Concorde: Chasing a dream

Combining fighter-jet speed with first-class comfort, the Concorde met an unprecedented technical challenge. Twenty years of research, more than 5,000 hours of test flights, and extraordinary Franco-British collaboration yielded an iconic, supersonic aircraft that looked like the future. And in many ways the Concorde was the future. Its innovations led to technological leaps now seen on all modern aircraft: autopilot, fully electric and analogue flight controls, and anti-skid braking with carbon discs. But it was also the aircraft of excess: Guzzling almost 450 litres of fuel per minute during its screaming, 119 decibel takeoff, producing a sonic boom that barred it from populated areas, and requiring ten times more maintenance than conventional aircraft at that time. On 26 November 2003, the Concorde took its last flight, ending its audacious adventure. The end was signaled three years earlier when Flight 4590 crashed two minutes after takeoff in Paris, killing all 109 passengers and crew. Now, through 3D animation and interviews with experts, discover the secrets behind the world’s most glamorous, legendary, and controversial aircraft.