The document discusses the development and design of the supersonic Concorde aircraft. It describes how the British and French governments agreed in 1962 to jointly develop a supersonic transport. Two prototypes were built and the first flight occurred in 1969. Key design aspects included delta wings for stability at supersonic speeds, powerful jet engines, and a droopable nose for visibility during takeoff and landing. Concorde carried 100 passengers at twice the speed of sound but was retired in 2003 due to high costs and falling revenues.

1. GROUP : BIL 13/2B
LECTURE : SIR ZULHILMI BIN MUHAMMAD NASIR
FUNDAMENTAL OF
TRANSPORT
TITLE : CONCORDE AIRCRAFT

2. During departure On air

3.  In 1962, the British and French governments signed an
agreement to develop a supersonic transport aircraft
(SST).
 The plane was built jointly by British Aerospace (BAe)
and Aerospatiale.
 Two prototypes were built, and the first flight took
place in 1969.
 A total of 20 Concordes were made. The planes were
flown by British Airways and Air France.
 Aircraft production had flourished during World War II,
many of the technologies developed for military use
were adapted to make passenger aircraft faster and
more powerful.

4.  The next logical step was to develop a supersonic passenger
aircraft capable of flying faster than the speed of sound.
 The British government formed the Supersonic Transport Aircraft
Committee in 1956 and the Bristol Aeroplane Company started
work on the development of the Type 233 supersonic jet.
 The French were pursuing the same goal with Sud Aviation’s
Super-Caravelle.

5.  The name Concorde was first used by President De
Gaulle of France in 1963, and the British initially spelt it
without an ‘e’ – Concord.
 In 1967 Tony Benn, the minister for technology,
announced that Britain would adopt the French spelling
and squashed nationalistic protests by proclaiming that
the ‘e’ stood for ―excellence, England, Europe and
entente (cordiale)
 When an irate Scot wrote an angry letter demanding to
know what ‘e’ represented to his country, Benn replied
that it was ‘Ecosse’, the French word for Scotland.

6.  In reality the project was so complex that it took much longer and
cost far more.
 The radical implications of Concorde’s extraordinary speed for its
weight, shape, noise and components meant that every element of
its design was dramatically different from that of a conventional
jet, as were the safety requirements.

7.  An early design decision was that its wings should be
- A slender
- Swept-back triangular shape, rather than rectangular like a
Boeing 747’s, to allow Concorde to move easily through the air
at exceptionally high speed.
 These triangular or ‘delta’ wings not only optimised speed by reducing
drag, but provided sufficient lift for take-off and landing at subsonic
speed, and enough stability during flight to eradicate the need to
install horizontal stabilisers on the tail.

8.  During takeoff and landing, Concorde flew at a steep angle, with
its front end tilted skyward and its tail pointing down.
 If a conventional plane were in this position, its nose would block
the pilots' view.
 But Concorde's long, pointed nose had a hinge. As the plane took
off, landed, and taxied, the pilots tilted its nose forward so that
they could see the runway.
 For supersonic flight, the nose was hydraulically lifted,
streamlining the plane's shape and allowing it to efficiently pierce
the air.

9.  Concorde's four turbojet engines were twice as powerful as
engines on large subsonic jets.
 Mounted in pairs under the wings, each engine could provide more
than 38,000 lbs of thrust, accelerating the plane from 0 to 225 mph
in only 30 seconds.
 This afterburner system was similar to technology used today by
fighter jets and the Space Shuttle. It gave Concorde's engines a
fiery glow (and also made them extremely loud).

10.  Concorde's aerodynamic, narrow body restricted space for
passengers.
 British Airways planes seated only 100, while Air France planes,
with a slightly roomier cabin layout, sat just 92.
 Given Concorde's gas-guzzling, costly operation, you paid dearly
for the chance to go supersonic.
 But with a $10,000 round-trip ticket, you flew in high style—
toasting your takeoff with caviar and champagne, followed by a
five-course gourmet meal.
 Eleven miles high, above 90 percent of Earth's atmosphere, the
ride was rarely rocked by turbulence, and the view of our planet's
curvature was spectacular.

12.  Concorde carried roughly 31,500 gallons of fuel weighing more
than 200,000 pounds, an enormous weight that, depending on the
fuel's location, changed the plane's center of gravity.
 A fuel-transfer system adjusted the center of gravity and helped to
keep Concorde stable. Before takeoff and during acceleration to
supersonic speeds, about 20 tons of fuel was moved backwards to
tanks in the plane's tail and wings.
 As the aircraft slowed down at the end of a flight, fuel was
pumped forward to a tank near the plane's center.

13.  Concorde to be retired by the end of October 2003 -10/4/03
 BA said that its decision had been made for commercial reasons
with passenger revenue falling steadily against a backdrop of
rising maintenance costs for the aircraft.
 The deterioration of business results from the transatlantic
service
 Both airlines have had a drop in Concorde bookings due to the
downturn that is currently effecting the aviation industry
 Breaking these contractual agreement is resulting in a write-off
£84M in the current financial year

14.  As a Concorde was taking off, two tires on the main left landing
gear blew out, and tire debris and wheel shrapnel damaged the
No. 2 engine and punctured three fuel tanks. A large hole was torn
in the wing.
 Combustion sources are the result of a tire explosion.
 This statement is supported by rubber pieces weighing 4.5 kg
were found beside the track.
 Grounding effect on the outer surface of the fuel tank has also
been associated with tire explosion

16.  Can be drooped down not obstructing the
pilot.
 To reduce drag and achieve optimum
aerodynamic efficiency.

17.  Most powerful pure jet engines flying
commercially
 ‘Reheat’ technology, which added fuel to the
final stage of the engine
 The extra power required for take-off and
the transition to supersonic flight.

18.  220 knots (250mph) (compared with 165
knots for most subsonic aircraft).
 1350mph - more than twice the speed of
sound
 "faster than the sun".

19.  The hottest part of the structure of any supersonic
aircraft is the nose.
 The highest temperature -127 °C (Mach 2.02)
 The fuel as a heat sink for the heat from the air
conditioning
 Pockets of air with temperature differing sharply
from that of surrounding air.
 Very sensitive to air temperature.

20.  Passengers received almost twice the flux of
extra-terrestrial ionising radiation
 High level - descended to below 47,000ft
(14,000 m)
 Decrease indicator indicated whether the
aircraft needed to descend further and unsafe
altitude.

21. o This is very effective transport because very
faster to one point to one point .
o Have use higher technology for improvement to
maintained
o Produces sound quite noisy once gave a
negative response by the public, especially
customers