Concorde measured nearly 204ft in length and stretched between 6 and 10 inches in flight due to heating of the airframe. It was painted in a specially developed white paint to accommodate these changes and to dissipate the heat generated by supersonic flight.

The iconic "brilliant white" livery of the Concorde was not merely an aesthetic choice for the supersonic airliner; it was a critical engineering requirement dictated by thermal management. When flying at Mach 2.0 (over 1,350 mph), the friction between the air and the aircraft's skin generated immense heat, causing the airframe to expand by as much as 12 inches during flight. The special high-reflectivity white paint was developed to help radiate this heat away and keep the aluminum structure within safe temperature limits. Without this specific white finish, the internal and external temperatures of the aircraft could have risen by an additional 11∘C, potentially compromising the structural integrity of the airframe or causing the fuel to overheat. A famous exception occurred in 1996 when Pepsi paid to have a Concorde painted blue for a marketing campaign. Because the blue paint didn't have the same heat-reflective properties, the aircraft was restricted from flying at Mach 2 for more than 20 minutes at a time to prevent the wings and fuselage from reaching dangerously high temperatures.