The Story of Concorde 

The thing people don’t seem to appreciate, is that Concorde was literally a time travelling machine. If you flew from London to New York, you would arrive before you left. You could leave London after an early lunch, and arrive in New York for a late breakfast…

The most impressive thing, to me, is how relatively soon after humans first took to the air we were flying people around at supersonic speeds.

I remember my dad taking me to the airport nearby our house to watch it take off, most unreal experience of my life to this day... the sound it made to takeoff was breathtaking...

My mom actually flew on the concord in the late 90s from new york to Paris , rod steward on the plane - she said it was absolutely amazing experience when they got to altitude they took the passengers to the cockpit so that you could see the curvature of the horizon , the pictures that she has are amazing

The fact that they placed a 2707 prototype inside of a church is possibly one of the most strangest locations for a prototype aircraft.

Worst part was that the aircraft really weren't at fault. They worked fine. That crash was caused by debris from another aircraft which could've happened to anyone. But time marched on and it never got improved.

Seeing Bright Sun Films covering the Concorde is an instant click from me.

I was 18 when the final flight of the Concord took place. I wish it was still around today. I would pay extra to fly supersonic in a heartbeat. Anyone who experienced this, is an extremely lucky person.

The fact that the Concorde can hit over mach 2 makes it faster than most aircraft ever produced. Still wish they could update, digitize its controls, and update the engines. It's still a fantastic airframe. It will forever be my personal favorite aircraft.

The Concorde fleet logged more hours of supersonic flight time than all of the world’s militaries combined.

I think it's absolutely insane that a little piece of debris led to such a large tragedy. Also that cutaway from the sponsor segment was pretty funny.

A friend of mine worked at Charles de Gaulle airport when the Concorde was in service. He said the windows would vibrate and items on his desk would move around whenever one of them was taking off. When it came to landings, they'd typically be very low on fuel by the end of their journey, and would be given high priority.

I have both a Concorde and a Tu144 relatively closeby at a museum. They are propped up on the roof in takeof/landing position and configuration, and you can actually go inside. I was absolutely fascinated by them as a kid and I am still to this day, I built models of both and tons of photos :D Edit: The Tu144 showm from behind in the 'on display' section is the one I mean!

Thanks for your take on the Concorde! Excellent as ever! ❤ As others have pointed out, one thing about the Concorde's speed was that it could literally fly faster than the Earth rotates. And a bunch of astronomers once took advantage of that. In 1973, they chartered a Concorde prototype (no. 001), and flew across the Sahara to chase a solar eclipse. By flying along the eclipse track at _juuuust_ the right speed, they stretched the 7 minutes of totality out to _74_ minutes, giving them a _ton_ more time to observe the Sun's atmosphere than they usually would. To this day, it's the longest anyone has made a total eclipse last on Earth. They even got permission to add observing ports in the roof, since that prototype was at the end of its flight testing. These days, there's no scientific need for such a flight. Specialized spacecraft (like SOHO) can observe the Sun's atmosphere at any time by "eclipsing" the sun with a round piece of metal in front of their camera/telescope (a _coronagraph_ ). In the vacuum of space -- with no air or ground to scatter sunlight -- it works just as well as the Moon does. ...Though in 1999, a few Concorde tourist flights _did_ briefly follow an eclipse near Europe. (For more details, search for "concorde eclipse". There are a bunch of articles online about the flight and what the astronomers were observing.)

I remember when a Concorde landed at my local airport for a celebration. Tens of thousands of people showed up! The one thing I remember most, was the incredible noise the Concorde made.

18:10 During the 90s I remember this happening, a Concorde was chartered to follow a major solar eclipse, can't recall the exact year but was on the news how it flew through the eclipse totality path. Price per ticket was insane, and I think the plane was full.

I was lucky enough to fly on it when they had a special offer after the reintroduction to service following the Air France crash. The speed at takeoff and the curve of the earth at 60,000 feet are the two things I’ll never forget. A huge waste of money, but I’m so glad I did it……interesting that the move to bigger aircraft hasn’t worked out so well for the A380.

Such a graceful bird it was. Thanks for the reminiscence!

There's a concord in a museum near me. Out of all the planes there, it's the one I spend the most time just staring at. I'm not even all that into vehicles

Great video Jake! Love learning about the Concorde, it was such a cool engineering marvel that we won’t be able to experience. Amazing content as always, thanks for posting!

In the 70's 80', 90's... I still remember the noise of that bugger flying over my home in London

I remember hearing and seeing a concord plane at JFK in the 90's my dad worked near the airport, its sound was amazing, I'll never forget it

9:04 despite being the sole operators, Singapore Airlines flew one Concorde (with its left side paint only) under a joint venture with BA, and some Air France and BA Concordes were operated with Braniff International crew in some US routes. Both were short-lived however

Damn, never expected you to do Concorde man, but here we are. Such an incredible plane to grace our skies, thanks for doing a video on her!

This one has touched my heart personally, i used to listen to them test the Concorde engines daily at 4 in the afternoon ! there is one final Concorde sat in Bristol UK that is now a museum piece my grandfather took the final flight i remember the day well. she was graceful yet so wonderfully loud and so very unique. thankyou for sharing x

I know someone who is an avid plane spotter and has worked in this industry for a number of decades.. His single flight on this plane was of course an incredible experience. He explained to me that after the fuel tank puncture incident, their solution was to line each individual fuel tank inside both wings with kevlar sheets. According to howstuffworks, there are 17, though I was quoted a higher amount. Anyway, it was not deemed viable for technical reasons to take the tanks out of the wings to do this upgrade work, so they rolled the sheets up and threaded them individually through the fuel lines closest to the tanks and positioned them in such a way they would open and line the tanks as they unravelled in their designated place - it was not explained to me how they stayed put once inside. After completing this upgrade work on the first concorde, they soon realised that because every single concorde was built by hand, and as a result, the majority of the parts on the plane were not interchangeable, this included the fuel tanks. This meant they had to draw up unique kevlar sheets made to fit all 17 fuel tanks that were of different size and shape, and there were 14 commercial concorde planes in total. This took a great deal of time and money. Another fact I was told that I personally found interesting was the variable air intake system designed only for concorde and its engines, which to this day remains a top secret. The british government would seize each individual plane upon arrival and unloading of its passengers, direct the plane to a hanger, and a team of concorde engineers would dismantle the proprietary variable air intake, store it securely and cover the entire plane up in a large sheet. This would all be reversed and put right again when the plane was then needed for its next flight.

I live under what used to be the flight path of BA Concorde. I still remember the sonic boom of it breaking the sound barrier as it left British airspace. Very sad day for the country when it stopped flying.

This aircraft was a bucket list item for me when I was young...I was born when this thing was next level and flying regularly...ironically the museum I saw it at has it "next level" to the soviet equivalent. Great content mate! Cheers from Canada!

Wonderful video! Concorde was finished off by economics, lack of engine efficiency, fuel costs, skyrocketing maintenance costs, lack of trained pilots, etc. as you pointed out. She was from a unique, heady era in aviation - and she was absolutely the most beautiful bird EVER!

You know that last scene in The Parent Trap where Hallie’s dad uses Concorde to get to London before Elizabeth? As a kid I was always like “well if it’s so much faster, why doesn’t everyone just use Concorde?” …I can see why now.

The timing of this video is so ironic. Just last week I went to a guided tour of the Concorde near the Manchester Airport. They allowed me to sit in the captain’s chair and in the passenger’s seats. The guides even demonstrated the drooping nose. The first time I laid eyes on her in the hangar my jaw literally dropped! It was an incredible experience. I would recommend this tour to any Concorde enthusiasts!

Man, I'd love to fly on one... I remember being amazed by it as a child, and the sadness of the disaster of Flight 4590. Nothing will really capture its wonder ever again (even if a new Supersonic comes around).

I loved Concorde. I remember travelling to Heathrow several times just to watch her take off. There was a nice vantage point on the roof of the old Terminal 2 building where people could go to view take offs (pre 9/11 obviously). Although I never had the chance to have a flight on one, I was able to visit, and board a couple where they are on static display. One at Duxford, where there's a pre-production aircraft, and then in Filton still wearing BA livery.

8:23 I love the comic book style illustrations of ‘Boom’ in their impact study.

Funny that you mentioned Boom... A while ago I read about how their engine deal fell through and it began to sound more and more like vaporware. Maybe in the future you'll make an episode of Cancelled for their SST?

Amazing as always, Jake. The Concorde was a true icon that the world was simply not ready for at the time.

Had an opportunity to see and line-up for an onboard tour when it visited my local airport circa 1992ish... I was both in awe of it and in shock at how small and cramped it was inside!

Great video! I remember seeing the news announcing the Concorde’s last flight. After how much exposure it used to get I didn’t realize it had still been in service. Now I know why.

My dad tells me stories sometimes about going on the concorde with his dad. They could go to Europe so easily and it seemed so cool.

When I was about 7 my parents took me to the airport because a Concorde was flying in. I didn't really understand the big deal about seeing an airplane, probably because I was 7 and we lived by the airport, but we did get to go up to the Concorde on the runway.

For aviation geeks/enthusiasts Pan Am & TWA considered ordering Concorde but cancelled due to cost & laws regarding Sonic travel (other factors involved).

Hearing stories told by my mom of the Concorde and its sonic booms over London always made me wish i had been born earlier enough to have been able to witness the same, and every time i go over the Concorde story the feeling intensifies. But knowing the shortfalls of the plane and where the world was soon heading in a way makes me glad the Concorde was the last supersonic airliner to grace our skies.

The day of the Live Aid concerts Phil Collins played in London, took a Concorde across the Atlantic and performed in Philadelphia as well

Really an outstanding accomplishment that became too expensive to operate due to many of the planned routes being banned. So much went into it that is quite understandable that they tried to go forward anyway and it would catch on more. Possibly even that the routes would eventually open up. Concord actually had rubber from a tire blowing out on it's own previously penetrate and fly up through the fuel tank previously. A passenger saw this and even pointed out the jagged hole with fuel coming out. A stewardess actually said the person (pilot himself) was mistaken that was the flaps, which Concord does not even have btw. Nor would a flap look like a jagged hole with fuel coming out. The man actually had to argue until the stewardess would even inform the pilots. The first officer took one look and instantly declared an emergency landing. They redesigned the tires and added guards around them. The tires blew out somewhat often under the massive strain of it's high takeoff and landing speeds. They also recommended kevlar pads around the fuel tanks and a few other things just to prevent what happened. Here the tanks were so full instead of penetrating it caused a shock to transmit up which rebounded and blew out the bottom this time. They had expected to be burning off more fuel waiting for take off. France dismissed any culpability as inconsequential. Including a missing piece on the landing gear and uneven fuel load which caused it to do be drifting left and take off past the normal point. Had this not occurred the debris would not have even been struck. Concord was fitted with all the previous recommendations including the kevlar protection they had claimed un-necessary years earlier.

What a legendary aircraft. The snoot will always droop in the hearts of its creators.

There are so many other videos on youtube about the Concorde but your way of telling the story is always so unique and fun to listen to! I think the Concorde was ahead of its time, many destinations now exist that could support a supersonic airliner that did not exist even when Concorde ended service but that's just how history plays out.

As a school kid growing up, you would hear the roar of Concorde as it took off from London. I never got to fly on it, but I have memories of going to see it at the airport. My dad once got my a leftover folder from the aircraft that they gave passengers which had the menu, header paper and information sheet.

In 1985 Willy Theisen owner of Godfathers pizza chain in Omaha Ne chartered one for his birthday. He invited several guests to fly with him to Paris to celebrate with him. At the time my family lived about a mile away (as the crows fly) from the airport. The sound it made when it took off was incredible. There is a newspaper article about it.

Based on data presented in this video, I calculated that the Concorde burned approximately 20,000 more liters of jet fuel than the Boeing 767 flying the same distance between New York City and London. That’s an astonishing difference in fuel consumption.

As a child, i was obsessed with this plane. Everything about it, from the swooping down nose to how fast it was. Thank you for this video:)

There’s a Concorde on display next to one of the runways at Heathrow Airport. Everytime I land in London I see it.

Such a cool aircraft, I hope an SST can be built again for the consumer market, would be awesome to fly on one.

Another factor for the failure of the Concorde was that it complicated airline logistics. The Concorde was always in the shop- but since the whole pull was being on the Concorde, they couldn’t rebook passengers if there was a maintenance issue. This meant there had to be a BACKUP Concorde to every main Concorde, just in case

I flew on the last Concorde from New York to London - fantastic flight (if somewhat noisy) I still have the safety cards lol

Had a chat with the guy who flew the first flight after the grounding, every new radio frequency they checked into was full of excitement, with people realising Concorde was back flying

As a small kid we took the concord from dc to london. Sadly i was too young to remember. This would have been the early 80s and only stories and a few pictures existed. I remember my dad showing me a signed picture of telly savalas because we sat behind him. No idea how we were able to afford it :)

While I know Boom has take up the mantel of trying to bring SST back into the mainstream, I could be curious to see what an updated design of Boeing's 2707 or Aerospatriale/BAC's Concorde Mk 2 would look like. All of the advances in engine design & efficiency, aerodynamics, and composite materials could make for designs that make the trans-Pacific routes shorter and more profitable, as well as quieter on transcontinental routes across the US, Europe, Eurasia, Asia, and Africa. I think one of the biggest oversights of the Concorde program was the fact that refit for future technology, which is common it today's fleet of commercial airlines, was not included. Although, I believe this design principle was only added in the decades after Concorde's design and the subsequent building of the 20 aircraft. While it would be hard to imagine a modern Concorde with all glass instruments and digital gauges, the analog nature of the aircraft and its aging systems played heavily into its demise as you pointed out.

Loved watching this video. I saw one of the British Airways Concordes on display in New York. We didn't go inside but I have pictures of me and my family by the wheels.

My primary school in the mid 90s to 2003 was right under the flight path of concorde taking off from Heathrow. 11am, every morning, it roared overhead. A beautiful aircraft.

The concorde that had the fatal crash actually was the second of two Concordes chartered by a German cruise-company to get passengers to NYC to board a cruise ship. When the second plane didn't arrive the passengers of No 1 were taken on a makeshift sightseeing-tour, largely suspected as means to keep them occupied and away from TVs. They didn't find out what had happened until much later in the day. There are interviews with some people who traded places back and forth between the planes and it's kinda gutwrenching seeing them still struggling to grasp how close they came to dying.

I'm pretty sure I saw one at the end of the 1970s, but can't remember exactly where because I am an old fart and my memory is crap. It was elegant and beautiful and it was a thrill to see it. Curious postscript to the tu144 story is that one of them was re-engined in the 1990s and was flown by NASA pilots as a flying laboratory.

I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS VIDEO

Nice Job Jake, as always!!!! Thanks for sharing!!

I used to be able to see the Concorde from my living room window coming in for landings. Really a beautiful plane to see it in the sky. Now I live even closer to the airport & grateful I don't have to hear sonic booms

*Excellent documentary*

Oh no freakin way. I just got a job at an aerospace company and now Jake makes a video about aerospace. LET'S GO! I spend so long reading this article on Wikipedia.

i've been watching your videos for years, it's really great to see you producing this informative content still to this day!

Great video, Jake. I saw Concorde for real in a flight museum recently - it is still such a *beautiful* plane. Only wish I got the chance to fly on it…

16:42 "...and will likely need hundreds if not billions of dollars..." Yep, that's probably right. :) Joking aside, great video as always! This channel never fails to deliver quality content. Thanks!

Loved this video as well as all your videos that you've put out through out the years! As a fellow Canadian I'd love to see your take on the Avro Arrow program in a future video.

Video: In ancient times, Krakatoa erupted and wiped out civilisations Jake: And that is why the sponsor of this video...

Something important to note with Boom IS Rolls Royce, their engine supplier, pulled out earlier this year. Leaving them in uncertain waters

Barbados-being a British Island-, had regular Concorde flights from England in the winter months. Her first flight to Barbados was in November of 1977, to return Queen Elizabeth to Great Britain after her tour of the Caribbean. Her final flight to Barbados was on November 17th 2003, into Grantley Adams International Airport, where she remains today. The Barbados Concorde Experience is a wonderful interactive , up close, glimpse into this beautiful plane. You can actually board her, sit in the seats, see the china they used to serve the passengers and check out the cockpit. I am not sure if it has reopened after Covid. Thought you'd be interested in this fun fact Jake. Wheels up from London, Ontario.

I hope you do more aviation videos, you are good at them!

Like always again a amazing video

I saw one when it went to NZ, and visited another at Brooklands. So many interesting facts and stories about Concorde.

Man Concord is so cool. They have one in Duxford IWM that you can go inside. Its one they build for testing

this is a wondrous video essay.., I had always heard of the Concorde but to see the actual brief history is cool

Love aircraft and love seeing these aviation videos. The have a few in Scotland and England that I have stood in, an amazing aircraft and one I wish I had the chance to fly in.

I’d do this in a heartbeat once deemed safe and reasonably priced. I hate long flights!

Certain channels get a like just for posting a video. Bright Sun Films is at the top of that list.

Great documentary! Enjoyed learning something new

Keep up the good work dude. Rock stars used to fly on these, London to NY in 3 hours. Damn good deal if you ask me.

It was a technological and design masterpiece - one of the most beautiful moving objects ever created. It's still crazy to think our grandparents crossed the Atlantic faster than we can do today...! (Would have loved to see the Russian 'Concordski' at Heathrow)

Supersonic aircraft don't really have any uses outside military. Terrible fuel consumption, expensive parts, maintenance and other cons make them bad idea from the start.

Great content jake , been watching you a good few years now. 😊

One of my favorite channels doing aviation content? HELL YES!!!!!!

I watched Seconds From Disaster on the History Channel RELIGIOUSLY and I know for a fact that the Concorde accident was caused by a piece of metal that a previous plane had left on the path of that take off 👏🏼

I’ve been obsessed with this jet since I was like 2 years old (I’m now 17). Amazing piece of work guys. Thank you

The one and only time I saw a concorde in person, it flew over my grandpa's house (he lived near Kennedy Airport). It made the furniture shake and set off every car alarm on the block. It was epic.

Great documentary 👏 👍 I really love your commentary, you have a great voice Jake 😉🇦🇺

One thing that a air carrier learns. No debris on the runway.

Thanks to you &You tube, this plane will be remembered forever!

Absolutely fantastic documentary! (Did I expect any less from Bright Sun and Jake?). I have been a fan, devotee and all around crazy about the SST since it started when I was a kid. Keep up the great work Jake! 😁

Interesting! Feel like I seen this video before. Thank you for sharing it. ✌️

Its a real shame that we live in the 21st century and don’t get to fly around in these anymore. I am jealous!

16:30 Ah yep, I was waiting for this to come up. As much as I admire Boom's optimism, I seriously doubt their plane will ever get past the prototype stage, assuming it ever even leaves the drawing board. There is virtually zero chance that they'll be able to get past the FAA's sonic boom regulation, not just because of bureaucratic hurdles but simply because there's only so much that can be done to mitigate the noise, and I doubt that the prestige of an SST is going to be enough to overcome public backlash on that basis alone. Plus this isn't even getting in to the reality that to this point they've been funded entirely by venture capital and a handful of government grants, and have no path to sustaining themselves without a production model to sell to the airlines, who are also not always known for keeping even firm orders if operating costs increase or delivery timelines slip. I'm very skeptical that they'll be able to secure funding to build a full-scale prototype at this point, and even if they do, 2029 doesn't seem like a realistic timeline if they manage to defy gravity long enough to actually build it. Right now a handful of airlines are happy to use it for marketing, but as soon as they start getting the bills and are still possibly years away from delivery (from a company that has never built production aircraft, using a lot of new tech that is as yet unproven and has not demonstrated financial viability), I think it's gonna be a much harder sell to make.

Amazing documentary

Another great video from you!

My grandfather was one of the first press reporters to fly on the Concord. He named it 'The Concordia' in his article for the Sun Newspaper and the name stuck.