It is just over 50 years since Concorde embarked on its maiden flight. The supersonic jetliner first took to the skies on 2nd of March 1969. It lifted off from Toulouse in France and, in doing so, set entirely new standards for performance.
Since it offered passenger service at twice the speed of sound, it set a new height for airplanes all around the world. In recent times, however, it's of course been retired, but its legacy is lasting.
Let's take a brief look at some of what we've inherited from the late, great Concorde here.
- thanks to Concorde, European nations are now more likely to work together. Concorde was one of the first big design and engineering projects which took place cross-border. Different countries contributed their unique expertise in aviation development, design, and, of course, production. By setting this precedent, Concorde changed the way we work, even here in the US.
- Concorde evolved numerous technologies that again influenced and bettered airline flight going forward. In addition to its various parts being homed and perfected over time – for example, its component parts such as plain bearings have set a world-class standard, since they are able to withstand the immense pressures of supersonic flight with reliability and ease.
- Concorde was one of the first fly-by-wire aircraft in the world. Fly-by-wire is a type of electrical signal system that controls the craft and sends messages on, then, to the flight controls. Since the development through Concorde and a few other aircraft at that time, this has now become a norm.
- autopilot and autothrottle, too, which are a necessary aspect of modern flight management, was also developed through Concorde and are now something we come to expect today. Without this superlative machine, this technology would certainly not have developed at the same pace.
- the craft utilized high pressure hydraulics. Again, the legacy of Concorde lives on since these have become a vital component of modern day jetliners and aircraft. Without them, flight would be a far slower process with reduced journey times and increased inefficiency.
It's due to all of these facts that Concorde now reserves its place in the aviation hall of fame. You could say the Concorde lives on through these remarkable developments and in each and every craft but now uses them. The legacy of Concorde lives on, and it lives on in every flight that we take, whether domestic or international. The famous flier’s legacy certainly lives on, and will no doubt continue to do so.
