The 2026 Programme started with a talk by Capt. John Tye (ex-Concorde pilot) looking at some of the more technical aspects of that 20th Century icon – Concorde. The 21st January this year marks the 50th anniversary of the first commercial flight of Concorde.
John explained some of the background in the design and extensive testing of the aircraft before its first flight in 1969. We learned about the training that all the pilots had to go through actually flying the aircraft as opposed to modern day training when most of it is done on simulators. Our education continued with an explanation of how the delta wing design has different airflow characteristics to that of a conventional aircraft wing. One important thing about Concorde is that is has 13 fuel tanks numbered 1 to 11! Although the French Concorde crash on 25 July 2000 was a tragedy, technical modifications ensured that such an accident could not happen again; however, 9/11 finally saw the end of the commercial viability of Concorde and so the final flight was on 24th October 2003.
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