Concorde: The Rise and Fall of the Supersonic Airliner [Paperback] [Jul 07, 2016] Glancey, Jonathan

by Jonathan Glancey

Concorde

Genres: Aviation, History, Nonfiction, Science, Technology, Aeroplanes, Transport

320 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2015

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jonathan Glancey has written one of those books that sits dead centre on the "yeah, it's pretty good but geez there are some problems" spectrum, so be warned this review will probably end up being a mish-mash of praise and damnation. Concorde: The Rise and Fall of the Supersonic Airliner has a great story to tell, and there are times when the author rises to the occasion. However, the underpinning attitude of Glancey and his inability to restrain himself from some egregiously superfluous waffle sours what should be a quality read. In some respects this is a tome that reflects its aviation subject; at times sleek and powerful, but overstuffed with ego and looks down its nose at those beneath it.

The core strength of the book is the plane itself. Concorde is, or should one say was, a truly legendary feat of aviation invention and industry, wrapped up in a fascinating geopolitical and economic yarns of post-war history. Glancey does a very fine job of detailing all the ins and outs of Concorde's story, ranging from the history and theories that pre-dated the original processes that led to the British government looking forward to the production of a supersonic airline from the late 1950s, through the plane's operational history, to its somewhat inglorious and tragic removal from sercice by British Airways and Air France after the 2000 Paris disaster. Glancey makes the most of his subject, bringing in all manner of content related to Concorde including jet engine development, interior design issues, Anglo-French relations, external political challenges, personal flight experiences, attutudes as to the environment and imitators and potential successors. One can't quibble too much with what the author offers the reader as to the narrative of Concorde's history.

One element of this history that was somewhat of a revelation to me, and perhaps to other (potential) readers of Concorde: The Rise and Fall of the Supersonic Airliner“Concorde, though, was the focus at the time. Harold Wilson’s Labour government was still hoping that its shared investment with the French would finally bring Britain into the bureaucratic fold of the EEC”. This of course could be said to reflect the (then) willingness of British politicians and industrialists to engage with the continent and hopefully reap suitable benefits, and considering the current post=Brexit world of Anglo-European relations a reminder that the British weren't always small-minded when it came to their neighbours. It is also a resounding statement as to the importance of aviation, particularly as a national industry and cultural phenomenon, in terms of geopolitics. One of the earliest examples of a significant industrial and political push for multilateral cooperation between Britain and (in this case) France, Concorde's importance as elaborated in Glancey's narrative takes on new and valuable dimensions.

Glamcey does extremely well to speak to several other key aspects of the Concorde story, including the aforementioned development of the technology implemented to bring the aircraft into production and then operation. One can't really fault the author for how informative his book is in terms of what he says about (for example) the Olymps engines used to power Concorde, or its unique flying characteristics, or its passenger demographics. Glancey makes great play on the speed of the plane, which was of course its core raison d'etre. The examination of the fatal 2000 flight of Air France Concorde 4500 is fulsome and speaks to all appropriate questions or concerns. One can't fault the basic historical information about Concorde as presented in this book.

It should also be said that Glancey does very well when addressing the possible contenders or challengers to Concorde, with the Tupolev Tu-155 'Concordski' and various American unbuilt aircraft entering the list. The stories of these aircraft, unrealised or badly implemented, deserve a history in and of themselves, but it's gratifying to see the author not ignore them. It would have been hard for Glancey to do so, but the chapter on these rival projects is one of the stringest in the book.

For all the quality of his history of Concirde, Glancey stlll has some serious sins of both omission and commission in Concorde: The Rise and Fall of the Supersonic Airliner. Taking the first issue, it would've been very helpful if there had been additional material such as illustrations, a glossary, perhaps information on each of the Concordes built (after all, there were only twenty built, with fourteen commercial service), a chronology of the related history and more details as to the flights and services offered during its operations by Air France and British Air. Some if not all of these additional materials would have made this a more effective study of the airplane's history. Instead, the reader has to rely on a rather journalistic approach to the subject as opposed to a serious historical account.

A much more egergious problem with this book, and one that really annoyed me as I read it, was the combination of extraneous content that was added by Glancey as a means of making rather belaboured points about either the historical, cultural, technological or national context of Concorde's development and usage, and the author's prejudiced perspectives on issues such as aviation aethetics, popular travel and the decline of Great Britain as a signficant political, economic and social power. Again and again Glancey builds his narrative around bloated accounts of what was happening around the time of Concorde, trying to show off through his belaboured juxtapositions the uniqueness of the plane or how perhaps it ran with or against the spirit of time and place. For example, among other somewhat redundant references this is how he tackles the rise of cheap commercial flights in the second half of the 1970s:

“And, while punk had done its best to drown out prog-rock, in 2002 Keith Emerson told the Guardian, ‘I liked the Sex Pistols. Funnily enough John Lydon [the band’s frontman and lead songwriter] became a neighbour in Santa Monica.’
In 1977, however, it seemed that a world of high-tech accomplishment, whether in aerospace or rock music, was being challenged by a culture altogether less acutely skilled, evidently rawer and wilfully populist. Freddie Laker’s cut-price, no-frills Skytrain took to the air...”

One can understand what Glancey is trying to do with such passages, but the problem is he keeps doing it again and again and again and again, spending sometimes a page or even more on some tangential story that has, at the end, a rather tenuous association with Concorde's stroy. Here is another example, where the author speaks to the Italian pre-WW1 Futurist Filippo Marinetti:

“As it was, Marinetti was on active service with the Italian army in 1944 when he died in his sixties of a heart attack. A dedicated fascist, he had become a hardened reactionary, lauding a credo for a dismal and lost political and military cause, one destroyed with the help of some of the men who went on to design Concorde, a machine that really can be considered as ravishing as the Winged Victory of Samothrace.”

Again, one can see why Glancey write what he writes, but the continued barrage of these over-extended allusions and semi-related historical narratives detracts immensely from the good work the author achieves when focused on Concorde itself. Time and time again, having waded through a passage or page or two of such material I felt as if Glancey was unable to find enough material to fill his contracted pages and decided to throw everything but the kitchen sink into the text.

Furthermore, whilst one can understand and even perhaps agree to some extent with Glancey's prejudices against the banality of modern air travel, and the concommittant vulgarity and cheapening of the experience, it does smack of a rather effete elitism that reflects poorly on both Glancey himself and by association on Concorde. For example, his cyncism and derision is dripping out of quotes such as this:

“While there is no question that the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 are nothing other than fine, reliable and profitable machines, they will be forever associated with the idea, forced on us by airline management and advertising, that flying is much the same as travelling by coach – or bus or train, of course – and that the destination is what matters most rather than the journey. And if this means being crammed into a cabin innocent of thoughtful, much less inspired, design, then so be it as long as the tickets are as cheap as our package holidays”

Glancey is rather ironically almost as contempuous of the upper class market for Concorde during its commercial flying history, and this suggests that he is perhaps both envious and precious about what Concorde represents to him. His understanding of Concorde as a symbol is extended into its rise and fall being congruent with the loss of British 'Greatness'. Yes, there is no denying the achievement of Concorde in terms of its industrial, political, cultural and technological value for British society and history, but it gets tiring combating the author's perennial unhappiness with how his home nation has changed. Furthermore, it could be said that the French element of Concirde's story is underplayed because of this nationalistic perspective.

All up Concorde: The Rise and Fall of the Supersonic Airliner is as I said both a quality text and a rather flawed book. I am sure there are better books about Concorde out there, but there must also be worse ones too. Glancey has a great story to tell, and if he had been less opinionated and less distracting in his narrative it would've been way better. Having said all this, the attempt at capturing the story of such an amazing plane is still commendable, and I'm sure many aviation enthusiasts will enjoy this book.

[Max · Rating 5 out of 5]

A "Concorde" of story and history
Concorde, by Jonathan Glancey is a descriptive history of anything related to supersonic aircraft, not just the Concorde, a supersonic airliner which flew until 2003. Overall this book was informative as well as entertaining, but would get carried away at some points
Glancey tries to put a positive view on the concorde, he tries to make more rights out of its history than its wrongs, and tries to make it a surprise that the concorde was put out of service, he does not go in depth about the reason of its retirement. Overall the author puts some biased, but the book had a great storyline and portrayed a very well supported view.
Overall, the Author put a very persuasive view on the book, as did with the very in depth information. He put his view on the positive on the concorde, and listed out the aircraft's benefits, much less than its cons. However, he did achieve this, after reading this book, I learned that if history was different, the Concorde may have had a better future. The bias did not really interfere with the books information.
Glacey was extremely credible to write this book, as he had extreme amounts of knowledge relating to the topic, he goes well into the history and development of the concorde. From supersonic jet aircraft in WWII to the concorde's last flight, Glancey pacs in so much knowledge, not only about the concorde, but about the history of Jet aviation itself. It not only talks about the development of the concorde, but about Airbus, the aircraft company that would succeed the company that made the concorde.
The book was entertaining, It not only had a section format, but a chapter format to, It read like a story, and had a somewhat plot. You could see elements of writer's craft in the book, elements that would normally be in a fiction book, however, Glancey did this just right and made the book very dynamic in terms of it’s plot.
Overall, I really liked this book, it was long and very descriptive, however, it was not only on its main point, but sided around in a larger topic, jet aviation. When I finished reading this book, I have learned a lot. Reading this book, I was entertained. I you like books that tell a story and history, I would highly recommend 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)

[Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Jose · Rating 1 out of 5]

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.

[Dan Korth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great history of Concorde and the socioeconomic events leading up to its development, service and ultimate demise. There was also some really good history regarding the research into high speed flight following WWII. If you're into airplanes this will not only give you a thorough understanding of one of the most fascinating aircraft in history. I also really enjoyed the discussion of the current airline industry and why it is the way it is today, cramming people into ever smaller seats and reducing the level of service in order to feed the public's desire for cheap air travel.

[Achileas Labrou · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 · Rating 3 out of 5]

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

[Chris Wilby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy reading.about the great adventure tharted by the sound barrier

[Jacob Tjornholm · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Completeaerogeek · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book contains some interesting material but suffers from a distracting habit of disappearing into a tangential subjects just when you were expecting the good stuff, while missing the opportunity to impart a sense of wonder, at this magnificent achievement in aviation science and industrial art.

Being a lifelong aviation nut (and industry professional) and having fulfilled a boyhood dream by flying in G-BOAA New York to London, I was looking for something to put words to my experience and perhaps to learn some elusive new piece of the story, I had not already wrung from my other books on the subject and to be fair, at times it delivered but its periodic awkwardness of phrase, diminished what should have been an enjoyable read.

The book is also peppered with small but annoying errors or typos.

The B-707 prototype was the 367-80 not 800, (P53)
The air over a wing absolutely does not have to catch up the the air going under the wing (P63) This is an oft cited myth and one that does not belong in a work such as this.
The air at 57,000' is -56C not 57C,
Concorde was certainly not the first airliner to use disc brakes,(P86) (not by decades!)
The AIAA is the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (not Institution) (P100)
Variable sweep wings are un-swept or transitioned not unfolded.(P 103)
P 115 gives us 'lifts' instead of 'lift' when talking about aerodynamics.
By p150 I had to put it down. My head hurt.

If you are looking for a book to take you on the emotional roller coaster ride that was this amazing aircraft's gestation and career, this is not for you, however, if you are looking to fill a space in your collection with a book that offers some previously little known anecdotes about the cast of characters involved with the program, then you will find it satisfying.

[Gareth Cronin · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Martyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Generally this was an entertaining and informative book. It was let down a little by occasional fact-lite rants, but overall I am pleased to have read it.

[Daniel Diaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was amazing