TOULOUSE, France –The Concorde airliner first took to the skies 50 years ago promising a revolution in air travel with its technical prowess and supersonic speed. But just 34 years later and with only 14 planes ever entering commercial passenger service, the Franco-British turbojet was grounded by high costs and still haunted by a major crash in France three years earlier, writes Olivier Thibault for Phys.org.
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The Intelligent Aerospace take:
March 1, 2019-With the 50th anniversary of supersonic Concorde taking to the air being marked, Thibault notes the technical accomplishments of the speedy commercial aircraft. However, the Concorde was both expensive to make and expensive to fly in. The jet also made a mighty boom when it broke the sound barrier. Manufacturers, agencies, and nations are all attempting to take another run at supersonic commercial air travel. NASA's X-59 aims to make breaking the sound barrier a less dramatic affair for folks on the ground. Russian president Vladimir Putin says his nation could leverage military technology to make a commercial supersonic flyer, while Boeing and Aerion are teaming up on a supersonic business jet. While the Concorde has an interesting past, the supersonic future seems like it may be more fruitful.
Related: Aerion and Boeing team up on AS2 supersonic business jet
Related: Putin wants Russian civilian air travel to go supersonic once again
Related: Collins to provide avionics for NASA's supersonic X-59
Jamie Whitney, Associate Editor
Intelligent Aerospace
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