Concorde will conquer the luxury flight universe
Seven years ago the Concorde was retired. Collaboration due to a treaty between Britain and France, Aerospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation came up with the luxury aircraft, the Concorde. While its maiden flight was in 1969, it was not put into full service until 1976. The Concorde enjoyed 27 years of service during which time there were not many upgrades made. With it being the only plane in its class, there was no need. The Concorde cockpit is full of dials and controls, not like the more modern aircraft of today. It also calls for a flight engineer, a position that modern aircraft technology has eliminated.
Due to the fact that there were only 20 of these planes made and at a massive cost, only the richest could afford to travel in them. One of these crashed in July of 2000 and it impacted the amount of people flying in them. After the September 11, 2001 attack on the Twin Towers and the air travel panic that ensued, business became even worse. Because of this, it was announced early in 2003 that the Concorde would be retired. It was thought that she would never fly again.
Now however, there has been an increase in interest in the Concorde. There is a group of French engineers (volunteers) who are trying to get the engines up to par for flight again. Earlier this month, there was a test in which the Concorde actually made its first ground taxi in 6 and a half years. This is being done in the hopes that the Concorde can take a part in various air shows and demonstrations. There is also talk of the Concorde being flown in the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics.
