. It has brought fame and fortune for them and not yet it deserves to rot in museums and airport entrances, it is just too great a human achievment to be kept at airports so that people can just notice it.
The way the French isolated the Concorde after that one crash was heartbreaking. Most people turned there backs on the Concorde not seeing or not appreciating how well the machine had served them and most importantly how much the machine had brought pride to there nation. Although Air France made a not so enthusiastic effort to get it airborne after that, it was too good an opportunity for them to ground the aircraft that was proving to be expensive.
The Concorde was the first and last supersonic commercial aircraft as no such programme can be seen in the near future to bring back supersonic travel. Infact the aviation technology is preferring size over speed, even in 21st century where speed should dominate, looking at the fast pace of technological evolution. The much-hyped Airbus double-decked jumbo, the Airbus A380 which will carry nearly 555 passengers is a perfect example of aviation technology taking a step back. The A380 is supposed to have bars, restaurants and even rooms for travelers. All this will not be needed if air travel would have gotten faster instead of going bigger. Concorde led in this field, covering the distance between London and New York in around 2 hours 15 minutes while normal jetliners takes around 5 hours. Making an economically viable supersonic transport is what the aviation industry should look at instead of making bigger aircrafts. If speed is available size will not matter. A person would rather travel in a faster aircraft, which will get him to his destination quicker than an aircraft, which takes much longer, but offers big comforts. Today’s world is short of time and people want to take the fastest means in every field possible.
Today all Air France Concorde’s are suffering pre-mature deaths lying in museums. The same fate awaits British Airway’s Concorde’s too.
Concorde was such an aircraft, that it made anyone in its way to stop and appreciate its sleek design, its might in the skies and the roar of those Rolls-Royce Olympus engines that would make ones heart skip beats. The aircraft also served as a great ambassador from the western world to the developing countries. The Concorde has been to India several times under both British Airways and Air France colours, attracting the same media attention it gets when it visits other developing countries. People flocking near the airstrip in New Delhi when it last came in 1999 to get a glimpse of the mighty bird and to feel that world famous jet-blast that whirls behind the Concorde due to the sheer power of its engines.
The last Concorde flight from New York to London was flown by an emotional but proud Captain Adrian Thompson who flew into London’s Heathrow airport on the last flight of the Concorde, waving the Union Flag from the cockpit window after landing. “Men of vision designed this wonderful machine, men of passion built her, and, I hope that it will be said, men of skill and daring flew her.” Was quoted famously by Captain Thompson after he flew the historic flight, and this quote has already found its way into the history books.
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November 20, 2003 at 4:37 pm