  Anglo-French negotiations concerning the development of a supersonic transport aircraft culminated on 29 November 1962 in the signing of two agreements, one between the French and British governments, the other between the manufacturers to whom the project was entrusted. The agreements provided for the manufacture of two Concorde prototypes, followed by two preproduction aircraft and two airframes for static and fatigue testing. First flight (s/n 001) took place on 2 March 1969. The static test programme was completed in September 1973 and this airframe was tested to destruction in June 1974. Fatigue testing was programmed to continue until two aircraft `lives' (about 48,000 flights) had been attained.
The planned flight test programme, involving the two prototype, two preproduction and first four production Concordes, achieved its target of 5,335 hours flying at the time when the full passenger-carrying certificate of airworthiness was granted by the SGAC and CAA in late 1975.
By the beginning of 1979, a total of 19 Concordes had flown, including 15 production models. The 16th and last production aircraft first flew on 20 April 1979. In development and test flying with the manufacturers 2,930 flights had then been made, of which 1,800 involved flight at supersonic speeds. A total of 6,560 hours block time had been amassed, including 2,450 hours supersonic. In addition, up to the Summer of 1979, airline service had involved 7,600 flights amounting to 26,000 hours.
Airframe development and production of the Concorde were undertaken jointly by Aerospatiale and BAe, with two final assembly lines, at Toulouse and Filton respectively. There was no duplication of main production jigs.
Aerospatiale was responsible for development and production of the rear cabin section, wings and wing control surfaces, hydraulic systems, flying controls, navigation systems, radio and air conditioning. The automatic flight control system was designed by Marconi (now GEC-Marconi) in the UK and SFENA (now Sextant Avionique) in France, under contract to Aerospatiale. BAe was responsible for the three forward sections of the fuselage, the rear fuselage and vertical tail surfaces, the engine nacelles and ducting, the electrical system, sound and thermal insulation, oxygen system, fuel system, engine installation, and fire warning and extinguishing systems.
Concorde Weights
Concorde Weights
|
| Max Weight Without Fuel (Zero fuel weight) |
203,000 lbs (92,080 kgs) |
| Operating Weight Empty |
173,500 lbs (78,700 kgs) |
| Max Payload |
29,500 lbs (13,380 kgs) |
| Max Take Off Weight |
408,000 lbs (185,000 kgs) |
| Max taxing Weight |
412,000 lbs (186,880 kgs) |
| Max Landing Weight |
245,000 lbs (111,130 kgs) |
| Max Weight of Fuel |
26,400 gallons <=>95,680 kgs |
| Max baggage weight (under floor hold : forward of door) |
2,194 lbs (995 kgs) |
| Max baggage weight (under floor hold : aft of door) |
1,290 lbs (585 kgs) |
| Max baggage weight (Rear Hold : Lashed) |
6,100 lbs (2,767 kgs) |
| Max baggage weight (Rear Hold : Un-Lashed) |
5,000 lbs (2,268 kgs |
Concorde Performance
| Airspeed, and Altitude Limits |
| Maximum Operating Cruise Speed |
Mach 2.04 (around 1350MPH) |
| Maximum Permissible Range |
4500 Miles (3900 Naut' Miles) |
| Average Take-off speed |
250MPH |
| Average Landing speed |
185MPH |
| Maximum landing gear speed |
270Kts (Mach 0.7) |
| Maximum operating altitude |
60,000Ft |
| Normal type pressure |
230 PSI |
| Maximum visor down speed |
325Kts (Mach 0.8) |
| Maximum nose down (5 degrees) speed |
325Kts (Mach 0.8) |
| Maximum nose down (12.5 degrees) speed |
270 Kts (Mach 0.7) below 20,000ft |
| Maximum speed for landing light extention |
270 Kts |
| Maximum fuel jettison speed |
Mach 0.93 |
| Maximum speed for windscreenwiper operation |
325Kts (Mach 0.8) |
| Maximum positive incidence (angle of attack) |
16.5 Degrees |
| Maximum negative incidence (angle of attack) |
-5.5 Degrees (Above Mach 1.0) |
| Temperature and pressure limits |
 |
| MaximumTotal Temperatire (TMO) |
127 Degrees Celcius (on nose) |
| Maximum Oil temp for start and takeoff |
125 Degrees Celcius |
| Maximum Oil temp for takeoff and 5min transient |
195 Degrees Celcius |
| Maximum Oil temp Continuous operation |
190 Degrees Celcius |
| Minimum Oil temp for starting |
-35 Degrees Celcius |
| Minimum Oil temp for advance above idle |
-20 Degrees Celcius |
| Minimum Oil Pressure for contiunued operation |
5 PSI |
| Minimum Oil Pressure for take off |
10 PSI |
| Minimum Fuel temp for start up |
-40 Degrees Celcius |
| Minimum Fuel temp for advance above idle |
-40 Degrees Celcius |
| Maximum Fuel temp for contiunued operation |
50 Degrees Celcius |
| Maximum Fuel pressure at Engine inlet |
20 PSIA |
| Maximum Fuel pressure at Engine inlet |
7 PSI |
Concorde Dimensions
Production Concorde Dimensions
|
| Overall Length |
202' 4" (61.66m) |
| Length from nose to cockpit |
24' 0" (7.31m) |
| Height from ground (ground to top of fin) |
40' 0" (12.2m) |
| Height from lowest point (Engine) |
28' 8" (8.9m) |
| Fuselage max external Width |
9' 5" (2.88m) |
| Fuselage max internal Width |
103.4" (2.63m) |
| Fuselage max external Height |
10' 10" (3.32m) |
| Fuselage max internal Height |
77" (1.96m) |
Fuselage length
(flight deck door to rear bulkhead) |
129' (39.32m) |
| Wing Span |
83' 10" (25.6m) |
| Wing Length (Root Chord) |
90' 9" (27.66m) |
| Wing Area |
3,856 sq. ft (358.25 sq. mtrs) |
| Elevon Area (Each side) |
172.2 sq. ft (16 sq. mtrs) |
| Main Gear Track |
25' 4" (7.7m) |
| Tail Fin Height |
37' 1" (11.32m) |
| Tail Fin length (Root Chord) |
34' 8" (10.58m) |
| Tail Fin area |
365sq. ft (33.91 sq. mtrs) |
| Rudder area |
112sq. ft (10.41 sq. mtrs) |
Concorde Accomodation
Concorde Passenger and Crew Accomodation
|
Maxium number of Passengers
(certified) |
128 |
Normal number of Passengers
(with current cabin layouts) |
100 (British Airways)
92 (Air France) |
| Normal Flight Crew |
3
(Captain, Co -pilot & Flight Engineer) |
| Max Flight Crew |
5
(Captain, Co -pilot, Flight Engineer & 2 Observers) |
| Maximum Flight Attendants |
6 |
| Escape exits with Slides |
6
(2 main front, 2 over wing center and 2 over wing rear) |
| Passenger Toilet facilities |
3 (1 front, 2 center) |
| Crew Galley facilities |
2 (1 front, 1 main rear) |
| Passenger Info displays |
2 (1 front cabin, 1 rear cabin)
Display : Mach No. , Air speed, Outside Temp & Distance to go |
| BAGGAGE HOLDS |
| Combined Volume |
20.3 Cubic Meters (697 cu ft) |
| Forward hold Length |
6.25 Meters (20' 6") |
| Forward hold Volume |
6.71 Cubic Meters (227 cu ft) |
| Rear hold Length |
4.16 Meters (13' 8") |
| Rear hold Volume |
13.32 Cubic Meters (470 cu ft) |
Concorde Powerplant
| Powerplant Specifications |
| Engine Model |
Olympus 593 Mrk610 turbojet |
| Engine Manufacturer |
Rolls-Royce/SNECMA |
| Number fitted |
Four |
| Maximum thrust produced at take off, per engine |
38,050 lbs (170 KN) (with afterburner reheat in operation) |
| Maximum thrust produced during supersonic cruse, per engine |
10,000 lbs |
| Reheat contribution to performance |
20% at full thurust during take-off |
| Fuel Type |
A1 Jet fuel |
| Fuel Capacity |
26,400 gallons /119,500 ltrs / 95,680 kgs |
| Fuel Consumption (at Idle Power) |
1100 kgs/hr (302 Gallons/hr) |
| Fuel Consumption (at Full Power) |
10500 kgs/hr (2885 Gallons/hr) |
| Fuel Consumption (at Full Re-heated power) |
22500 kgs/hr (6180 Gallons/hr) |
| Typical miles to the gallon per passenger |
17 Miles! |
| No of Production versions supplied to airlines |
67 (63 remain in use) |
Concorde Fuel Systems
Concorde, like most airliners, has multiple fuel tanks whcih are detailed below. The only difference is that during flight fuel is transfered from tank to tank to maintain trim and balance of the aircraft as it does not have a full tailplane which would be used on a subsonic airliner to perform this task. Also for supersonic flight the Center of Gravity is critial and required to be moved for different speeds.
The fuel is also used as a heat sink for cooling purposes. Surplus heat from the air conditioning and hydraulic systems from the constant speed drive and generator and also from the engine lubricating oil is rejected through heat exchangers to the fuel.
Location of Concorde's fuel tanks.
Function
|
Tank Number
|
Capacity (litres)
|
Quantity (kg)
|
| Engine supply
|
1
2
3
4
|
5,300
5,770
5,770
5,300
|
4,198
4,570
4,570
4,198
|
Main
Storage
Tanks
|
5
6
7
8
|
9,090
14,630
9,350
16,210 |
7,200
11,587
7,405
12,838 |
| Auxiliary Tanks
|
5A
7A |
2,810
2,810 |
2,225
2,225 |
| Transfer and Reserve Tanks |
9
10
11 |
14, 010
15,080
13,150 |
11,096
11,943
10,415 |
| Totals |
|
119 ,280 |
94,470 |
Center of Gravity and Fuel Transfer
As mentioned above the centre of gravity (CoG) on Concorde it critical to it being able to maintain supersonic speeds and also fly successfully at low speeds. The centre of lift of the aircraft, when flying at Mach2, can move by some 6 feet. On a traditional subsonic aircraft the control surfaces (or entire tailplane) would be moved to trim the aircraft correctly, but on Concorde this would be unacceptable due to the drag it would cause and also leave very little movement left to control the aircraft.
The way the change in the centre of lift from the wings is trimmed out on Concorde is to compensate by moving the weight distribution, or CoG, by pumping fuel from the forward trim tanks to the rear trim tanks and vice versa. The trim tanks make up around 33 tons of fuel that can be moved around the aircraft. (the main tanks hold 95 tons).
Before take off and during the acceleration through Mach1 to an eventual Mach 2, fuel is pumped out of the forward trim tanks to the rear trim tanks and the collector tanks in the wings. Around 20 tons of fuel is moved in the process and results in a rearward shift of the CoG by 6ft (2 meters.)
At the end of the Cruise during the deceleration fuel is pumped forward to the wing transfer and even the forward trim tanks is necessary thus moving the CofG forward again as the centre of lift moves reward. Once on the ground it is standard practice to then pump more fule into the forward trim tanks to correctly balance the aircraft, so it can be unloaded without any stability problems and the chance of it becoming a "tailsitter"
The Movement of fuel also provides additional benefits at lower speeds: By making the aircraft rearward heavy during take off and landing, this causes the elevons control surfaces to move downwards to counteract this weight and in so doing so increases the camber of the wing generating more lift at slower speeds. Another feature is the ability to move fuel across the aircraft between tanks 1 and 4. This allows the aircraft roll trim to be set without having slightly different deflection on the elevons, which again adds drag and reduces performance.
The full transfers on Concorde are carried out by the flight engineer from his fuel control panel. On Concorde this is one of the most important and time consuming jobs for the engineer. The panel allows the engineer to set up the transfers to be carried out automatically and stop when the relevant quantities of fuel have been moved to the correct tanks.
The following table shows the corridor for where the center of gravity on Concorde must be for different speed profiles.
During flight, dynamic markers or "bugs" are shown on the Centre of gravity displays that feature on the instrument panels. These show the pilot what the CofG limits are for the speed the aircraft is currently travelling at. Bugs are also shown on the airspeed indicators (Mach and IAS) that show what speeds can be flown for the current Centre of Gravity position.
Fuel movement diagrams and specific infomation based on an extract from "Flying Concorde" by Brian Calvert.
CofG corridor diagram supplied by Peter Baker, former Concorde test pilot.
More Resources
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