jan 21, 1976 - Concorde

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Concorde is a retired Anglo-French supersonic airliner, jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation and the British Aircraft Corporation. The project began in 1954 and cost £70 million (£1.68 billion in 2023). The first flight took off from Toulouse on 2 March 1969, and the market was predicted for 350 aircraft. Concorde was a tailless aircraft design with a narrow fuselage, an ogival delta wing, and a droop nose for landing visibility. It was powered by four Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593 turbojets with variable engine intake ramps and reheat for take-off and acceleration to supersonic speed. Constructed out of aluminium, it was the first airliner to have analogue fly-by-wire flight controls. The airliner had transatlantic range and supercruising at twice the speed of sound for 75% of the distance.

Delays and cost overruns increased the programme cost to £1.5-2.1 billion in 1976, (£11-16 billion in 2023). Concorde entered service in January 1976 with Air France and British Airways, with transatlantic flights being the main market. The only competitor was the Tupolev Tu-144, which carried passengers from November 1977 until a May 1978 crash. The only fatal incident involving Concorde occurred on 25 July 2000, and commercial service was suspended until November 2001. All but 2 of the 20 aircraft built have been preserved and are on display across Europe and North America.

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