On 2 March 1969, the Concorde took off for her very first flight. It was a “faultless” maiden flight. Two previous test flights had to be abandoned because of poor weather conditions.
The Anglo-French plane took off from Toulouse and was in the air for just 27 minutes before the pilot made the decision to land.
The first pilot, Andre Turcat, said on his return: “Finally the big bird flies, and I can say now that it flies pretty well.”
The test flight reached 10,000ft (3,000m), but Concorde’s speed never rose above 300mph (480kph). Concorde’s first supersonic flight was on 1 October 1969.
Mr Turcat, his co-pilot and two engineers taxied to the end of the runway at about 1530 GMT. Strong winds meant the test flight was in doubt for much of the day.
Le 2 mars 1969 à 15h38, le Concorde 001 s’élance sur la piste de Toulouse-Blagnac pour le 1er vol du supersonique. Voici donc tout juste 50 ans. Un anniversaire à fêter ce week-end au @MuseeAirEspace pic.twitter.com/OVn8CtDks1
— Stéphane Fort (@Stephane_Fort) March 2, 2019
Quite possibly the saddest moment in aviation history when the flight of three Concordes came in to land at Heathrow on 24/10/2003.
Wonder how long it will be before someone (Branson?) decides to restore one back to flying condition?
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