Concorde: The Rise and Fall of the Supersonic Airliner by Jonathan Glancey

Concorde: The Rise and Fall of the Supersonic Airliner Reviews

• 
  Matt

  In an era of fast-paced travel and a desire to arrive before departure, Jonathan Glancey offers a biography of Concorde, the airplane of the future. While this juggernaut had a short-lived existence, just over a quarter century, Concorde changed the playing field on many levels. Glancey posits that it was extremely futuristic, something Captain James T. Kirk might have used to usher his family to the in-laws between intergalactic missions. In a thorough analysis, Glancey examines three areas of significant importance related to Concorde: its unique approach to aviation, the political undertones of its existence, and the strong 'anti' movement it garnered. With both technical and intuitive arguments, Glancey provides the reader with a stellar narrative to better understand Concorde and its place in the annals of aviation history. Not to be missed by aircraft enthusiasts and the curious layperson alike, in which I strongly put myself in the latter category.
  
  Concorde was unique in its approach to aviation on so many levels. Its aeronautical design differed greatly from anything else on the market, appearing more like the plaything of a science fiction novelist. A sleek body and oddly shaped nose served a highly scientific purpose, but to the lay traveller, this uniqueness turned the eye towards it, no matter where it taxied. Glancey mentions in Chapter 7 that,“[t]he wonder of it is that its beauty...was not the work of an artist, but of the artistry of aerodynamics. The subtle curvature of Concorde’s wings is alone a study in elegant design and functional beauty, and a thing of beauty is truly a joy forever.” Additionally, the fact that it broke the sound barrier during flight, pushing up to speeds of Mach 2, led Concorde to challenge the norm in an era when flight was becoming an everyday occurrence for the common person. First seen in 1969, it was the culmination of decades of scientific calculations and trials, seeking to push past its subsonic airline competitors, while also offering a level of comfort that passengers could enjoy, in sleek and silent style. Glancey uses some of the early chapters to elucidate the numerous attempts in the military realm to perfect the speed of flight, with little interest in comfort. However, after Air France and British Airways came together with their respective governments to fund the development of Concorde aircraft, production and further testing came to fruiting, eventually leading to public displays as Armstrong prepared to leap across the Moon. Glancey illustrates these discussions and the gamble taken to push the envelope before selling this unique means of travel in a fraction of the time. However, with all this inherent uniqueness comes a price unique to other forms of air travel. This is, perhaps the downside to the sleek 'aircraft of the future' as it sought to compete on a burgeoning market, where the casual traveller could only marvel. Glancey does not shy away from the individualised nature of Concorde, standing alone in many comparative categories.
  
  Concorde was surely a political instrument, from its nexus through to its ongoing presence in the airline industry. Few might see this on the surface, but Glancey argues that the Anglo-French Union required to bring Concorde to fruition is nothing short of stunning. Two allies whose respect remained tepid, though essential in a post-War era, needed to come together not only to produce these aircraft, but to fund their ongoing costs and commercial presence. Air France was significantly funded by the government, seeking millions to ensure Concorde not only made it into the air, but remained afloat, having to twist the arm of General de Gaulle. British Airways, equally, sought money from Her Majesty's government in an era when subsonic airlines were slashing costs and Conservative mandates saw cabinets try to shuffle away from signed agreements. In a humours aside, Glancey mentions that there was a strong dispute between the French and British over the use of the 'E' in Concorde, with the stuffy British seeking to sweep this excess letter under the rug. The French prevailed, adding another layer to the unique nature of Concorde. This Anglo-French union was only the beginning of the politicized nature of Concorde, whereby both Cold War superpowers wanted in, seeking to create their own programs to benefit their respective populations. Both the USA and USSR sought to create commercial supersonic flight programs, but required significant monies to do so. On the American front, Congress balked at the offer and shut down any funding in 1971, leaving NASA to turn back towards travel outside the Earth's atmosphere. Soviet attempts to match their sworn enemies led to the creation of Tupelov. In a county where the ruble could only go so far, this fast airliner stuck strictly to mail delivery for a period! thereby shelving any Communist equivalent to serve behind the Iron Curtain. That Concorde soared between these two great powers serves to support its determination to make a mark on the world, entering the political realm even if it tried to circumnavigate turbulent skies.
  
  While Concorde was loved by many for its speed and sleekness, there were many who wanted it grounded before it caught on. While the science of aeronautics were heavily studied before any of the fleet rose into the sky, the environmental critics attacked it from all sides. Be it chemicals in the fuel that would lead to the depletion of the ozone layer to sonic booms that could destroy ecosystems and material items, Concorde did not have carte blanche acceptance during its tenure in the skies. Glancey mentions that the environmental lobby helped the US Congress scrap any supersonic funding and led various airports to close their gates to any Concorde presence, due to destruction of property caused by sonic waves. When Concorde entered the Asian market, countries banned it from entering their airspace, leaving flight plans to be redrawn while still keeping costs down. Another detractor to Concorde was the inherent cost to fly aboard its fleet, as mentioned above. While the speed was surely a selling point, fuel costs and the fact that the slightest alteration in weight changed the aerodynamic nature of this behemoth meant that cabin sizes could not be as large as the jumbo jets capable of making the same flights, albeit in a much longer time. Concorde came up against much friction, though its engineers could not alter these impediments to the point of creating the perfect aeronautical experience.
  
  Where does that leave Concorde now, in 2016? Early forecasts when it soared into the commercial airline industry saw the first planes only retiring in 2017. It was after a decision by Airbus in 2003 not to build replacement parts needed for Concorde that saw the fleet grounded. British Airways and Air France would not sell their fleets, even to private buyers, choosing to use some in airline museums and let others gather mothballs in hangars. The future is still uncertain when it comes to supersonic air travel, though Glancey illustrates many scientific studies underway to push past Mach 2 and into the realm of Mach 10, 15, or even 24 (as one German company has been trying to do). For now, Concorde acts as the glimpse into the future and what may one day be the norm, a peek at Star Trek in our modern lives, where flight will be more about how fast one can get there over the travel experience. However, as long as discount airlines can offer dirt cheap flights, the ultra-superclass traveller will be too closely aligned with the dodo bird to make it cost effective, therefore keeping the general public from enjoying Concorde travel. Until these, and many other nuances can be rectified, the future of Concorde is, if you pardon the pun, up in the air.
  
  Kudos, Mr. Glancey for this wonderful piece of work and insightful arguments on both sides. I am curious to see where Concorde finds itself in the decades to come, especially as I have its biggest fan in my own family.
  
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• 
  Huw Rhys

  This is a perfectly good book – but to fully appreciate it, you need to be into your aircraft, and your supersonic passenger carrying ones in particular.
  
  In Concorde, The Rise and Fall of the Supersonic Airliner, Jonathan Glancey tells the story not just of this iconic aeroplane, but also the history of man's attempts to fly quicker than the sound barrier. He attempts to explain what "the sound barrier" is as well, but like so much more of this book, it flies, literally, way over the head of a mere C Grade O Level Physics pupil like me....
  
  What I did understand though was the huge amount of political strategy involved in the development of this aircraft – it wasn't JUST a matter of building an aircraft that could fly people around the globe quicker than any other aircraft. There is macro and micro economics here, there is the inescapable read across from civilian to military technological development, and there is a lot more about the physics of flying – and there are some intriguing interviews with a lot of the key players.
  
  And then it has facts about aviation, more facts about aviation, and even more facts again about aviation.
  
  Look, the history of aviation went something like this – after Daedalus and Icarus' ill fated attempts, the Wright Brothers finally managed to get a powered flight airborne in 1905, and three years later, Louis Bleriot flew across the English Channel. It was literally onwards and upwards for the rest of the first half of the 20th century, with powered airplanes playing increasingly important roles in both world wars. But when the battle of Britain took place in 1940, and long distance bombers swung the tide of war towards the allies before finally finishing the conflict over Japan in 1945, it was still a bare 40 years since that first flight by the Wright Brothers.
  
  By then, jet powered aeroplanes were already in existence, and this book gives us a blow by blow account of the development of the supersonic airliner – as well as postulating whether there is an immediate future for this extremely quick mode of transport.
  
  The back of the book has a list of numerical significances in the story of Concorde – 3 -the amount of seconds it took to travel a mile; 204 - the number of feet long it was – and how many inches - between 6 and 9 - it stretched in flight; and 800 – the amount of pounds one member of the public spent on biscuits in a supermarket to get enough airmiles to get a ticket on Concorde – I hope he liked biscuits, because it would simply have been a lot cheaper for him just to have bought a ticket. The number it doesn't have is 250+ - the number of books listed on Amazon already written on the topic.
  
  Hopefully, if you are interested in these sorts of things – and obviously a lot of people are before 250+ books are published on the subject – then I've managed to give you at least a taste for this book. That it's not really my cup of tea probably says more about me and my tastes than it does about the undoubted quality of this book.
• 
  Daniel

  Ah yes... the legend itself, the Concorde. The title really just spells out what this book is. My favorite section? The accident. Oh, how that peice of metal caused a $175,063,200 supersonic jet to go down into a fiery nest of wreckage and bodies..
  
  I would have loved to ride on this beast of air travel, but even if it were still around the tickets would cost too much. Plus if you were on the ground this thing would break your eardrums anyway.
  
  I recommend it. It truly is an era worth reading about.
  Also note I read the paperback version not the Kindle Edition I just clicked on this cause it had the title)
• 
  Jose

  I was looking forward to a fascinating and well-written account and the pros and cons of this Plane as the title would suggest instead it is the author;s(a writer for the Guardian of course) grandiose gleaming over it ad-nauseum, but the most annoying part of the book is right at the start of it with the author's very flawed observation of the "revolutionaries" coming to free Cuba from that "vicious Us-Backed Dictator". which in fact the US had a hand in removing and er-go putting his idol which Made Said previous Dictator look like a infant. I Find that one statement odd and yet not so-odd considering the Armchair Champagne-socialism involved seeing as the Author mentions Champagne so much and is in awe of the jet-set high life ironically. No technical data, at least he doesn't completely slam American Innovations, The book should note the Concorde while beautiful was destined to fail as state-run enterprise from the start and the economies of scale were not there to begin with in spite of the author's bias which would tell you otherwise. I recommend for a better understanding of the Concorde despite it being a celebration of it would be Ingo Bauernfeind's book on that beautiful Plane.
• 
  Benjamin

  Engaging history of Concorde, that nonetheless has several blemishes that prevent me from giving it full marks, despite my love of the subject matter. The book is a little too long and often goes off on a tangent. Sometimes these enrich the experience but other times feel like filler. It can also be a little repetitive at times. The final section of the book reads more like a political rant that I found a bit overbearing, even though I agree with the author almost 100% regarding the content. Despite this the quality of research on offer is top-notch and the author makes what could have been a dry read into an enjoyable book.
• 
  Achileas Labrou

  One third of the book is dedicated to Concorde. This doesn't mean that is a bad book but I would like some more technical information about the Concorde.
  It is very well written and easy too read book.
• 
  Kady

  The Concorde is my favorite plane, but I think the editor should have kept the author on topic better.
• 
  Chris Wilby

  Easy reading.about the great adventure tharted by the sound barrier
• 
  Jacob Tjornholm

  I find it hard to review this book, because it was good but not really what I was looking for.
  
  I've always been really fascinated by technology, not least planes, trains and similar machines. So after hearing the author talk about this book on the Science Weekly podcast a while ago, I was really excited to read it.
  
  But unfortunatly (for me) it has much more of a historical than technical focus. It contains lots and lots of facts and stories that are only very tangentially (if at all) related to the concorde.
  
  So while I appreciated the historical perspective, I'd have preferred a more narrow focus.
  
  As for the technical side of Concorde, the book gives a good overview of the huge challenges faced by the engineers behind the project. However, being a tech geek, I'd have preferred even more detail here.
  
  The last chapter is a very honest and very subjective account of the author's thoughts on modern aviation (and transportation in general).
  
  Attempting to review the book objectively, I'll say that it is mostly very well written, but sometimes deviates too far from the main story - especially with regards to the historical aspecs.
• 
  Gareth Cronin

  I liked the level of technical detail and it's an interesting story, but... the last couple of chapters descend into rants about the end of the British boffin and British hi-tech industry, the horrors of the rise of investment in digital technology, the evils of low-cost carriers and Michael O'Leary, the ugliness of modern trains, McMansions, you name it! Could have done with some editing - if it was edited, I hate to think how it read before!
• 
  Stan Bebbington

  An interesting if a little rambling book. It covers the research, development , production and use of the few Concordes that were built. Always controversial, ahead of its time, but a beautiful sight nonetheless in low level fly-bys. Nothing has yet superseded it.
• 
  Daniel Diaz

  Was amazing