TheConcorde'B'model,althoughneverputintoproduction,wasfirst

discussedonly4monthsafterthestartofscheduledservicesin1976.
AtthatdateJacquesMitterrand,ChairmanandManagingDirectorof
Aerospatiale,submittedtoMr.Cavaille,FrenchSecretaryofStateto
Transport,aproposaltoinvestigateanimprovedversionofConcordethe
"VersionB".AsimilarletterwassenttotheBritishgovernment.
Theletterhesentelaboratedonthequalityoftheworkcarriedoutandthe
knowhowthathadbeenacquiredbythefourFrenchandBritish
engineeringcompanies(Aerospatiale,BAe,RollsRoyceandSNECMA).He
alsostressedtheimportanceoftherolethatthemanufacturersofConcorde
couldhaveinthedevelopmentofasecondgenerationsupersonicaircraft,
thatwouldbeforeseeableinthe1990's,probablyintheformofa
collaborationbetweenEuropeandtheUnitedStates.
Theletteralsogavetheofficialgoaheadtoanexploratorystudy(which
actuallywasalreadyunderway)onupgradingthecapabilitiesofthecurrent
Concordedesignintheearly80's,andproposedafeasibilitystudyonthis
topic.
Thisstudyhadadoubleaim:
Toensureexpansionofthedemandforsupersonictransport,where
theAngloFrenchprojectwasthemainandpresentlyonlyplayer,

 Tomaintainthehighknowledgelevelgainedbythemanufacturers
andprovideasolidpositionfortheparticipationinafutureprogram
ofasecondgenerationSST.
Thesuggestedfeasibilitystudy,withacostestimatedat9millionFrench
francs,wastolast9monthsandtocomprisethreeareas:
Engineering
Developmentcosts
Markets
Ifthisstudyconfirmedaneconomicinterestforthemanufacturers,andled
tothedecisionofthelaunchofanimprovedversionofConcorde,suchan
improvedversion(allowingfora5yeardevelopmentprogramme)couldbe
readybyspring1982forthe17thproductionConcorde.
Thehistoryofcivilaviationshowsthatalmostallnewaircraftconstituteda
basepointforthestartofimprovedversions(e.g.,theBoeing747100
evolvedintotoday's747400).
Theinterestinthisdevelopmentprocesswouldhavebeenbeneficialtoboth
theairlinesandthemanufacturers:
Fortheairlines,itwouldhaveofferedperformanceimprovements
(lowerdirectoperationcosts,extensionoftheoperatingrange,
reductionofenvironmentaleffects)whileconservingtheexisting
investmentsincrewtraining,maintenanceprocedures,etc.
Forthemanufacturers,itwouldhavemadeitpossibletocarryout
theseimprovementsataminimumcapitalcost.Indeedthe
developmentoftheinitialproductionversiongenerallyrevealed
aerodynamicareaswheregainscouldbemadealongwithstructural
margins,butthesecouldnotbeexploitedduetothetimeconstraints
ingettingConcordeintopassengerservicesuccessfully.
IfthedecisiontobuildtheBmodelwouldhavebeentaken,the
modificationswouldhavebeenrelativelyinexpensiveastheywere
justsomeminorchangestotheexistingproductionprocess,allowing
themajorityofthetoolingtobemaintained.Thehighlevelof
knowledgethatwasgainedduringthecertificationofthecurrent

modelwouldhavegreatlyreducedtimeandcostsduringthe
certificationoftheBmodel.
Theseconsiderationsshouldhaveappliedparticularlytothecaseof
Concorde,consideringtheexceptionaldegreeofinnovationobtainedand
thegreatamountoftechnicalknowledgeaccumulatedduringthetwelve
yearsofdevelopmentoftheinitialproductionversion.
ThebroadobjectivesoftheBversionweretoensuretheexpansionofthe
networkofroutesthatsupersonicaircraftcoulduse.
Thefollowingimprovementswereconsideredtobenecessary:
Reductionoftheharmfulacousticeffectontheairportenvironment:
AlthoughthelevelofnoiseproducedbyConcordeattakeoffandlandingis
equivalenttothatofthefirstgenerationlonghaulaircraftinservice(B707,
DC8),onlythesecondgenerationoflonghaulaircraft(B747,DC10,
L1011)equippedwithhighbypassjetenginessatisfiedthenew
internationalnoiserules.WiththereactionoftheUnitedStates,whichhad
atthestartofscheduledConcordeservicesnotacceptedtheuseofConcorde
ontheirterritory,itwouldbeimportanttoreducethelevelofnoise
generatedbytheaircraft.
Increaseintheoperatingrange
Theoperatingrangeoftheinitialversionprimarilydesignedforthe
connectionParisLondonNewYorkwastobeincreasedtoallow
connectionsofthetype:
OtherEuropeancapitalcitiesEastCoastoftheUSinonesector.
UnitedStatesJapanintwosectors.
EuropeAustraliainthreesectors.

Clickroutemapsforlargerversions

Reductionofthefuelconsumption
Concorde'sfuelconsumptionaccountsforathirdofthedirectoperatingcost
(DOC).Areductioninfuelconsumptionwouldmeananimprovementin
economicsfortheairlinesusingtheaircraft,makingitevenmore
marketablebythemanufacturers,andalsoenabletheairlinestoreduce
ticketprices.
Aerodynamicimprovements
Theobjectiveofnoisereductionimpliesanincreaseinthesmoothnessof
flightduringtakeoffandlanding,whichalsoresultsinanimprovementin
allsubsonicflightmodes(climb,subsoniccruise,approach).Thiswould
alsohelpintheaboveobjectiveofincreasingtheoperatingrange.This
modificationmustrespecttwoconstraints:topreserveifnotimprovethe
supersonicsmoothnessofflight,andtolimittheeffectsfrommodifications
oradditionsonthecentralcorestructureofthewing,inordertoreusethe
majorityofthetoolingcurrentlyusedinmanufactureandassembly.
Amoderateincreaseintherangecouldbeobtainedbyaerodynamictweaks
tothecurrentdesign.Theseincludedlengtheningthewingtipsand
mountingdroopslatsontheleadingedgesofthewings.Thesetweakswould
reducetheinduceddragatsupersonicspeedsandincreasetheavailablelift
atslowerspeeds.

Theadditionalliftgeneratedbytheleadingedgedroopswouldpermitthe
aircrafttheflyatalowerangleofattackatslowerspeeds,therefore
requiringlesspowertobegeneratedbythepowerplant,whichinturnwould
reducenoiseandincreasefuelefficiency.
Optimisationoftwistandcamberofthewing,combinedwiththeincreasein
theliftcoefficient(Cz)alongwiththeincreasedthrustofferedbythe
supersonicenginealsoallowsimprovementsofthesmoothnessofflightat
Mach2.
Detailedaerodynamicimprovements,(reshapedtrailingedgeofthecontrol
surfacesandthinningofthelowerlipsofairintake)whichwerelater
appliedtothecurrentproductionmodelsbeforetheyenteredservice,were
alsoproposedtobecontinuedontheConcorde'B'.
Thegainsthroughthenewaerodynamicsandadditionalfeaturesare
summarisedinthefollowingtable
CL

LIFT/DRAGRATIO
CL/CD
A
B
GAIN
MODEL MODEL

ZEROCLIMB
GRADIENT

0.77

3.94

4.24

7.6%

SECOND
SEGMENT

0.614

4.97

5.58

12.3%

NOISE
ABATEMENT
PROCEDURE

0.48

7.38

23%

APPROACH

0.6

4.35

4.75

9.2%

HOLDAT250KTS,10,000FT

0.28

9.27

13.1

41.3%

SUBSONICCRUISEATM=0.93

0.02

11.47

12.92

12.6%

SUPERSONIC
CRUISE

610ENGINE

0.125

7.14

610+25%
ENGINE

0.152

TAKEOFF

7.7%
7.69

7.7%

Modificationsofthepropulsionunit
ThemajorityofthenoiseproducedbyConcordeontakeoffandlanding
comesfromtheareaofstrongaerodynamicshearinglocatedattheedgeof
theexhaust.Theengine,whichisoptimisedforsupersoniccruiseratherthan
subsonicflightwouldbemodifiedsothatgainscouldbemadethroughout
thewholespeedrangeandspecificallygainscouldbemadeinfuel
consumptioninthetransonicregion,thusgivinganincreaseintheoperating
rangerequired.

Physically,themodificationconsistsofreplacingthelowpressure
compressorbyacompressorwithincreaseddiameterandthelowpressure
turbineassemblybyatwostageturbine.Theinstallationofadischarge
systemtoincreasethemarginofairflowthroughtheenginewouldresultin
anincreaseinairflowwhichreaches25%ontakeoffand35%during
approach.Thethrustgainsobtainedattakeoffandattransonicspeedsalso
makeitpossibletoremovethereheat(afterburner)systemwithitsvery
heavyfuelconsumptionandsignificantadditiontothenoisegeneratedby
thepowerplant.
Tolessenthejetnoiseontakeoffandapproach,anotherimprovementis
madebyinstallingacousticprocessingintheairintakeandtheejector.The
gainsofairflowandspecificfuelconsumptionsobtainedaresummarizedin
thenexttable
IMPROVEMENTS
KEY
POINT

THRUST
FUEL
AIR
GAIN
CONSUMPTION FLOW

M=2.0at
57,000ft

12.30%

2.80%

20%

M=1.7at
48,000ft

16.60%

3.90%

20%

M=1.7at
43,000ft

2.80%

18.10%

20%

M=1.2at
40,000ft

3.00%

24.90%

29%

M=0.78at
19,000ft

25.90%

5.80%

29%

250ktsat15,000ft

FIXED
THRUST

4.90%

200ktsat1,000ft

FIXED
THRUST

5.20%

M=0.93at
25,000ft

FIXED
THRUST

3.30%

TAKEOFFAND
INITIAL
FLIGHT

FIXED
THRUST

29%

APPROACH

FIXED
THRUST

39%

Modificationsofthefueltanks

Theincreaseofcapacityobtainedbytheenlargingoftheexternalwingand
thetankatthefrontofthewingissupplementedbytheadditionofa
fuselagetankconnectedtothelatter.Thedrawingshowsthemodifiedtanks
andadditionaltankareas

Themaximumquantityoffuelthatcanbeputonboardincreasesfrom
95,254kgto99,790kg.
Modificationsofaircraftsystems
Changeswouldhavebeenincorporatedintheautopilotsystemforthe
takeoffandapproachstages,inordertoautomaticallyoptimisetheaircraft
inthesekeystagesofflightandtoreducethenoiselevelsaroundthe
airportsduringtakeoffandlanding.
Aircraftweightandperformance
Theadditionalwingareaalongwiththemodificationstotheenginesand
intakeswouldaddtotheemptyweightoftheaircraft:
ConcordeAandOlympus610engine

78000kg

Modificationstoaircraftstructure

+1855kg

Modificationsengineandnacelle

+5098kg

Reductions

1088kg

Additionalmargin

+485kgMV

ConcordeBandOlympus610+25%

84300kg

Thereductionswouldhavebeenobtainedmainlybytheuseofcarbonfibre
intheconstructionofcontrolsurfaces,servicedoors,etc.
Theincreaseintheemptyweightandthefuelcarryingcapabilityalso
requiresanincreaseinthevariousperformancecharacteristics(apayloadof
24,800lbs/11260kgisused):
ConcordeA

ConcordeB

EmptyOperatingWeight(t)

78

84.3

ZeroFuelWeight(t)

92

97.5

MaximumLandingWeight(t)

111

115.6

MaximumTakeoffWeight(t)

181.4

185.9

FuelConsumption(kg)

78.9

77.7

Range(miles)

3,690

4,079

Takeoff

119,5

109

Landing

116,7

109

AirportNoise(EPNdB)

Asthemanufacturerswerehavinggreatdifficultyinsellingthe5remaining
Concordesattheendoftheinitialproductionrunof16aircraft,theBspec
modificationsthatwouldhavebeenappliedfromproductionaircraftnumber
17onwardsnevermaterialised.Iftheadditionalrangeandperformancehad
beenavailablemanymoreairlinesmighthavepurchasedConcordeandair
travelasweknowittodaymighthavebeencompletelydifferent.
Overtheyears,sincetheintroductionofConcordebytheairlines,small
changestotheaerodynamicsoftheoriginalmodel'sspecsalongwith
operationalimprovementshaveenabledtherangeoftheaircrafttobe
increasedtonear4,500miles.Itregularlyfliesthe4,250miletripto
BarbadosfromLondonwithamaximumtakeoffweightthatisnowvery
closetothefigureestimatedfortheBmodel.Theloadcarriedisonly80
passengers,butthisisbecausewithBarbadosbeingaholidaydestinationthe
passengersprefertocarrymoreluggage...andpaythatlittlebitextra!
IftheBmodelhadbeenbuilt,therangeofConcordetodaycouldhavebeen
pushing5000miles,aswellasbenefitingfromtheincreasedsubsonic
performanceandreducednoiseemissions.

ThetechnicalknowledgeacquiredwithConcordewithoutdoubtcontributed
enormouslytothecommercialsuccessoftheEuropeanAirbusfamilyand
theirderivedversions,puttinganendtotheAmericanmonopolyinthisarea
thathadbeenpresentincivilaviationsincethe1960's.