Four decades ago today, an aircraft that requires no article ahead of its name, Concorde made her first flight from Toulouse. F-WSST, the first of two prototypes took flight at 3:40 PM on March 2, 1969, just three weeks after the 747-100. The second prototype, which was built in Filton in the UK, took flight in April. May I recommend a look into our archives from 1969? I went exploring through our cutaway archive this morning and found incredible array of Concorde content.
Even a cursory glance at the milestones of 1969 make it the most influential year for aerospace with the first Moon landing that followed in July.
One of my most vivid memories growing up was from a summer visit to Jones Beach on Long Island. I remember being transfixed by the extraordinary noise and speed generated by Concorde as she blasted across the sky headed for Europe. It was the only time I had a chance to see her fly.
Today’s Movie Monday is a celebration of the supersonic transport and her legacy. Today’s four clips, totaling about 40 minutes, take you inside the flight deck of Speedbird 001 from Heathrow to JFK for the takeoff, trans-Atlantic acceleration, landing at JFK and return departure on board the Mach 2 airliner. The clips come from a 5-hour look a the Concorde produced by ITVV in 1996.
Clips 2-4 after the jump.
This post was originally published to the internet between 2007 and 2012. Links, images, and embedded media from that era may no longer function as intended.
This post originally appeared at Flightglobal.com from 2007 to 2012.