Concorde Performance
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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.
| 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
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Tank Number
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Capacity (litres)
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Quantity (kg)
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| Engine supply
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1 2 3 4
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5,300 5,770 5,770 5,300
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4,198 4,570 4,570 4,198
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| 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
Download Concorde for Microsoft Flight Simulator
http://portal.aircraft-info.net
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http://www.thesimswarehouse.com/article11.html