The fastest Atlantic crossing by any Concorde took only 2 hours, 52 minutes, and 59 seconds. This record-breaking plane, Concorde AD, is the very same one housed at the Intrepid Museum.
Her cruising altitude is 60,000 feet, her top speed is Mach 2.04, and due to friction heating, the Concorde expands approximately 8 inches during flight.
Even today, 32 years after the start of Concorde's commercial service, she remains the fastest and the highest-flying airliner in existence. The development of the Concorde began in the early 1960's and officially concluded with her entry into service in 1976. The Concorde is one of the finest examples of aviation engineering capable of flying at extremes of altitude and speed.
The Concorde is powered by four Rolls-Royce/SNECMA Olympus Mk. 610-14-28 engines. Each engine produces 38,050 pounds of thrust; this would propel the aircraft to her maximum operating a speed of Mach 2.04. In order to keep the aircraft light and keep the costs of production down, the Concorde's fuselage and wings are constructed of aluminum.
At full speed and cruising altitude, despite outside temperatures of -55 Celsius (-67 Fahrenheit), the Concorde's skin would heat up to 127C (260.6 F) at the nose and 91C- 98C (196F-208F) on the fuselage and the wings. The Concorde carries between 90 and 100 passengers and is capable of covering 3,900 nautical miles without refueling.
The specific aircraft located at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum is registered under designation G-BOAD and is commonly referred to as “Alpha Delta.” The aircraft itself has a very interesting history.
Manufactured under the serial number 100-010, it is the production variant 102. It flew for the first time on August 25, 1976 from Filton, England, and was delivered to British Airways (BA) on December 6, 1976.
In 1977, a deal was worked out to operate a route from London to Bahrain to Singapore in partnership with Singapore Airlines; however, this deal ran into serious difficulties and did not last for long. During some of the time the route was in operation, G-BOAD was the only BA Concorde to operate under two airlines. It was painted in BA colors on one side and Singapore Airlines colors on the other side.
During 1979 “Alpha Delta” was to see service with Braniff Airline under a lease agreement with BA. Under this arrangement, BA operated the aircraft on the London to Washington route while Braniff Airlines operated the aircraft on the Washington to Dallas route. When the arrangement ceased, the aircraft was re-registered G-BOAD on the June 19, 1980.
On February 7, 1996, “Alpha Delta” made the fastest Atlantic crossing of a Concorde, taking just 2 hours, 52 minutes, and 59 seconds. During her career, G-BOAD flew 23,397 hours, made 8,406 landings and underwent 7,010 supersonic cycles. The final flight of the “Alpha Delta” took place on November 10, 2003, and the aircraft was de-registered on May 4, 2004. Today “Alpha Delta” is on permanent display at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.
