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| British Aircraft Corp -
Sud Aviation Concorde |
In
1962, the British and French governments agreed to embark on one of the
greatest adventures in the history of aviation. They agreed to
jointly undertake the development of a supersonic airliner. The
decision was influenced by the United States' development of a
supersonic bomber, the B-70, as it was felt that the technology would
soon be used for passenger planes. The US had a big head
start. It's XB-70 made its first flight on September 21,
1964. The first Concord, number 001, was flown by France on March
2, 1969, followed by the British, number 002, five weeks later.
Later in the year, 001 crashed the sound barrier. Extensive
testing followed.
On June 17, 1975, the Concorde
dramatically demonstrated its supersonic speed. An Air France
Concorde took off from Boston for Paris. At the same time a Boeing 747
left Paris for Boston. When the two flights passed, the Concorde
had covered 2,400 miles and the Jumbo Jet only 620. The Concorde
landed at Paris, spent an hour and eight minutes on the ground, then
headed back to Boston. It arrived eleven minutes before the
747. It was an impressive feat, but U.S. airlines did not feel
that the high purchase price and operating costs could be
justified. Eventually 20 Concorde went into service, all with Air
France and British Overseas Airways.
On July 25, 2000 the very first fatal accident
involving a Concorde occurred with Concorde 203, F-BTSC out bound from
Paris to New York. It crashed 60 seconds after take off after apparently
suffering tire blow out that ruptured a fuel tank. This started a
sequence of events that caused a fire which eventually cause engine
failure and the crash. All 109 persons (100 passengers and 9 crew)
on board were killed. 4 people in a local hotel on the ground were also
killed. Twelve concords are still available to fly today, but the
fleet has been grounded since the accident. |
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Premier
Series Models.
Hand carved Philippine mahogany and meticulously hand-finished.
9.5" wingspan by 23.75" length.
Concorde -
Air France
No. AAE1D-PF
Only $249.95
Concorde -
BOC
No. AAE1D-PB.
Only $249.95 |
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From
our Hi-Tech Series
Same appearance as above. Molded resin model.
10.25" wingspan by 24.5" length |
Concorde
- Air France
No. AAE0D-HF. Only $159.95 |
Concorde
- BOC
No. AAE0D-HB. Only $159.95 |
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