Concorde - end of an era?

When Concorde flew over London or New York, everybody stopped and looked up.

CONCORDE was the world’s fastest and most graceful passenger plane. Concorde flew at twice the speed of sound. It first took off on 2 March, 1969 – from Toulouse in France.

Concorde was developed by both France and Britain. These two countries had a dream of a supersonic passenger plane. In 1962 they started to work together on the project. It was the most tested plane in the history of aviation. It was given over 5,000 hours of testing. Each Concorde was built at a cost of £55 million. Air France and British Airways owned the most.

Concorde was much used by business people and film stars. Faster than sound and higher than any other plane, Concorde was the most elegant, expensive, and exciting way to fly.

A luxury of the rich and famous, most of us could only look at Concorde and dream ...

In April 2003, British Airways and Air France announced the end of Concorde flights. One month later, the world sadly watched the last Air France Concorde arrive in Paris.

Almost exactly 100 years after the world's first aeroplane flight, Concorde's flying days were finished. But many people can't stop dreaming of supersonic flight. Money for new flight technology is not easy to find. But who knows what the next 100 years of air travel will bring?

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Deal could revive supersonic flights

Japan and France have agreed to develop the technology for a new supersonic commercial aircraft that could cut the flying time between Tokyo and New York by almost half to six hours.

Under a deal signed at the Paris air show (2005), the two countries try to revive the fortunes of supersonic travel less than two years after Britain and France retired their Concorde service.

The plane will seat 300 people – three times the capacity of Concorde. French aerospace officials were impressed by Japan’s successful test in 2003 of an engine that could propel an aircraft to more than five times the speed of sound. Concorde flew at twice the speed of sound.

The Society of Japanese Aerospace Companies and France’s Aerospace

Industries Association will work together to try to solve the problems that dogged Concorde, such as high fuel consumption and engine noise

The agreement between Japan and France is the first serious attempt to reintroduce supersonic air travel. Bringing respective advantages together should lead to the ability to offer highly advanced aircraft and services in the future

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Airbus 350 cleared for take-off

Airbus has already announced its next new aircraft, the A350. Smaller than the A380, the A350 will incorporate the latest innovation and technology. For example, its new engines will use technologies developed for the A380 to ensure the aircraft is quieter when it takes off and lands and 60 per cent of the aircraft will be made from weight-saving materials such as carbon fibre reinforced plastic composite and aluminium lithium alloys. The 30 m long wings will be an all-composite wing – a first for Airbus civil aircraft.

The A350 isn’t planned to go into service until 2010, but work has already started. Once the A350 goes into service, it will be able to carry between 250 and 300 passengers up to 8,800 nautical miles which could take passengers non-stop from London to the west coast of America. The A350 is already proving to be popular, with orders and commitments from many customers.

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