WORLD SHRINKER

[Music] Speed. Speed is what airlines exist to sell. And speed is what Concord offers the airlines. Twice as much speed as any jet in service today. [Music] Concord the world shrinker. Harving travel times on long-distance routes. Flying west faster than the sun. getting you there and back while today's jets are barely ending the outward journey. But what good is speed without reliability? Airlines need fast turn rounds as well as fast flight times, high utilizations as well as high speeds. All that means reliability of the airframe, engines, and systems. Proving that Concord has this vital quality has been as much a part of the massive test program as proving performance and handling. [Music] The first prototype 001 showed what a reliable aircraft Concord is when it carried President Pompidu of France to the Azor for his meeting with President Nixon of the USA. The first exercise in supersonic statesmanship. [Applause] It drew an envious comment from President Nixon. I wish we built it. and 001 successful South American tour again underlined the supersonic airliner's reliability. But the most dramatic demonstration of Concord's reliability began at the BAC flight test base at Fairford in the early morning fog of June the 2nd, 1972. Concord 002, the second prototype, is ready to take off on the longest demonstration tour undertaken by a supersonic airliner. A bold venture so early in a prototype aircraft's career. Its destination, the near and far east and Australia. Among its passengers, aerospace minister Michael Hesseline and his wife. [Music] After an hour's wait for the fog to thin, 002 climbs to find the sunshine. Ahead lie some 30,000 mi of route flying covering 12 countries in four weeks with supersonic demonstration flights in six countries. Two legs at high subsonic speeds bring 002 to its first demonstration point. Here at Tehran, the passengers are headed by his Imperial Majesty the Sha Sha Ban who have previously stated his country's interest in Concord. [Music] The sha spends much of his 90-minute supersonic flight over Iran on the flight deck with 002's captain Brian Trabaw, BAC's director of flight test. Afterwards, he declares, "We have decided on the purchase of Concord. It is something finished and done. Concord will be most ideal for us. It is a heartening start to the tour. On to Bahrain. On the next sector to Bombay, flying at mark 2 for 30 minutes. Concord takes 1 hour 53 minutes, just half the normal scheduled flight time. A brief stop at Bangkok. Then another high-speed flight brings 002 to its second demonstration point, Singapore. [Music] [Music] The prime minister, Mr. Ali Kuan Yu pays a 20-minute visit to Concord. Two demonstration flights give VIPs, including members of the government, their first taste of supersonic travel before 002 returns low over the famous city of Singapore. On to Manila, 1500 m away, but less than 2 hours flying for Concord. With an hour supersonic and 47 minutes at mark 2, 002 is warming to its task. Even at twice the speed of sound, there isn't a tremor to shake the composure or the hand of the supersonic steward. As BAC's chairman, Sir George Edwards, pointed out later, the aircraft behaved so much like a scheduled service aircraft that people forgot it was really a prototype on test and that it flew not at 600 mph, but at 1350 mph. [Music] Tokyo. Another 1900 miles in an effortless 2 hours 8 minutes of flying with over an hour at mark 2. Anita Airport Tokyo is one of the world's busiest airports. But Concord is showing that it can fit neatly into existing airport environments, needing no special ground equipment, no special concessions from air traffic control authorities. Two supersonic demonstrations here with the passengers including members of the Japanese Diet and executives of Japan Airlines which already holds options on Concord. Tokyo marks the midpoint of the tour. The second half begins [Music] with Concord flying south to Manila and then to Darwin in 2 hours 6 minutes again having the normal flight time on route from Darwin 002 has made Concord's first sustained supersonic flight over land because of a 500m detour to avoid townships and Aboriginal settlements comparisons with scheduled service times aren't possible but 002 reeled off the 2,200 m in a flight time of only 2 hours 51 minutes with 56 minutes at supersonic speeds. Sydney, the famous landmark slipped smoothly past below [Applause] [Music] Now at Sydney, passengers on the demonstration flights include top Australian government representatives and senior executives of another option holding airline, Quantis. After two more demonstrations at Melbourne, it's north again to Darwin. 2,100 mi in 2 hours 41 minutes flying with 41 minutes at mark 2 and just over 1 hour supersonic. An important leg this to Singapore. It takes 002 through Indonesian airspace and over some of the Indonesian islands at speeds up to mark 2. But wherever Concord flies supersonically over sparsely populated areas in Indonesia, in Australia, in the Middle East, it causes no alarm, no social problems, nothing to justify the fears of the environmentalists. Singapore, Bangkok, Bombay, familiar ground now. Attakan, Saudi Arabia. Another supersonic demonstration flight. Heading the passengers of the crown prince is Royal Highness Prince Abdul Aziz. This beautiful terminal building provides an ideal setting for the elegance of Concord [Music] Beirut. Last demonstration stop of the tour. Now 002 heads for one of its twin homes. Tuloose. An hour and a quarter of M2 crew shrinks the Mediterranean to little more than a lick. Estimated subsonic jet time for this route is 4 hours 40 minutes. 002 neatly rounds off its tour by precisely havinging it to just 2 hours 20 minutes. Your clear land 28 right London Heathrow journeys end for 002. In 4 weeks, Concord 002 has covered 46,000 mi in just over 62 hours of route and demonstration flying. It has added invaluable flight desk data to the log with 23 hours of supersonic flying and nearly 14 hours of Mark 2. Convincing proof not only of Concord speed, but also of Concord's reliability. And in 12 countries, it has shown people the future shape of air travel. Soon, supersonic airliners will operate alongside jumbo jets in mixed fleets. There's a warm welcome for the crew and for aerospace minister Michael Hesseline who with the Lord Privacile Lord Delico had represented the British government on zero 02's tour. [Applause] And there's an even warmer welcome from crowds of ordinary people who over the next few days seize the opportunity to view the aircraft which has awakened their pride and captured their imagination as no airliner has ever done before. And while they throng the public galleries of the queen's building, her majesty the queen herself pays Concord a visit with her royal highness, Princess Anne. [Music] Other members of the royal family had already flown in Concord. Prince Philillip actually took over the controls, flying at twice the speed of sound. Princess Margaret and Lord Snowden made a fabulous flight with Prince William and the Duke of Kent. And so too have the government ministers with responsibility for the program. Mr. to John Davis, the secretary of state for industry and Lord Carrington, a secretary of state for defense. After his flight, Mr. Davis said uh it's now an aircraft which is having passed through great periods of controversy and debate and argument and discussion is now in a new phase of its life. a new phase because we are now going to see this aircraft become a great commercial proposition having been a very great technical proposition and I think every one of us in the government feels that there is no effort to be spared to see that the uh Concord gets the commercial success that this great project is due. British Prime Minister Mr. Heath said he thoroughly enjoyed his supersonic flight. But VIP flights, however important, are incidental to the main task of proving and developing Concord for airline service. During 1972, three aircraft were sharing the development flying. 001 and 002, the two prototypes, and 01, the first pre-production aircraft. By the end of June, approximately 1/3 of the planned total of about 3,500 hours flying had been completed. For 12 months, the total had been mounting at an average of 50 hours per month. The exhaustive ground test program too was forging steadily ahead on the manufacturer's own test facilities like this massive fuel rig at Filton, simulating every attitude of flight. [Music] at the Royal Aircraft Establishment FRA. This complete airframe is now being fatigue tested. And in France, at the C80 laboratory in Tulus, this complete airframe is undergoing kinetic heat tests. [Music] At Tulus, the second pre-production aircraft 02 takes its place alongside the first prototype 001 in the flight hangers. 02 represents virtually full production standard for the first time. 02 introduces aerodynamic refinements, improvements to the outer wing and leading edge profile, a distinctive reshaped rear fuselage. These developments are aimed at improving performance margins during cruising flight and at takeoff. Both pre-production aircraft have the redesigned nose and transparent visor. There are flight deck improvements too, embodying suggestions made by pilots of option holding airlines who have flown Concord. 02 also has production standard Olympus engines. the Mark 602 with a new combined nozzle and thrust reverser system known as the TRA thrust reverser aft or type 28 exhaust assembly. The thrust reversal buckets can be partially closed so that the jet e-lux can be varied to suit differing flight conditions. These new nozzles and engines mean less airport noise and virtually eliminate smoke, at least as far as Concord is concerned. While 02 was being prepared for first flight at Tulus, 01 returned to the huge assembly hall at Filton to be modified for the next stage of flight testing. On the jigs alongside the second and fourth production concords are well advanced in assembly and the sixth production airframe is in the joinup stage. At BAC's waybridge factory 2, the steadily increasing momentum of the production program is apparent. And again in the Aeros Facial shops at Tulus where the first production aircraft is nearing completion closely followed by Concords number three and number five. These are subasssemblies for aircraft 6 to 10 taking shape in the jigs. These are the first Concords which in 1975 will enter service with BOAC and Air Force. [Music] A Chinese delegation signed a preliminary purchase agreement for two concords in Paris on July the 24th. So China too has taken steps to ensure her place in