Why did Concorde stretch?

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.



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The jet only had to fly at 50% capacity to break even. The plane was grounded after an accident shortly after takeoff in July of 2000 that killed all 109 people on board and four people on the ground. The official investigation blamed a titanium strip that fell from a Continental plane minutes earlier.

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Bathroom: The smallest room on Concorde was also a squeeze. Su Marshall, who flew on the airplane, said she was advised by a regular passenger to go before takeoff as the size made it impossible to pee once in the air.

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Technical, financial, and regulatory hurdles make a return to the skies extremely unlikely. Concorde is an aircraft that captures the imagination and is instantly recognizable even to non-aviation fanatics.

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Did Concorde ever perform a barrel roll – well yes and the video below will tell you all about it. It was performed by one of British Airways' most celebrated pilots Brian Walpole.

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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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Such speed didn't come cheap, though: A transatlantic flight required the high-maintenance aircraft to gulp jet fuel at the rate of one ton per seat, and the average round-trip price was $12,000.

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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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Supercharged: Concorde was the first -- and still only -- passenger aircraft that had turbojet engines with afterburners. Raw fuel was introduced into the exhaust of the plane's four engines, immediately increasing the engines' thrust by almost 20%.

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The aircraft quickly proved itself unquestionably as it reached speeds of up to 1,354 mph. To put that into context, that is around 800 mph faster than a Boeing 747 and over 350 mph faster than the earth spins on its axis!

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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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The Concorde carried out supersonic flights until 2003, when it was retired. Also, because the plane flew faster than the speed of sound, it created a sonic boom, an explosive noise caused by shock waves that were a nuisance to people on the ground.

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Over the Irish sea and rapidly running out of fuel the Tornado had a hard time catching up with the mighty Concorde. Over more than a hundred miles or so, 5–10 minutes the Concord could outrun every fighter.

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Antilock breaks, now standard on cars and aircraft, were first developed to prevent Concorde from skidding as it landed at high speeds. In addition to two tires near the nose of the plane and four under each wing, the plane has bumper gear beneath its tail in case it tips to the ground during takeoff or landing.

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No manufacturer has yet been able to recreate the days of the Concorde, but some are trying. Denver-based Boom Supersonic is leading the pack with its faster-than-sound Overture jet, already securing over 100 orders from United Airlines, Japan Airlines, and American Airlines.

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Boom Supersonic's Overture plane is slated to roll out in 2025, fly in 2026 and expected to carry passengers by 2029. Capable of flying at speeds of Mach 1.7 – twice the speed of today's fastest airliners – Overture will be able to connect more than 500 destinations in nearly half the time.

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