FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1971
1971 - 2459.PDF
FLIGHT International, 18 November 1971 807 a mixed subsonic and supersonic fleet will vary according to the type and number of seats fitted to and filled in each type of aircraft, fares policy, Concorde first costs and, to a lesser degree, the period of its amortisation. Highlights of the Concorde programme during the year have included a flight by French Premier Georges Pompidou on May 7 and a flight by 001 to Dakar on May 25, with a return the following day. British Minister for Aerospace Frederick Corfield flew in the 002 prototype on July 16. In that same week both BOAC and Pan American pilots handled the aircraft. On September 4, 001 set off on a South American demon stration tour, and kept to a very tight schedule in some very poor Weather. Concorde is based on aerodynamic research into the slender delta-wing plan-form conducted by the Royal Air craft Establishment during the mid-1950s. In 1959-61 a design competition between BAC and Hawker Siddeley to determine the optimum characteristics of a transatlantic commercial aircraft led to the initial specification of Con corde. At the 1961 Paris Show Sud-Aviation (now part of Aerospatiale) displayed a model of a similar aircraft called the Super Caravelle, which was designed for medium ranges, and during the following 18 months the possibility of a joint Anglo-French undertaking was investigated. On November 22, 1962, an agreement was signed to build four prototypes and two structural test airframes of an aircraft to be capable of carrying an economic payload from Paris to New York at a cruising speed of Mach 2-2. In mid-1964 it was decided to increase the overall size and weight of the aircraft to make it more suitable for the longer routes from Central European capitals to the US East Coast. Although the overall size and geometry have remained more or less unaltered, the design gross weight and other permitted operating weights have been sub stantially increased. The wing area has been correspondingly increased by extending the chord forward at the tip and reducing the outer-leading-edge sweepback. The production aircraft will have a 17ft, 5-2m-longer fuselage than the prototypes (the lengthened tailcone is the most noticeable change) and will seat 128 passengers in an all-tourist-class layout. But it is likely that the standard seating will be for 112 in a one-class layout. In order not to fall short of the design flying-life target of 45,000hr at the higher weights the cruising Mach number is being limited to 2-05 (previously Mach 2-2) in ISA con ditions, so that the maximum structural temperature en countered will be reduced from 426°K to 400°K. The first prototype, 001, was rolled out of Sud-Aviation's Toulouse factory in December 1967 and the second prototype, 002, emerged from the BAC Filton factory the following September. The French-assembled prototype first flew from Toulouse on March 2, 1969, with Andre Turcat at the controls. Brian Trubshaw flew 002 from Filton to Fairford on April 9, 1969, and since then both aircraft have been flying regularly and reliably. At present two prototypes are flying, two pre-production aircraft and six production aircraft are being assembled, with long-lead-time components ordered for a total of 16 airframes. Two airframes have been built for ground-based testing. The test programme will involve seven aircraft and require 4,000hr to be flown by the end of 1973. Of this 2,000hr will be spent on development, 750hr on certification and l,500hr on route proving. Flight references: April 15, 22 and 29, 1971. Concorde options (The list is arranged in order in which the airlines announced their options, and does not necessarily represent the order of delivery): Air France, 8; BOAC, 8; Pan American, 8; Continental, 3; American, 6; TWA, 6; Middle East Airlines, 2; Qantas, 4; Air India, 2; JAL, 3; Sabena, 2; Eastern, 6; United, 6; Braniff, 3; Air Canada, 4; Lufthansa, 3. Total, 74. Concorde flight envelope as of mid-October Altitude Airspeed Mach number Landing gear extended Nose drooped to 5° Nose drooped to 12° Nose drooped to 17-5" Minimum speed (airborne) Incidence Weight at take-off Measured crosswind component Landing with nose up, visor up (simulated) e.g. in flight Longest supersonic duration 56,000ft 553kt CAS 2 075/532kt 275kt 405kt, 14,800ft, M=0-79 320kt, 30,000ft, M = 0-82 270kt 275kt 126kt 19° 343,5001b, 155,800kg 16kt 51-5 to 53-0 per cent 51 -1 to 58-5 per cent 2hr 7min The first Tupolev Tu-144 SST, seen here at Moscow, has now been joined by another aircraft, according to one report Tupolev Tu-144 There are probably two Tu-144s flying, and several more are thought to be under construction. But it is still hard to see how this can be reconciled with a service-entry date of 1973 which the Russians have given as realistic. Moscow to Khabarovsk is likely to be the first route. By the time the aircraft appeared at the 1971 Paris air show it had made 100 flights and reached Mach 2-28. The Russians claim that the aircraft achieves "significantly greater lift- drag ratios" by virtue of having the engines in pairs under the fuselage, but it obviously loses out in structural weight through having to use very long intakes. These could be the result of variable geometry which is less advanced than that on Concorde, or from debris-ingestion problems. The intakes are claimed to be in the area of uniform stagnation and downwash and are said to provide practically ideal velocity fields at the faces of the Kuznetsov NK-144 turbofans. Surplus thrust will allow the Tu-144 to "meet international noise requirements when flying over populated regions," accord ing to the manufacturers. Mr Tupolev has said that extensive use is made of titanium and steel in the structure. The prototype has a good surface finish, as is to be expected of a supersonic type. It has a number of interesting points such as a nose undercarriage which retracts into a ventral spine and not into the fuselage. The main gear goes up into the wing and, surprisingly for a supersonic aircraft, requires blister fairings on both upper and lower surfaces. The twelve-wheel bogie units are crude by Western standards. By comparison with Concorde, the wing planform and fuselage are more blended but the lack of complex camber is obvious, although the leading edges are conically cam bered. The prototype sports the usual multitude of incidence vanes and pitots, including (at Paris) two blades ahead of the starboard intake, housing multiple sensors, possibly indica ting a continuing intake development programme. Dump and spill doors, as seen on Concorde, are in evidence under the nacelles, and boundary-layer bleed is ducted outboard. Living up to claims that the Soviet Union would fly an SST in 1968, Tupolev had the Tu-144 in the air for 38min on December 31 of that year, beating Concorde by about two months. By May II, 1970, the prototype had reached a speed of I,085kt, 2,010km/hr at a height of 54,800ft, 16,700m. On May 26 it became the first commercial transport to exceed Mach 2 by flying at l,160kt, 2,150km/hr at 53,500ft, 16,300m for several minutes. On both occasions the pilot was Edward Elyan. The existence of the project was first revealed when a model was displayed at the 1965 Paris Show, but the design has undergone considerable development since then. The chief difference between the Tu-144 and Concorde is that the Soviet aircraft has reheated turbofan engines instead of reheated turbojets, and that these are mounted in a single group under the centre section instead of in pairs boxed under the outer wings. The first flight of the Tu-144 was also the first for the NK-144 turbofans—a development of the NK-8s in the 11-62. The Russians claim to be aiming at a higher design cruis ing speed (Mach 2-35) than that of Concorde (Mach 2-05), but the Tu-144 has a lower gross weight than Concorde, and slightly less seating capacity; the whole of the payload, in cluding palletised baggage, is carried on the one deck and in
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
