The desire for airliners that could fly faster and higher than all that
had gone before them was ingrained into the commercial aviation world
from the end of World War Two. As early as 1954, with the Comet program
already floundering, talks began in Britain regarding the feasibility of
a Supersonic Transport (SST), which resulted, in October 1956, in the
formation of the Supersonic Transport Advisory Committee. Six years
later, the result of an incredible working partnership between the
British and the French saw the first prototype take off from Toulouse on
2 March 1969: Concorde had arrived.
With over 70 aircraft already on order, Concorde was set to be a
commercial success, but as the price of oil began to rise and with
running costs being considerably higher than anticipated, all except the
British Overseas Aircraft Corporation and Air France fell by the
wayside. In the end, just 20 aircraft were built, and just seven
aircraft apiece were destined to be operated by British Airways and Air
France. However, setting aside the economics, Concorde was an incredible
achievement from the outset. It was built by two different nations that
overcame innumerable technical problems to produce, by far, the most
iconic airliner ever built. With photographs showing the creation,
construction and career of Concorde, this new book edition of Aeroplane
Classic Airliner: Concorde details the highs and lows of this
supersonic transport as it cemented its place in aviation history.
