The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde (/ˈkɒŋkɔːrd/) is a Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France and the UK signed a treaty establishing the development project on 29 November 1962, as the program cost was estimated at £70 million (£1.39 billion in 2021). Construction of the six prototypes began in February 1965, and the first flight took off from Toulouse on 2 March 1969. The market was predicted for 350 aircraft, and the manufacturers received up to 100 option orders from many major airlines. On 9 October 1975, it received its French Certificate of Airworthiness, and from the UK CAA on 5 December.

Concorde is a tailless aircraft design with a narrow fuselage permitting a 4-abreast seating for 92 to 128 passengers, an ogival delta wing, and a droop nose for landing visibility. It is powered by four Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593 turbojets with variable engine intake ramps, and reheat for take-off and acceleration to supersonic speed. Constructed out of aluminum, it was the first airliner to have analog fly-by-wire flight controls. The airliner could maintain a supercruise up to Mach 2.04 (2,167 km/h; 1,170 kn) at an altitude of 60,000 ft (18.3 km).

Delays and cost overruns increased the program cost to £1.5–2.1 billion in 1976, (£9.44 billion–13.2 billion in 2021). Concorde entered service on 21 January of that year with Air France from Paris-Roissy and British Airways from London Heathrow. Transatlantic flights were the main market, to Washington Dulles from 24 May, and to New York JFK from 17 October 1977. Air France and British Airways remained the sole customers with seven airframes each, for a total production of twenty. Supersonic flight more than halved travel times, but sonic booms over the ground limited it to transoceanic flights only.

Its only competitor was the Tupolev Tu-144, carrying passengers from November 1977 until a May 1978 crash, while the larger and faster Boeing 2707 was canceled in 1971. On 25 July 2000, Air France Flight 4590 crashed shortly after take-off with all 109 occupants and four on the ground killed; the only fatal incident involving Concorde. Commercial service was suspended until November 2001, and Concorde aircraft were retired in 2003 after 27 years of commercial operations. Most aircraft are on display in Europe and America.

The origins of the Concorde project date to the early 1950s, when Arnold Hall, director of the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE), asked Morien Morgan to form a committee to study the supersonic transport (SST) concept. The group met for the first time in February 1954 and delivered their first report in April 1955.

At the time it was known that the drag at supersonic speeds was strongly related to the span of the wing.

General characteristics

Crew: 3 (2 pilots and 1 flight engineer)
Capacity: 92–120 passengers
(128 in high-density layout)
Length: 202 ft 4 in (61.66 m)
Wingspan: 84 ft 0 in (25.6 m)
Height: 40 ft 0 in (12.2 m)
Wing area: 3,856.2 sq ft (358.25 m2)
Empty weight: 173,504 lb (78,700 kg)
Gross weight: 245,000 lb (111,130 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 408,010 lb (185,070 kg)
Fuel capacity: 210,940 lb (95,680 kg)
Fuselage internal length: 129 ft 0 in (39.32 m)
Fuselage width: maximum of 9 ft 5 in (2.87 m) external, 8 ft 7 in (2.62 m) internal
Fuselage height: maximum of 10 ft 10 in (3.30 m) external, 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) internal
Maximum taxiing weight: 412,000 lb (187,000 kg)
Powerplant: 4 × Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593 Mk 610 turbojets with reheat, 31,000 lbf (140 kN) thrust each dry, 38,050 lbf (169.3 kN) with afterburner
Performance

Maximum speed: 1,354 mph (2,179 km/h, 1,177 kn)
Maximum speed: Mach 2.04 (temperature limited)
Cruise speed: 1,341 mph (2,158 km/h, 1,165 kn)
Range: 4,488.0 mi (7,222.8 km, 3,900.0 nmi)
Service ceiling: 60,000 ft (18,300 m)
Rate of climb: 3,300–4,900 ft/min (17–25 m/s) at sea level
Lift-to-drag: Low speed– 3.94; Approach– 4.35; 250 kn, 10,000 ft– 9.27; Mach 0.94– 11.47, Mach 2.04– 7.14
Fuel consumption: 47 lb/mi (13.2 kg/km)
Thrust/weight: 0.373
Maximum nose tip temperature: 127 °C (260 °F; 400 K)
Runway requirement (with maximum load): 3,600 m (11,800 ft)
Avionics
Digital Air Intake Control Units
Fly-by-wire flight controls
Analog electronic engine controls
Triple inertial navigation units, one per flight crew
Dual VHF omnidirectional range instruments
Dual automatic direction finder instruments
Dual distance measuring equipment instruments
Dual-instrument landing systems
Automatic flight control system with dual autopilots, autothrottles, and flight directors: full autoland capability with visibility limits 250 m (820 ft) horizontally, 15 ft (4.6 m) decision height
Ekco E390/564 weather radar
Radio altimeters