NOTE: RADIO CONTROL AIRPLANES ARE ON THE BOTTOM HALF OF THE PAGE.
Sixteen Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde SST aircraft were built. They were the mainstay supersonic passenger transport from 1976 until 2003.
The Concorde's first regularly scheduled commercial flights begin on January 21, 1976 when Air France and British Airways began service.
Air France flew the Concorde SST between Paris and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. British Airways flew between London, England and the island of Bahrain in the Persian Gulf.
On May 24, 1976 both airlines began service from their respective countries to Washington, D. C.
Pilots described the Concorde SST as well built and strong. They appreciated the tremendous excess of power produced by the four Rolls Royce Olympus engines.
Flying the Concorde SST was never dull due to the grace, beauty, and speed of the aircraft. However, flight
characteristics for such a high flying, high speed aircraft were extremely predictable. Some pilots even described the aircraft as fun to fly.
The take off of the Concorde SST was always made at full power. That is unlike many departures of today's
aircraft where power must be reduced due to noise restrictions.
When the aircraft was less than fully loaded, the roll out and climb was especially powerful. With a rotation
speed of around 191 kts. and a climb out at 260 kts., things moved along quickly.
Once over water, the afterburners of the Concorde SST were once again engaged to bring the aircraft up to
supersonic speeds. The passengers felt a slight bump as the aircraft shot forward. However, were it not for the air speed indicator, exceeding Mach 1 wouldn't even be noticed.
The Concorde landed with an extremely nose high angle. The flight crew had to drop the nose of the aircraft
about 12 degrees so that they could see the runway. The angle of the aircraft was so extreme that it was equipped with a wheel just under the tail to avoid ground strikes.
While the Concorde SST flew at supersonic speeds, it landed at about the same speeds as other high performance jet aircraft. It used the same runways as any jumbo jets.
Recent Developments:
A trial took place in France involving Continental Airlines, two of its
employees, a French civil aviation official, and two Concorde officials,
charged with negligence resulting in the July 25, 2000 airliner crash.
Continental airlines and their mechanics were charged with
failing to use proper procedures in the repair
of an airliner that
took off prior to the departure of the Concorde SST. Supposedly this
caused a piece of metal to fall from the airliner that was said to be
responsible for
puncturing the tire of the Concorde. Pieces from the
wheel and tire pierced its wing and fuel tank.
It was alleged
that the French aviation official, as head of technical services,
disregarded known problems in the design of the aircraft's wing fuel
tanks making it unsafe.
It was further alleged that the two
officials in the Concorde program had knowledge of over seventy times in
which tires of its aircraft blew out
and the debris struck the
wings. These incidents occurred between 1979 and 2000, yet nothing was
done to protect the wing or correct the design of the aircraft to
prevent such incidents from recurring.
If found guilty, Continental faces
fines of up to 375,000 euros while the individuals could face as much as
5 years of jail time each and 75,000 euros each in fines.
An attorney for Continental stated that he proved that the
metal falling from their airliner did not cause the incident.
The trial ended in early June of 2010 with the proclamation
that a verdict would be announced by December of the same year.
In the meantime efforts are under way to restore a single
Concorde SST to fly again by 2012.
Specifications
Primary Function:
Crew:
Engines:
Thrust:
Length:
Wingspan:
Weight Empty:
Max. Weight:
Payload:
Seats:
Fuel:
Take Off Speed:
Landing Speed:
Max. Cruise Speed:
Climb Rate:
Ceiling:
Range:
First Flight:
Year Deployed:
transport
three
RR Olympus 593
4 x 38,050 lbs. ea.
202' 4"
83' 10"
173,500 lbs.
408,000 lbs.
29,500 lbs.
92 or 100
26,400 gals.
220 mph
185 mph
1,350 mph
5,000 fpm
60,000 feet
4,500 miles
3/2/69
1976
Pictured above and in the next two pictures immediately below is the RC Concorde by Peter Michel. We understand that Michel has kits for sale of the radio control airplane. However, we are unable to find any specifications for the Concorde rc. If you can provide information on the radio control airplane such as length, wing span and types of engines, we would appreciate it.
The third picture down is of the rc Concorde built by J. Michael Downs. Its wingspan is 47" and length is 72". Power is by a pair of Mega motors driving EDF units.
In the next picture below is the rc Concorde for sale by Robbe. It is powered by two speed 400 type motors driving pusher props. Wing span is 31.5” and all up weight is around 38 oz.
The last picture below is of the rc Concorde from Parkjets plans. It is by Steven Wong and Dennis Payne. Wing span is 24” and length is 49.5”. Their model is powered with a pair of AXI 2208/26 brushless motors driving 6 x 4 pusher props.
Do you know of any other rc Concorde? If so, please email us.
Concorde SST
