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 > The Reasons behind the Disappearance of a Legend > Twice the Speed of Sound > Famous Passengers dimarts, 28 d'octubre de 2003
This past October 24th, the legendary super-sonic Concorde took to the air for the last time. On that day, the fastest airship in the world landed at Heathrow airport in London (Great Britain) twenty-seven years after first becoming airborne with its two first regular flights, and almost thirty-five years after the first French model took off from the airport of Toulouse.
This marks the end for a jet capable of reaching speeds of close to 2,150 kilometers an hour, with one of the most spectacular and futuristic designs yet to be seen. The Concorde fleet, with a total of twelve models, appeared as if it were something out of another century. And indeed, we will most certainly have to wait until another century (perhaps the next, we can't say for certain) before we see a jet as fast as this one return to the skies. The decision to take the Concorde out of circulation was announced only this past April 10th by the British Airways and Air France companies, co-owners of the Concorde. The Concorde was born, precisely, out of the combined efforts of Britain and France. This agreement between the two countries gave hopes that Europe would wrench away aeronautical hegemony from the United States, hopes which appeared to be well-founded at that time. However, as you can see, those hopes were never fulfilled. And you must surely wonder as to the reasons behind why the engines of this marvel of technology should cease forever. In the following section, we will try to clarify some of those reasons.
 
The Reasons behind the Disappearance of a Legend
+ British Airways and Air France, co-owners of the Concorde.
There are multiple reasons why the Concorde is now no more. For starters, there was the exorbitant price that would-be Concorde passengers had to pay: a total of 12,000 euros! Obviously this amount could only be afforded by a select few. However, of even greater importance was the fact that advanced technology of this kind required a significant expense in terms of maintenance and fuel (21,000 liters per hour of flight). And add to all that the unfavorable international situation, particularly if we take into account the fact that air transit between the two sides of the Atlantic Ocean has dropped considerably following the terrorists attacks on September 11th, 2001. And to top things off, on July 25th, 2000, an Air France Concorde crashed near Paris, resulting in the death of its thirteen crew members and the one hundred passengers on board. It was the first and only accident recorded in almost thirty years.
Twice the Speed of Sound
+ The Concorde was able to travel thirty-six kilometers in one minute.
We had previously defined the Concorde as being a supersonic plane. What exactly does supersonic mean, then? Well, it means that the jet is able to reach speeds greater than the speed of sound, or move faster than speed of sound. In other words, the jet travels at a speed equal to that of sound waves travelling through the air. In fact, not only did the Concorde travel at the speed of sound, it went at twice that, reaching a speed known to experts as 'Mach 2'. To give you a better idea, when this jet reached its top speed, it was able to travel thirty-six kilometers in one minute. So it's not surprising to learn that in 1996 the Concorde broke speed records for crossing the Atlantic, completing the distance in 2 hours, 52 minutes and 59 seconds (less that half the time required by a conventional airplane).
Famous Passengers
+ Musician Phil Collins, one of the famous passengers who have taken a Concorde.
The astronomical price of a ticket to fly aboard the Concorde was something that only the very wealthy could afford; only they could allow themselves the luxury of paying an authentic fortune in order to save themselves a few hours of flight. Passengers who have taken to the skies in a Concorde (calculations with British Airways alone have totaledmore than 2.5 million) also include figures known all over the world. Here are a few examples: Pope John Paul II; politicians Tony Blair and Jacques Chirac; Princess Diana of Wales; musicians Michael Jackson, Phil Collins and Mick Jagger (Rolling Stones); actors Robert Redford, Sean Connery and Elizabeth Taylor.
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> Fes una visita virtual pel Concorde.
> L'avió més veloç del món ha funcionat durant vint-i-set anys.
> El Concorde podia doblar la velocitat amb què es desplacen les ones sonores a través de l'aire.
> Heus ací unes quantes pantalles de l'únic avió comercial supersònic.
I també...
- Saps quines són les aeronaus de passatgers més famoses del món?
- Fes un cop d'ull a les principals fites de la història de l'aviació.
- Vols veure les imatges més espectaculars del Concorde?
- Aquest vídeo et mostra el primer enlairament i aterratge que va fer el Concorde, el 1969.
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