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N0KFQ > TODAY 21.01.13 17:19l 100 Lines 5293 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 34775_KB0WSA
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Jan 21
Path: IZ3LSV<F1OYP<VE2PKT<KA0MOS<KQ0I<N0KFQ<KB0WSA
Sent: 130121/1451Z 34775@KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA BPQK1.4.53
...
Jan 21, 1976:
Concorde takes off
From London's Heathrow Airport and Orly Airport outside Paris, the
first Concordes with commercial passengers simultaneously take flight
on January 21, 1976. The London flight was headed to Bahrain in the
Persian Gulf, and the Paris to Rio de Janeiro via Senegal in West
Africa. At their cruising speeds, the innovative Concordes flew well
over the sound barrier at 1,350 miles an hour, cutting air travel time
by more than half.
The flights were the culmination of a 12-year effort that pitted
English and French engineers against their counterparts in the USSR.
In 1962, 15 years after U.S. pilot Chuck Yeager first broke the sound
barrier, Britain and France signed a treaty to develop the world's
first supersonic passenger airline. The next year, President John F.
Kennedy proposed a similar U.S. project. Meanwhile, in the USSR,
Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev ordered his top aviation engineers to
beat the West to the achievement.
There were immense technical challenges in building a supersonic
airliner. Engines would need to be twice as powerful as those built
for normal jets, and the aircraft's frame would have to withstand
immense pressure from shock waves and endure high temperatures caused
by air friction. In the United States, Boeing tackled the supersonic
project but soon ran into trouble with its swing-wing design. In
England and France, however, early results were much more promising,
and Khrushchev ordered Soviet intelligence to find out as much as
possible about the Anglo-French prototypes.
In 1965, the French arrested Sergei Pavlov, head of the Paris office
of the Soviet airliner Aeroflot, for illegally obtaining classified
information about France's supersonic project. Another high-level
Soviet spy remained unknown, however, and continued to feed the
Soviets information about the Concorde until his arrest in 1977.
On December 31, 1968, just three months before the first scheduled
flight of the Concorde prototype, the fruits of Soviet industrial
espionage were revealed when the Soviet's TU-144 became the world's
first supersonic airliner to fly. The aircraft looked so much like the
Concorde that the Western press dubbed it "Konkordski."
In 1969, the Concorde began its test flights. Two years later, the
United States abandoned its supersonic program, citing budget and
environmental concerns. It was now up to Western Europe to make
supersonic airline service viable before the Soviets. Tests continued,
and in 1973 the TU-144 came to the West to appear alongside the
Concorde at the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget airport. On June 3, in
front of 200,000 spectators, the Concorde flew a flawless
demonstration. Then it was the TU-144's turn. The aircraft made a
successful 360-degree turn and then began a steep ascent. Abruptly, it
leveled off and began a sharp descent. Some 1,500 feet above the
ground, it broke up from overstress and came crashing into the ground,
killing all six Soviet crew members and eight French civilians.
Soviet and French investigators ruled that pilot error was the cause
of the accident. However, in recent years, several of the Russian
investigators have disclosed that a French Mirage intelligence
aircraft was photographing the TU-144 from above during the flight. A
French investigator confirmed that the Soviet pilot was not told that
the Mirage was there, a breach of air regulations. After beginning his
ascent, the pilot may have abruptly leveled off the TU-144 for fear of
crashing into this aircraft. In the sudden evasive maneuver, the
thrust probably failed, and the pilot then tried to restart the
engines by entering a dive. He was too close to the ground, however,
and tried to pull up too soon, thus overstressing the aircraft.
In exchange for Soviet cooperation in the cover-up, the French
investigators agreed not to criticize the TU-144's design or
engineering. Nevertheless, further problems with the TU-144, which was
designed hastily in its bid to beat the Concorde into the air, delayed
the beginning of Soviet commercial service. Concorde passenger service
began with much fanfare in January 1976. Western Europe had won its
supersonic race with the Soviets, who eventually allowed just 100
domestic flights with the TU-144 before discontinuing the airliner.
The Concorde was not a great commercial success, however, and people
complained bitterly about the noise pollution caused by its sonic
booms and loud engines. Most airlines declined to purchase the
aircraft, and just 16 Concordes were built for British Airways and Air
France. Service was eventually limited between London and New York and
Paris and New York, and luxury travelers appreciated the less than
four-hour journey across the Atlantic.
On July 25, 2000, an Air France Concorde crashed 60 seconds after
taking off from Paris en route to New York. All 109 people aboard and
four on the ground were killed. The accident was caused by a burst
tire that ruptured a fuel tank, creating a fire that led to engine
failure. The fatal accident--the first in Concorde's history--signaled
the decline of the aircraft. On October 24, 2003, the Concorde took
its last regular commercial flight.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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