Concorde - a supersonic airliner.

 

About aircraft

Concorde a supersonic passenger airliner is a British–French turbojet which can fly with twice the speed of sound at 2180 km/h (mach 2.04) making its remarkable maximum speed. Concorde has seating arrangement for 92 to 128 passengers. It was one of supersonic transportation mode operated in commercially. 

General features of Concorde aircraft

 Concorde have ogival delta wings with Olympus engines. This engines are same as RAF's Avro Vulcan strategic bomber. Concorde is one of those commercial aircraft who have tailless design. It was fly by wire flight control system who makes Concorde first airliner to have such control system. Also Concorde was first commercial aircraft to have hybrid circuits in its avionics system. 

Concorde step up with following technology 

• Concorde have double Delta shaped wings, 
• Variable engine air intake ramp system controlled by digital computers, 
• Droop nose for better landing visibility, 
• Supercruise capability, and Thrust-by-wire engines For high speed and optimisation of flight. 
• Concorde have full autopilot and autothrottle which makes it hands off control from climbing to landing, 
• full electrically controlled analogue fly-by-wire flight controls systems, 
• full electrically controlled analogue brake-by-wire system, and etc for weight-saving and enhanced performance.

Heating problem of Concorde aircraft

 The cabin of Concorde aircraft experience heat during flight due to air compression on outer surface of Aircraft. By the end of flight, each surface such as panels, windows and etc were warm to touch. Due to aerodynamic heating, nose of any supersonic aircraft become hottest structure of that aircraft. The fuselage of Concorde aircraft get heated and expands upto 12 in (300 mm) due to air compression on front of plane as it travels with supersonic speed.

 

Structural issue of Concorde aircraft

During turning and banking, a large amount of force were applied to aircraft due to its high speed which leads to twisting and distortion of the aircraft's structure. Active ratio changes between the inboard and outboard elevons resolved this issue by varying at differing speeds including supersonic. At high speed, only the innermost elevons were operated which are attached to stiffest area of the wings. Center of pressure on Concorde aircraft shifts rearward when its airframe passes through critical mach. This leads to a pitch down moment on Concorde aircraft if center of gravity remains on its position. To reduce this shift on Concorde aircraft, various types of wings were designed by engineers but still there was a shift about 2 metres (6 ft 7 in). Over this issue it may seems to use trim control but at such a high speed trim control will increase drag vigorously. This issue has resolved by distribution of fuel along aircraft. To move center of gravity fuel were distributed along aircraft during accelerating and retarding which acts as an effective auxiliary trim control.

 

Range of Concorde aircraft

Concorde required the greatest supersonic range of any aircraft to fly non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean. Engines which were highly efficient at supersonic speeds were used to achieve this. For high lift/drag ratio, a slender fuselage with high fineness ratio, and a complex wing shape were important. To achieve such, a modest payload and a high fuel capacity are required and also aircraft should be trimmed with precision to avoid unnecessary drag. As Concorde steps up in air an another model of Concorde we're manufactured name as Concorde B. 

Concorde B were manufactured for following features 

1. Slightly larger fuel capacity. 
2. Slightly larger wings with leading edge slats. 
3. More powerful engines with sound deadening and without the fuel-hungry and noisy afterburner. 
4. Engine with up to 25% gain in efficiency over the Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593. 
5. 805 km of additional range and a greater payload, making new commercial routes possible.

Due to poor sale of this aircraft and rising cost of aviation fuel Concorde B were cancelled out.

Brakes and undercarriage of Concorde aircraft

The undercarriage should be unusually strong and tall to allow for the angle of attack at low speed, because of the way Concorde's delta-wing generated lift. Concorde would rise to 18° high angle of attack at time of rotation. Almost no lift is generated at time of rotation unlike typical aircraft wings. The stresses on the main undercarriage increases as it combined with the high airspeed at rotation which was initially unexpected during the development and required a major redesign. A small set of wheels are added aft to prevent tailstrikes for the purpose of high angle needed at rotation.

 

General characteristics of Concorde aircraft

1. It require 2 pilot and 1 flight engineer as crew. 
2. It have capacity of 92–120 passengers. 
3. Its length is 61.66 meters (202 ft 4 in). 
4. Its wingspan is 25.6 meters (84 ft 0 in). 
5. Its height is 12.2 meters (40 ft 0 in). 
6. Its wing area is 358.25 meter square (3856 sq ft). 
7. Its fuel capacity is 95680 kg (210940 lb). 
8. Its gross weight is 111130 kg (245000 lb).