Concorde

– Success Or Failure. Essay, Research Paper

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Running head: THE CONCORDE – SUCCESS OR OTHERWISE.

The Concorde – Success or Otherwise.

Steven B. McSwain

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

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Abstract

The Concorde, a joint British-French venture that began as early as 1956, has been described as everything from an economic disaster to a modern marvel. Key British decision makers viewed supersonic air transportation as a necessity to remain at the front in the race among industrial age nations, as well as being able to keep face with the Americans who had leapt to a seemingly insurmountable lead in the air carrier industry. Through four Prime Ministers and various Parliamentary leaders, the Concorde managed to survive skeptics and go into joint production with the help of government subsidizing and very secret research into development, production, and operation costs. To this day that report remains a secret within the United Kingdom, but many have done their own research into these topics. What they have found leads one to believe that the Concorde is not quite the success, economically speaking, that British Airways and Air France would have the world to believe.

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Concorde – Success or Otherwise.

In July of 2000, the Concorde suffered its first fatal accident in the 30 plus year history of its existence. With this crash came the expected questions of the aircraft’s reliability and safety record, which were found to be remarkably good as compared to industry standards. Also coming into question is the necessity of supersonic transport, which leads to the world wondering just how good this aircraft is. Is it safe; is it economically sound; is it worth the costs and risks involved. I will attempt to answer these questions as objectively as possible, concentrating on the success or failure of the program in the United Kingdom.

BACKGROUND

By 1959, the British government considered supersonic transport a confirmed principle and began investigation into production and project development. From 1960-1962, the British and French governments discussed a joint supersonic transport venture, leading to a treaty signed between the two for joint design, development, and production. Also during this time, the USSR began research into developing their own model of a supersonic transport, jokingly referred to by the outside world as the “Konkordski”. The United States was also compelled to enter the supersonic transport race for the same reasons the French and British did. These reasons could all be traced back to national pride. The Americans were torn over the subject, with the majority taking a definite pro- or anti- position. President John F. Kennedy even told the graduating class of the Air Force Academy in 1963 that the nation would be committed to the supersonic transport’s development: “This commitment, I believe, is essential to a strong and forward-looking Nation, and indicates the future of manned aircraft as we move into a missile age as well” (US State Department, 2001). This prophecy, of sorts, would prove to be untrue, as the supersonic transport (SST) would not be pursued by the United States, due largely to economic

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reasons. The French and British, however, would obviously go on to develop the Concorde through the 1960’s and early 1970’s, with the first aircraft entering service in 1976. These aircraft are no doubt a technological marvel. Supersonic passenger transport is a testament to the rapid pace of human engineering discovery. Though the specific numbers and figures are vague, however, it is universally agreed upon that the Concorde is an economic disaster. No matter how much revenue the Concorde generates, it will never be able to repay what it cost to develop and produce.

Program Development

For my purposes here, the SST development began in 1956. That November the Supersonic Transport Aircraft Committee (STAC) was established. The purpose of this group was to assemble a group of government officials and British aircraft and engine manufacturers to begin the debate over the topic. Through previous research into the SST, the people at Farnborough (location of the STAC) had discovered only crude and “silly” aircraft (Gillman, 1977). However, through the help of German aerodynamicist Dietrich Kuchemann, it was deemed some time in 1957 that it would indeed be possible to build the SST.

Not surprisingly, the STAC produced its report in 1959 saying that the SST was a very real possibility and that research and development should go on. This could be considered as the beginning of opposition to the program. Though the STAC officially recommended the SST development, there were certainly individuals who opposed it vehemently. One of the most glaring problems was the dismal economic outlook. It was estimated at the time, by the STAC, that cost would range from $165 million to $266 million. This cost, even if the $266 million figure is assumed, is off by a factor of about fifteen. The British government’s estimate in 1977 of total shared cost for the program was just under $1.7 billion. With considerations given to production costs and losses taken by

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British Airways and Air France, that figure shoots to over $2.1 billion (Gillman, 1977). Government

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