Was it quiet on the Concorde?

The Concorde's sound at cruising altitude was about 105 decibels, but Buonanno said that based on tests, the X-plane would generate 70 to 80 decibels of noise. Quick and quiet are the buzz words.



Surprisingly, it was not particularly quiet inside the Concorde cabin, especially compared to modern subsonic jets like the Boeing 787. During take-off, the four Olympus engines produced a deafening roar and a powerful vibration that passengers could feel in their seats. Once the plane reached supersonic speeds at 60,000 feet, the engine noise faded into a steady, high-pitched "hiss" caused by the air rushing over the fuselage at Mach 2. Because the airframe would actually heat up and expand by several inches during supersonic flight, passengers would sometimes hear "creaks" or "pops" from the cabin walls. However, because the Concorde flew above most weather and other aircraft, there was virtually no turbulence, creating a sensation of being "suspended" in space rather than flying. While the noise levels were higher than today's "whisper-quiet" cabins, the excitement of seeing the curvature of the Earth and the dark indigo sky usually made the ambient noise a secondary concern for the celebrities and business moguls on board.

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Concorde's window-rattling sonic booms produced enormous sound energy, about 110 decibels, similar to the sound of explosions or thunder.

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Of course. Two people sitting in your run-of-the-mill supersonic airplane such as the Concorde can easily carry out conversations, without much trouble.

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flying on the Concorde was not a comfortable experience. this ultra fast supersonic jet. was once revered as the future of business travel, but its interior felt more like flying in a shoebox.

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As a result, routes it could serve were limited – primarily London and Paris to New York and DC. But because of the time savings, and the elite status of flying the Concorde on these routes, airlines were able to charge a premium rate of $12,000 round-trip.

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The Concorde was famously loud: a take-off at Washington airport in 1977 measured 119.4 decibels. By comparison, a clap of thunder hits 120 decibels while the pain threshold for the human ear is around 110.

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People inside the plane didn't hear a thing. In fact, the transition to supersonic flight was so unimpressive that they decided to install a “mach meter” inside the passenger cabin so that people would know then they passed the speed of sound.

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Concorde used the most powerful pure jet engines flying commercially. The Aircraft's four engines took advantage of what is known as 'reheat' technology, adding fuel to the final stage of the engine, which produced the extra power required for take-off and the transition to supersonic flight.

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The Concorde, with a service ceiling of 60,000 feet, did have significantly less turbulence than other commercial aircraft that fly at lower altitudes - that high up and the air doesn't have the density needed to have much of a pronounced affect on the flight.

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Concorde is sadly no longer flying, but it is still possible to visit some of the remaining 18 airframes, there are others not open to the public but you can still see them.

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Former British Airways (BA) Concorde captain John Hutchinson said the fire on its own should have been 'eminently survivable; the pilot should have been able to fly his way out of trouble'. Hutchinson believed this did not happen due to a series of operational errors and 'negligence' by the maintenance department.

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The challenges of manufacturing and certifying new parts, maintaining a licensed flight crew capable of flying it, and ongoing maintenance and preservation mean we are no closer to seeing Concorde flying again since its last flight in 2003.

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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.

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BA never suffered a serious accident with its seven strong fleet. Concorde service was profitable by the late 1980s and if not for the economic downturn and Air France Concorde crash of 2000, may have survived to this day.

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Concorde service was profitable by the late 1980s and if not for the economic downturn and Air France Concorde crash of 2000, may have survived to this day. Concorde earned £500 million for British Airways after tax profit, this was between a loss making 1982 and a highly profitable 2000 with just seven aircraft.

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Afterburning was added to Concorde for take-off to cope with weight increases that came after the initial design. It was also used to accelerate through the high-drag transonic speed range, not because the extra thrust was required, but because it was available and improved the operating economics.

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