Duxford test model was vital to Concorde's success

6 hours ago

Aimee DexterCambridgeshire

News image — Peter Archer says the Concorde at Duxford was important for helping the first commercial flight

Dave Webster/BBC Peter Archer is in the middle. He has short grey hair and is wearing a white shirt under a navy jumper. He is stood in front of a Concorde plane which is white. — Peter Archer says the Concorde at Duxford was important for helping the first commercial flight

A Concorde test aircraft housed at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford played a vital role in the success of the first commercial flight of the legendary brand - which took place 50 years ago today.

The Concorde 101 G-AXDN was a British pre-production model, and helped to develop the iconic drooped nose, de-icing systems, and engine intake.

The aircraft was donated to the Duxford Aviation Society in 1977 when it was no longer required.

Peter Archer, vice chairman of the society, said Concorde flights would "never have happened if it wasn't for this plane here in Cambridgeshire".

Concorde's first commercial flight took off on 21 January 1976, with operators Air France, from Paris to Rio de Janeiro, with a stopover in Dakar.

The final flight was on 26 November 2003, nearly 22 years ago.

The British Airliner Collection said the Duxford model was the second British-built Concorde.

Archer said: "This one has not flown for 51 years now, and it landed here after its test flying."

Dave Webster/BBC A white Concorde plane is in a large building. The white plane has a long pointy nose, and has stairs which are attached to the door. — The Concorde is known for its iconic drooped nose

The museum said the testing programme for the airline was initially meant to last 12 months - but carried on for seven years.

"There are no passenger seats like you find in a commercial Concorde, those seats are for engineers in scruffy overalls, so when it was going around the world doing its testing, it took with it its own engineers," Archer added.

The aircraft was also used to teach about travelling at Mach 2 (2,469 km per hour) in thin, desert heat.

"The airline ones are just like airliners... this one is full of computers and did a lot of the development work," he said.

Dave Webster/BBC The front of a Concorde plane is in the image. It is painted white and has small windows at the front, which are on the right of the image, and a sign which says Concorde in black writing. — Members of the society carried out a restoration of the cockpit with the help of Heritage Concorde in 2014

A journey between Heathrow and New York could take around eight hours today, but Concorde set a supersonic record for the trip in February 1996, at two hours and 52 minutes.

"You got wonderful food and really good gifts, but it was travel and fast, that is what it was all about," Archer said.

To celebrate the anniversary, a special coin has been made to celebrate its first ever flight.

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