This Day in Aviation History
March 2nd, 1969
First flight of the Concorde.
 
Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde /ˈkɒŋkɔːrd/ is a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger jet that was operated until 2003. It had a maximum speed over twice the speed of sound at Mach 2.04 (1,354 mph or 2,180 km/h at cruise altitude), with seating for 92 to 128 passengers. First flown in 1969, Concorde entered service in 1976 and continued flying for the next 27 years. It is one of only two supersonic transports to have been operated commercially; the other is the Soviet-built Tupolev Tu-144, which ran for a much shorter period of time before it was grounded and retired due to safety and budget issues.
 
Concorde was jointly developed and manufactured by Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) under an Anglo-French treaty. Concorde’s name, meaning harmony or union, reflects the cooperation on the project between the United Kingdom and France. In the UK, any or all of the type are known simply as “Concorde”, without an article. Twenty aircraft were built including six prototypes and development aircraft. Air France (AF) and British Airways (BA) each received seven aircraft. The research and development failed to make a profit and the two airlines bought the aircraft at a huge discount…..
 
Source:
Wikipedia, Concorde: http://gstv.us/1QK2KbJ
 
YouTube, Concorde’s First Flight (1969): http://gstv.us/1QK2Ik4
 
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Photo from: http://gstv.us/1QK2Pw2
 
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