Concorde Surprise
(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter— Coptirlfihtl
TOULOSE, August 19.
Concorde 001, the French prototype of the new AngloFrench supersonic airliner, carried out a surprise first ground test yesterday. The airliner which is due to make its maiden flight in November, was taxied 200 yards along a special runway at the Toulouse-Blagnac airfield under the power of its four Rolls-Royce Olympus 5938 engines. The unscheduled test came as a complete surprise, both to journalists and to most of the staff of Sud-Aviation, the firm which has built the French prototype. Engineers working on Concorde 00-1 were stunned when Mr Andre Turcat, the company's 47-year-old chief test pilot, told them: “Take away the chocks.” He taxied the airliner for 200 yards at between six and nine miles an hour before returning to the hangar. The Concorde is expected to be given ground tests at 125 miles an hour down the runway before Wednesday. This is only 30 miles an hour less than the airliner’s take-off speed.
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Bibliographic details
Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31763, 21 August 1968, Page 6
Word Count
162Concorde Surprise Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31763, 21 August 1968, Page 6
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