What was Concorde, and how did it work?

Concorde was an Anglo-French supersonic airliner that carried passengers at about Mach 2, twice the speed of sound. It worked by combining a slender delta wing, four Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus turbojets, variable engine intakes, reheat and active fuel transfer, allowing efficient high-altitude cruise while remaining controllable for take-off and landing.

Within our Aviation & Real-World Flying library, Concorde stands apart because virtually every major system was shaped by sustained supersonic flight. It was efficient at its Mach 2 design point, not fuel-efficient compared with a conventional subsonic airliner.

Concorde as a passenger aircraft

Concorde was built to reduce long oceanic flight times while providing scheduled airline service rather than experimental flights. Britain and France jointly developed it, and Air France and British Airways introduced passenger services in 1976.

Twenty aircraft were built, including prototypes and development airframes; 14 airline examples were delivered. A typical service carried around 100 passengers, although cabin layouts varied. Our fuller account of Concorde's design and operating history covers the development programme and aircraft in greater detail.

A Concorde flight from take-off to landing

A normal Concorde flight used different configurations for low-speed handling, transonic acceleration and Mach 2 cruise.

1. Take-off: The nose was lowered for visibility, and reheat added thrust to the four Olympus 593 turbojets. The aircraft rotated into a noticeably nose-high attitude because its delta wing had no conventional flaps.
2. Subsonic climb: Reheat was switched off after departure, and Concorde followed noise and sonic-boom restrictions while climbing towards its acceleration area.
3. Supersonic acceleration: Over an approved route, normally above the sea, reheat was used again through the transonic region. Movable intake ramps and spill doors controlled the shock waves ahead of each engine.
4. Mach 2 cruise: Reheat was switched off at around Mach 1.7. Concorde then sustained supersonic flight on dry engine thrust, gradually climbing as fuel burn reduced its weight.
5. Descent and landing: Fuel was transferred forwards, the aircraft slowed below supersonic speed, and the nose and visor were lowered. Concorde approached at a high angle of attack before using wheel brakes, spoilers and reverse thrust after touchdown.

How did Concorde's engines handle Mach 2 airflow?

Concorde's variable intakes slowed and compressed the airflow before it reached the engines. A jet-engine compressor cannot accept undisturbed Mach 2 air, so movable ramps formed controlled shock waves while spill doors removed excess air.

This intake system was a major part of the propulsion installation, not merely an opening in front of the engine. At cruise, the intake recovered pressure efficiently and the variable exhaust nozzle managed the outgoing flow. Poor shock control could disturb the compressor and create abrupt drag, which is why the intake controls were essential.

Did Concorde use afterburners for the whole flight?

No. Concorde called its afterburning system reheat and used it mainly for take-off and transonic acceleration. Once established near Mach 2, the aircraft cruised without reheat, a capability commonly called supercruise.

Leaving reheat on throughout cruise would have consumed an impractical amount of fuel. For exact speeds, altitude considerations and the forces involved, see our explanation of the engineering behind Concorde's Mach 2 performance.

The delta wing, elevons and droop nose

Concorde's thin ogival delta wing provided low drag at supersonic speed while producing vortex lift during slow flight. Its curved leading edge generated strong vortices over the wing at high angles of attack, helping it remain controllable during take-off and landing.

There was no separate horizontal tailplane and no conventional flap system. Combined control surfaces called elevons changed pitch and roll, while rudders controlled yaw. The surfaces were hydraulically powered and commanded through an analogue fly-by-wire system rather than the digital flight-control computers found in newer airliners.

The high approach attitude created a visibility problem. Concorde therefore lowered its nose by 5 degrees for taxi and take-off and by 12.5 degrees for landing, with a movable visor retracting as required. At high speed, both were raised to restore the smooth aerodynamic profile and protect the cockpit windows from heating.

Why did Concorde pump fuel backwards and forwards?

Concorde transferred fuel to keep its centre of gravity aligned with the changing aerodynamic centre of lift. As the aircraft accelerated through the sound barrier, the centre of pressure moved rearwards, so fuel was pumped into aft tanks; the process was reversed during deceleration.

This reduced the amount of elevon deflection needed to hold the aircraft level, cutting trim drag. Fuel also acted as a heat sink for aircraft systems. That mattered because aerodynamic heating made the aluminium airframe expand measurably during a Mach 2 flight.

A flight engineer monitored fuel distribution and the aircraft's electrical, hydraulic, pressurisation and propulsion systems. Treating fuel merely as something consumed by the engines misses one of the central ways Concorde worked.

Operational limits and common mistakes

A mistake we see in Concorde simulation is treating the aircraft as an ordinary jet with twice the thrust. Correct operation depends on altitude, intake scheduling, fuel balance and configuration as much as raw engine power.

• Mach 2 belonged at high altitude: attempting it low down would create excessive aerodynamic loads, drag and heating.
• Reheat was not a cruise setting: it was used for specific high-thrust phases and then switched off.
• Fuel transfer was part of flight control: an incorrect centre of gravity increased trim drag and could create handling problems.
• The landing attitude was deliberately high: forcing the nose down required excessive speed and defeated the delta wing's low-speed vortex lift.
• Supersonic routes were restricted: sonic booms prevented routine Mach 2 operation over most populated land areas.

Why was Concorde retired?

Concorde left airline service in 2003 because an ageing, very small fleet had become difficult and expensive to support, while passenger demand no longer justified the operating costs. The fatal Air France Flight 4590 accident in 2000 led to grounding and safety modifications, but it was not the sole reason for retirement.

Our separate account explains how the crash, fleet economics and support requirements contributed to Concorde's retirement.

Simulating Concorde credibly

A convincing Concorde simulation should model more than its appearance and maximum speed. Look for working reheat, intake behaviour, fuel transfer, centre-of-gravity indications, the droop nose and visor, delta-wing approach handling and at least a usable representation of the flight engineer's controls.

A simpler model is adequate for casual sightseeing, but procedural flying needs those systems. For the older Microsoft platforms, our library has an FSX and Prepar3D Concorde package with a virtual cockpit and flight-engineer systems; check the stated compatibility notes before installation.