All language subtitles for Concorde.The.Race.for.Supersonic.S01E02.720p_en

ÁRcH lvE: The things y0u are ab0ut
to see wontt look familiar,

because they haventt happened yet.

This is the visi0n 0f what the skies
will look like in the year 2000.

Ánd that visicn was superscnic.

Faster than the speed cf scund.

The p0ssibilities seemed limitless.

The future was
going to be thrilling and white,

and pure and silver in the sky,
and very fast indeed.

It l00ks like the future
had landed.

It l00ked like the future
of all commercial air travel

w0uld be supers0nic.

ßy 1 969, science ficticn
is beccming science fact...

...as internaticnal ccmpetitcrs
jcstle tc win the superscnic race.

ßut just ar0und the c0rner
from 1 969,

b0y, there are tr0ubles ahead.

The superscnic race is abcut

tc f intc a perfect stcrm
cf mcney...

...pclitics...

...espicnage...

...and tragedy.

EXPLOSIONS, ON LOOKERS SHOUT

ßy 1 969,

the race tc prcduce
a ccmmercial superscnic airliner

has beccme a three-way fight.

Ccmmunist Russia
is first intc the air.

The S0viets have g0t their
supersonic airliner flying

and itts br0ken the s0und barrier,

and itts all systems g0.

ßut Eurcpe is clcse behind.

C0nc0rde pr0t0types are flying,
theytve broken the sound barrier.

While Ámerica
is still making up fcr lcst time.

The Ámericans are behind.

The big giant swing-wing
airliner is cancelled

and a new versi0n
is now put into prototyping.

Ncw these prctctypes
need tc be develcped

intc practical ccmmercial aircraft.

ßecause that's where true success,
and mcney, lie.

It was n0w the battle
for who would dominate

the c0mmercial aviati0n industry.

Tc win, Ccnccrde needs airlines

tc start beating a path tc their
dccr tc buy the new super jet...

...befcre Russia cr
America muscles in.

ÁRCH lVE: This was probably
the most significant flight of all,

because the time had come
to sell Concorde.

C0nc0rde requires
a branding process.

What these manufacturers
are selling is speed.

The Ccnccrde prctctypes take this
visicn cf a superscnic future

cn the rcad in a wcrldwide tcur
tc drum up sales.

ßut a0, t0 try and entice the
general public

and the airlines int0 accepting the
notion that supersonic is cool.

They went t0 S0uth Ámerica, Japan.

ÁRCH lVE: Concorde is showing that
it can fit neatly

into existing
airport environments.

There are special trips t0 Ásia,
a trip to Australia.

África... Eur0pe, 0f c0urse.

CH EERl NG

Åt every city that Concorde visited,

there were huge crowds
and traffic jams.

Everyone wanted to see
the future of air travel.

CH EERl NG

ltts like a r0ck star.

The glcbetrctting effcrt put intc
Ccnccrde's branding

pays cff big-time.

This n0ti0n 0f supers0nic flight
was so exciting and so glamorous

that airlines said,
ttYeah, wetd like to buy it.tt

ßy the end cf the tcurs,
Ccnccrde has 76 cpticns tc buy

frcm 1 7 different airlines.

Ncw, they need tc develcp
the prctctypes intc

a regular prcducticn aircraft...

...befcre the ccmpetiticn gets
there first.

Ámerica dcminates
ccmmercial aviaticn.

They shculd be Ccnccrde's
mcst dangercus ccmpetitcr...

...but they've lcst
the superscnic race intc the air.

Sc, instead cf backing cut,
they dcuble dcwn.

S0, the g0al then became,

ttlf we cantt be first,
wetre going to be best.tt

ßceing's revised 2 7O7-3OO

is gcing tc f at Mach 2 .7.

Mcre than 1 ,8OO miles per hcur,

cver 3Oofo faster than Ccnccrde.

That wculd make the trip

frcm New Ycrk tc Lcndcn in a little
cver twc-and-a-ha hcurs.

ßut it's killer stat

is that it will carry dcuble
the number cf passengers.

This is a c0mmercial aer0plane,

s0 it had t0 succeed
in the commercial market,

and the way t0 succeed

was t0 fly a l0t 0f passengers
for a long distance.

This is superscnic flight,
supersized.

ßut supersizing ccmes
at a super price.

Everything is new,
everything is a challenge.

Ánd with that,
everything costs money.

The g0vernment was pitching
in a billion dollars

t0 build this aer0plane.

I nvestment was huge.

ßut ßceing faces a prcblem

even bigger than
its billicn-dcllar budget.

Ánd, unfcrtunate, it's triggered

by Ámerica's cther crcwning
technclcgical achievement...

...the Ápcllc mccn shct.

I n the 1 96Os, pe0ple had
so much confidence in technology

and science and l00ked at this
bright and shining future,

and the SST became really the symb0l
of that, along with Apollo.

MISSION Dl RECTOR:
Three, two, one, zero.

We have commit, we have...

Ánd then, the United States launched
Apollo 8 in December of 1 968,

and 0rbited the m00n.

They t00k this beautiful picture
of this blue marble,

surr0unded by the vastness
of space.

This had an incredible impact.

Ánd all 0f a sudden, pe0ple l00ked
around and they saw pollution.

The air 0ver 0ur cities
was dark with smog

and the waters were p0lluted.

Ánd then, we realised that
the by-product of this drive

t0 techn0l0gy was harming 0ur w0rld,
it was harming us.

Ánd few things symbclise this
technclcgical excess

mcre than ßceing's 2 7O7 SST.

The superscnic transpcrt.

The SST became a rallying p0int

f0r all 0f these gr0ups wh0 were
concerned about the environment.

Ánd these envir0nmental
activists continued

t0 bec0me l0uder and attracted

the attenti0n 0f p0liticians

wh0 then rallied against
the Boeing 2 707.

I n 1 971 , Ccngress final caves
in tc the mcunting pressure.

The Ámericans pull the plug.

The billicn-dcllar 2 7O7...is dead.

Ámerica's superscnic dream
is cver.

With the ß0eing 2 7O7
out of the picture,

C0nc0rde, and the Tup0lev 1 44,

are left in the battle
for the supersonic title.

Russia's reccrd-breaking
superscnic airliner is final

revealed tc the wcrld in J une 1 971 ,

at the Paris Áirshcw.

The TU- 1 44 had an ambition
for export sales,

including perhaps outside of
the traditional Soviet sphere.

There is already an crder
fcr a fleet cf TU- 1 44s

frcm the Scviet airline Áercflct.

ßut if Russia can lure in
Western airlines, as wel

they cculd steal custcmers
frcm Ccnccrde's bulging crder bcck.

The Western press quite
quickly dubbed

the Tupolev 1 44, the Koncordski,
and it's not hard to see why.

The name says everything
really actually, doesntt it?

They saw it as a kind 0f rip-0ff,
of Concorde

and that led t0 all these
suspicions of espionage.

Tc cutsiders, Scviet spying cn
Ccnccrde seems tc have paid cff.

ßut it's a sham.

The TU- 1 44 may lcck like
a ful functicnal airliner...

...but beneath the sensaticnal skin,
the prctctype has sericus flaws.

The p0siti0n 0f the engine was very
close to the main cabin,

causing 0verheat 0f the rear part
of the fuselage.

The simple wing was very unstable
at low speeds.

The Russian's need espicnage,
ncw mcre than ever.

S0, they kept stealing secrets
from Concorde

because they had
to improve their plane.

I n September 1 971 ,
just three mcnths after the airshcw,

a ßritish spy spil the beans.

J immy D0yle was an electr0nic
engineer working on Concorde.

He was c0ntacted by the S0viet
Embassy, and he soon became a spy.

He was n0t at all m0tivated
by ideology. lt was, in fact,

just the m0ney that attracted him

t0 selling secrets t0
the Soviet Union.

He, in fact, remarked 0n h0w easy
it was to gain access

t0 sensitive inf0rmati0n,
and then, pass it over.

He recal that he
just needed to take

the d0cuments 0n Friday,
then he met the Soviet spies.

Dcyle passes his briefcase
cf secrets

tc his Scviet handler
fcr the weekend.

Then, he returns the ccpied
dccuments cn Mcnday mcrning

befcre anycne
nctices they're even missing.

Nc-cne
kncws what ccmbinaticn cf spying

and intense engineering gets
them there.

ßut just twc years later,

it lccks like the Russian's have
stclen a huge lead cn Ccnccrde.

ßecause they claim
their revised plane

is ready fcr full ccmmercial
prcducticn.

Át the 1 973 Paris Áirshcw,
this new TU- 1 44

gces head-tc-head with Ccnccrde.

The Tupolev 1 44,

the first production model,

made an appearance.

ßut the Concorde was
the pre-production model.

This was important to the Soviets,

as a way to emphasise that
they were farther ahead.

Ánd it's clear the Scviets
have been very, very busy.

The Tup0lev 1 44 that arrived in
Le Bourget

was very different fr0m
the prototype.

The main difference was the canards,
those sort of moustache

in fr0nt 0f the plane that
compensate

f0r the basic design 0f the wings.

The shape of the wing,
the angles have become sharper.

The engines are m0unted farther
from the airframe,

and that all0ws t0 0verc0me
the overheating issues.

It was, in fact, a new airplane.

ßut just hcw gccd is this new
Scviet miracle plane?

Sunday is the last day 0f
the airshow,

itts the day 0f the sh0wd0wn between
Concorde and Tupolev 1 44.

This is a gladiat0rial c0ntest
between these two great machines.

The first plane t0 g0
in the air is Concorde.

The C0nc0rde sh00ts up int0
the sky.

Itts utterly thrilling.

Ncw it's the turn cf
the prcducticn TU- 1 44

tc put the prctctype Ccnccrde
in its place.

F0r the S0viets,

it was the 0ccasi0n t0 pr0ve
the quality of the Tupolev 1 44.

Itts very impressive with
the four engines at full power.

The Russian plane wcws the crcwd.

Át the m0ment 0f
the very last pass over the runway,

the plane start a very steep climb

at 4,OOO feet with full p0wer.

Unexpected, the TU- 1 44
gces intc a steep dive.

We d0ntt understand what
is happening.

ROÁRl NG EXPLOSION

lt just disassemble
and explodes in the air.

Sl RENS WÁl L

The TU- 1 44 c0llapses 0nt0
a village on the edge of Paris

and kil eight pe0ple.

There was an investigati0n
between the French

and the S0viet G0vernments.

They couldn .t find anything,
specifically wrong,

with the aircraft.

Ånd if nothing is specifically
wrong with the aircraft,

then automatically, people assume
that it was pilot error.

ßut big questicns remain abcut why

the plane breaks up when the pilct
tries tc pull cut cf the dive.

It just was 0bvi0us that
the machine could not cope with

the f0rces acting 0n it.

Why is it sc apparent fragile?

The answer may lie in

a declassified ClÁ repcrt
published the very next day.

Whatts interesting here
is that Westerners

wh0 had the 0pp0rtunity
to inspect the Tupolev

rep0rted sh0ddy w0rkmanship
and outdated avionics.

The aircraft had structural faults.

Despite the crash, Russia pushes
ahead with the TU- 1 44.

ßut they've gct their wcrk cut cut,

because the flawed airframe

isn't its cn weakness
ccmpared tc Ccnccrde.

C0nc0rdets 0perati0nal abilities
comes from the engines.

The engine in this case, the 593,

is the Olympus built by R0l-R0yce.

The cn cther superscnic aircraft
are experimental cr military.

Ánd tc f that fast,

they spray extra fuel intc
the exhaust cf their engines

tc make extra pcwer.

It's called an afterburner,

and it eats fuel.

Sc, they can cn maintain
superscnic flight brief.

Ccnccrde is different.

The secret 0f this aircraft

t0 actually fly supers0nically is
the intake design.

Jet engines wculd be destrcyed if
they breathed in superscnic air.

Ccnccrde sces this prcblem using
a revcluticnary air inlet.

I nside, mcveable ccmputer-ccntrclled
slats create shcck waves

that cuts the airspeed
tc just 500mph.

Ánd as a bcnus, increases air
pressure intc the engine.

Ánd that changes everything.

Concorde only needed
to use afterburners to accelerate.

It didn .t have to use afterburners
to maintain supersonic speed.

It's called supercruise.

It means Ccnccrde uses
a lct less fue

sc it can gc a lct farther.

The Russians have ncthing
like this.

Unlike Ccnccrde,

the TU- 1 44 must run its
fuel-guzzling afterburners

thrcughcut superscnic flight.

Theytd g0 supers0nic f0r
a short period of time

because they ran 0ut 0f fuel.

It 0nly had ab0ut
a 1 ,500-nautical-mile range,

whereas C0nc0rde was in
an excess of 3,000.

It lccks like what
the Scviets real need

fcr their TU- 1 44 is
a Ccnccrde pcwer plant.

ßut acccrding tc the secret archives
cf KGB defectcr Vasili Mitrckhin,

they had already stclen the plans
tc Ccnccrde's Ompus 593 engine.

The restricted archive,

held by Churchill Ccllege,
Cambridge,

is the scle scurce
cf what experts believe are scme cf

the KGß's darkest secrets.

Itts extra0rdinarily
sensitive still

f0r the UK G0vernment t0day.

Therets abs0lutely n0 way that
you can take photos of it

and disseminate it in
the public domain.

Calder Wacn has spent mcre time

studying it than almcst
anybcdy ee.

It ccntains claims abcut cne cf
the KGB's mcst valuable assets.

Á ßritish Citizen ccdenamed Áce.

Ágent Áce pr0vided 9O,OOO pages
of classified records to

the S0viet Uni0n,
a staggering amount of information.

I ncluding, perhaps m0st imp0rtantly,
Concorde design.

The files prcvide

a weah cf detail abcut this
unkncwn agent.

Ágent Áce was b0rn
in Hong Kong in 1 909.

He was trained as an engineer

and then his career pr0gressed
within British European Airways.

Ánd buried in the Cyrillic writing,

Mitrckhin names
the man he claims is Ace.

The cther perscnal infcrmaticn

matches up exact
with this identity.

It is a name that has
never been released befcre.

These n0tes, revea
as clear as day,

that Ágent Áce was
a man called lvor James Gregory.

Ánd am0ng the secrets
that Agent Ace stole,

were the Olympus 593 engine made
by Rol-Royce.

Thatts the engine 0f C0nc0rde.

If the Scviets have the plans
fcr the Ccnccrde engine,

why dcn't they simp make their
cwn versicn?

Án engine itself,

itts n0t the kind
of thing that you can go to spy

and steal s0mething
and letts build one,

it d0esntt w0rk that way,
itts much too complex.

It's pcssible the plans
Ace stcle may uimate help

the Scviets develcp better jets.

ßut an engine that can supercruise
like Ccnccrde,

never makes it intc
a ccmmercial TU- 1 44.

It seems that stealing plans
is just nct encugh cn its cwn.

Ycu still need time,
and lcts cf it.

Ccnccrde seems cn ccurse
tc triumph.

ßut it's abcut tc run intc

a stumbling blcck that nc-cne can
engineer their way cut cf.

Itts truly, sensati0nally n0isy.

One 0f the great deciding fact0rs
in the future of the SST

were these
issues of the sonic boom.

ÁRCH lVE: Like all s0und,
this sonic boom results

fr0m an invisible pressure wave.

The air builds up a sh0ck wave.

The energy that y0utve c0ntained in
that shock is released in the form

0f ac0ustic, which is s0und,
so we hear that...slap, like that.

SON lC ßOOM

Ánd that bccm
carries far and wide.

Án aer0plane flying supers0nic,

they c0uld be dragging

a 5O-mile-wide s0nic b00m,

al0ng with them f0r the ride.

Ánd it's nct as thcugh
this cculd pcssib ccme as

a surprise tc the
superscnic picneers.

The FÁÁ wanted
to determine if people

in the United States
would accept sonic booms.

S0 they came up with
the idea that over

a peri0d 0f six m0nths,
they would bombard Oklahoma City

with s0nic b00ms fr0m 7am till
noon every day, seven days a week.

There were 4,5OO 0r s0 c0mplaints
with damage claims.

There were 1 47 br0ken wind0ws
in downtown businesses,

y0u kn0w, this is glass falling
down, down to the sidewalk.

Ánd in fact,
one farmer said the sonic booms,

prevented his chicken
from laying eggs.

C0mplaints g0t t0 be

s0 intense that they finally said,

ttN0 m0re, st0p this, kn0ck it 0ff.tt

lt resulted in a class acti0n
lawsuit against

the United States 0f Ámerica.

Fcr years, everycne igncres
the prcblem.

ßut cnce there is
a wcrking superscnic airliner,

the US Gcvernment can't hide
frcm the chcrus cf ccmplaints.

S0 in 1 973, the Ámericans banned

0verland supers0nic flights
in American airspace.

When the United States banned
supersonic flight over land,

pretty much the rest 0f
the world followed suit.

Ccnccrde had 76 planes reserved
by airlines.

ßut the places thcse airlines
wanted tc f tc,

start tc disappear.

Ánd it just became w0rse
and worse as time moved on.

It c0uldntt fly 0ver here,
it couldntt fly over there,

where was it g0ing t0 fly?

Have the ßritish
and French backed the wrcng hcrse?

ßecause ßceing,

whcse epic 2 7O7 crashed
and burned cn the drawing bcard,

have gcne dcwn a very different
and very successful rcute.

The end 0f the SST,
it might seem like a tragedy,

but it really isntt.

ßecause ß0eing had an0ther
aeroplane in development.

Y0u had this giant aer0plane,

that c0uld carry twice as many
passengers as any other jet,

that in itself makes it ec0n0mical.

ßceings giant is taking
the aviaticn wcrld by stcrm.

The 747, affecticnal
kncwn as the "jumbc jet".

It.s built a bit like a bus,

but the supersonic transports
were built more like sports cars.

Ultimately, it was the subs0nics

that w0uld be the future 0f civil
aviation.

ßut the ßritish and French have
spent cver a billicn pcunds

develcping their superscnic dream.

Sc, they just push cn.

I n 1 976,
1 4 years after planning began,

Ccnccrde final begins
ccmmercial flights.

It's nct a 747,

but it is cne amazing plane.

The 0nly time passengers really felt
the great woomph from the power

0f C0nc0rde was 0n take-0ff.

It takes a while
for that great power to get going,

and that w00mph,
down the runway and up fast.

ßut Ccnccrde dcesn't have
the superscnic wcrld tc itse.

Less than twc years later,

Russia's TU- 1 44 ac enters service.

Is it gcing tc rain cn
Ccnccrde's parade?

Pl LOT SPEÁKS l N RUSSlÁN

While Ccnccrde is fing mcre
than 3,000 miles acrcss

the Átlantic every day,

the TU- 1 44 service is
less ambiticus.

It was put int0 0perati0n 0n limited
civil flights

between M0sc0w and Kazakhstan.

That's cn 1 ,9OO miles,

just cver ha Ccnccrde's
transatlantic rcute,

but all the fuel guzzling
TU- 1 44 can manage.

The flight itself only operated
once a week.

Ánd even thcse jcurneys
are fraught.

Th0se that flew in the TU- 1 44 came
back only with horror stories.

The aircraft basically was never
really finished inside.

Ånd it encountered various
maintenance issues,

such as toilets not flushing.

The lighting w0uld fail.

Window blinds not staying open.

Theytd be unexplained n0ises.

ßlaring alarms that couldn .t be
shut off.

Pe0ple w0uld be l00king
over their shoulder,

thinking, whatts g0ing t0 dr0p
off, or go bang.

Over the ccurse cf just 1 O2 flights,

the TU- 1 44
suffers mcre than 226 failures.

8O cf them while it's in the air.

The cne scheduled service
survives bare six mcnths.

Áfter just 55 passenger flights,

the Scviet superscnic airliner
is cancelled.

The TU- 1 44, is gcne.

The ßceing 2 7O7 is gcne.

Ccnccrde is the last
surviving SST...

...but it still can't catch a break.

The cverland superscnic bans,

ccupled with spiralling fuel prices,

are a catastrcphe fcr Ccnccrde.

Nc-cne is buying
the superscnic dream any mcre.

I n the end, all the p0tential 0rders
of Concorde disappear.

Ánd Áir France and ßritish Áirways
have taken the plane,

five f0r the ßritish,
four for the French.

These are the cn twc airlines
that can't walk away frcm Ccnccrde,

because bcth are state-cwned.

The last Ccnccrdes actual belcng
tc the gcvernments...

...and they are paying huge subsidies
just tc keep them in the air.

ßut even that's nct encugh.

ßy the early 1 98Os, itts very clear
Concorde is not making money.

I n 1 984, the ßritish Gcvernment have
had encugh.

They mcre cr less hand the keys

tc their entire Ccnccrde fleet
tc British Airways, and walk away.

What future dces Ccnccrde have ncw?

ßritish Áirways wanted
to make this white elephant,

as it was perceived then,
into a money-making machine.

So, they actually did a survey

and they asked their customers,

how much they thought their company
had paid for their Concorde ticket.

M0st 0f the flyers 0n C0nc0rde were
business executives,

their secretaries b0ught
the tickets,

and they came up with a figure,

which was m0re than they were
actually being charged.

ßritish Åirways realised that they.d
been undercharging if you like.

S0, they hit 0n the idea,

ttOK, wetll charge what they think
theytre being charged.tt

So, they put the fair up

to about 2,GGG per passenger
each way.

Ccnccrde fares uimate sell

fcr dcuble the price cf
a first-class ticket.

It aims fcr the pinnacle
cf the transatlantic market.

N0t just travelling faster,

but travelling faster in luxury.

This is n0w the luxury aircraft,
luxury form of service.

Masses 0f champagne,
proper silverware,

real pr0per glasses.

Álm0st like a 0cean liner
in the sky.

The experience cn Ccnccrde is ncw
just as sensaticnal as its lccks.

Ápart fr0m the excitement
of getting on and taking off,

what was really special ab0ut
it was the superb service.

G00d aftern00n, sir.

Concorde is special,

and there were certain people
that flew on Concorde,

and it was like a club for them.

It was the captains of industry,
the celebrities.

You needed to know how
to address people.

You needed to know,
really, about these people's lives.

Ánd it's nct just the well-heeled
whc pay the Ccnccrde price.

It turns cut sprinkling arcund
a little superscnic stardust,

brings an additicnal bccst
tc prcfits.

Án0ther f0rm 0f inc0me
involves charter flights

and this is where b0th airlines are
going to go in the t80s and t90s.

It became a little bit
more affordable,

for people to then go on
the plane just to experience it.

They didn .t go anywhere.
We went up in the air,

for about an hour or so,

and they got given their certificate

to show that they have flown on
Concorde, they've been supersonic.

ßecause 0f the way
the strategy worked,

she gradually became
a very profitable aircraft.

Fcr near twc decades,

Ccnccrde final fui
the superscnic dream.

Ánd then, in 2OOO, in Paris,
tragedy struck,

and this time in
a really severe way.

One 0f the French C0nc0rdes was
flying a hundred people.

Á fire sparked 0ff in the
undercarriage, flames shot up.

They had n0 chance

and the aircraft fell 0ut 0f
the sky over a village, Gonesse.

REPORTER SPEÁKS l N FRENCH

There are a hundred fare-paying
passengers on board.

Áll died, all crew.

Fcur mcre cn the grcund
are ac killed.

Ccnccrde's engineers
race tc the crash site,

searching fcr an explanaticn.

It was devastating,
absolutely devastating.

Virtually nothing,
apart from a bit of the nose,

distinguishable as an aircraft.

The smell itself was...

...the smell 0f death.

Itts quite unnerving.

ßut y0u have t0 get 0n with
the job.

Ccnccrde's unblemished safety reccrd
is destrcyed.

What went wrcng?

We had pe0ple wh0 were l00king
at the runway itself.

Ånd we found this piece of metal.

The piece cf metal had fallen frcm

a previcus aircraft
during take-cff.

It burst Ccnccrde's tyre.

Á big slab 0f tyre hit
the underside of the wing,

and it blew 0ut a secti0n 0f
the wing,

fuel then gushed 0ut and ignited.

Ccnccrde was gcing tcc fast
tc abcrt take-cff.

The wcunded plane
staggered intc the air.

It c0uldntt reach anything
like its proper climbing speed.

Ånd the captain said,
"C'est trop tard. " "lt's too late. "

Áll Ccnccrdes are grcunded.

Many fear it's the end cf
the rcad fcr the superscnic dream.

ßut nc-cne whc has wcrked cn
Ccnccrde wants tc see its career end

in a fatal ball cf flame.

Engineers begin
a majcr safety cverhaul.

The redesign and refit 0f
the aircraft took a year and a bit.

New tyres, new fuel tanks,

new wiring.

If it wcrks,
Ccnccrde is back in the game.

S0 what we did, we filled the
aircraft out with passengers,

but the passengers were all pil0ts
and engineers,

and we flew halfway t0 New Y0rk,
and then halfway back to London.

Ánd the flight went perfectly.
lt was total elation,

because every0ne felt,
ttWe are back.tt

Ánd getting 0ff the aircraft,

and in my t0p p0cket 0f my shirt,

my m0bile ph0ne starts t0 ring,

and itts my y0ungest s0n, Danie

and l pick the ph0ne up

and l start telling him h0w
fantastic this flightts been,

and he just said, ttDad, shut up.
Have you heard about New York?tt

l said,
ttWhat are you talking about?tt

He said, ttTw0 aircraft have
hit the Twin Towers.tt

Ccnccrde's test flight takes place
cn September 11 th, 2001 .

One cf the darkest days
in aviaticn histcry.

Ccnccrde is nc lcnger
a ccmfcrtable fit,

in the changed wcrld cf aviaticn.

I n 2OO3, the airlines clcse the dccr
cn the superscnic experience.

Ánd Ccnccrde makes its
final flights.

CH EERl NG

The last C0nc0rde flight
commercially took off from J FK,

and, 0f c0urse, it sh0t 0ff
over the Atlantic and it was a,

t0 say the least,
quite a lively flight.

L0ts 0f champagne,
that was Concordets world.

Ánd then, this s0rt 0f m0ment
of tremendous sadness

which y0u c0uld feel 0nb0ard.

That truly was an end t0
the era moment,

as y0u g0t 0ff that plane, y0u knew,

ttOh, thatts it.tt
Not just no more Concorde,

n0 m0re supers0nic flights,

and that great adventure in the sky
had come to a close.

On Ncvember 26th, 2OO3,
the last Ccnccrde tc f

tcuched dcwn fcr the very last time.

Delivering the plane tc Ficn,
in the UK,

where it is still cn display.

On cne questicn remains.

Has the superscnic dream
died with Ccnccrde?

2O years after Ccnccrde's
final flight,

NÁSÁ and Lcckheed Martin
are tackling

the scnic bccm prcblem,

that damaged Ccnccrde's chances
sc bad,

with the Quesst missicn
and the X-59.

This is essentially
a workingĮresearch lab,

that is l00king at minimising

the s0und 0f that s0nic b00m

t0 s0mething similar t0,

the thump y0u hear
when you close a car door.

The n0se 0f the aer0plane
itself takes up about

a third 0f the entire length
of the X-59.

The reas0n f0r that l0ng design 0f

the airplane is we want t0 stretch
out the features of

the airframe as much as p0ssible.

NÁSÁ believes that will pr0duce
a quiet sonic boom

that m0st pe0ple w0uldntt hear 0ver
their daily lives.

If it wcrks, Ámerica,

first tc bcw cut cf
the superscnic race,

may be the cne tc claim its
uimate prize.

Dcminaticn cf the superscnic skies.

Áviati0n is seen
to inspire people to achieve more,

t0 push the envel0pe,

t0 g0 faster, farther,
more efficiently.

Itts an industry that captures
peoplets imagination,

and it inspires humankind t0,
want to,

keep devel0ping
and improving things.

Concorde,
it was in service for 28 years.

That was achievement in itself.

Flew several million
people supersonically.

C0nc0rdets maj0r legacy
is she is the only,

the 0nly successful supers0nic
airliner ever.

Ånd it was just amazing,
you know, it's like,

...ßeam me up, Scotty ..

Send me from here to there.

It was simply stunning t0 l00k at,

but behind the l00ks,

it was supreme w0rk 0f advanced
technology and engineering.

It pushed techn0l0gy and engineering

in the aviati0n industry
to its limits.

Y son says to me, ..How am l going
to tell my children,

...that their grandfather could fly

...to New York in three hours
20 minutes,

...and yet, if they want to go
to New York now,

...they.re going to sit on a plane
for eight-and-a-half hours. "

You know, how does that work?

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