From Paris to Rio at 2000km/hour

Press, 7 March 1978, Page 19

From Paris to Rio at 2000km/hour

An “ordinary” jet normally takes 11 hours and 10 minutes to bridge the 10,000 km gap across the Atlantic between Paris and Rio de Janeiro. This Air France Concorde flight today, however, will halve that time to a mere five hours and 35 minutes. That’s fast!

The digital speed indicator in the cabin, hovers between M 2.02 and M 2.04, which in passenger terms, means we are travelling at between 2000 - 2200 km (around 1400 m.p.h.), which is twice the speed of sound. At eleven miles and a half up, the curvature of the earth can be clearly seen, and if one cranes one’s neck to gaze upwards through the tiny cabin window, the sky is a dark, navy blue colour. A refuelling stop in Dakar was completed in less than 40 minutes from touch down to take-off.

Impressive statistics. But what about the journey itself? Both Air France and British Airways are doing a hard sell. The passenger is cossetted from the moment he arrives in the concourse of the new Charles de Gaulle airport until hp is given a fond au revoir at his destination in Rio.

The seating is adequate, but not as spacious as a 747 Jumbo. There are only four seats abreast, split down the centre by a narrow aisle. After all, I suppose this is to be expected when sitting in a dart, compared with an aircraft, for that is all the Concorde really is. A beautiful, sleek white dart, conveying 128 people in a hurry. Head room was noticeably limited (especially after the Jumbo’s) and a most annoying feature was the lack of pocket space behind the seats, which made it impossible to store books and other miscellaneous literature. Also, a poor design feature in my opinion, was the location and mechanism of the individual tables. These were stored proud of the, seats, not inset, and opened out at shin level, and were then

lifted up to a convenient height by a complicated system of slides and spider legs. One would have thought on a plane so technically advanced as this, that an easier and tidier method of storing a table could have been devised. There is practically no vibration at all, except that at Mach 2 there were spasms .of quite intense vibration for periods of five minutes or so which felt as if one was travelling very fast in a car over cobblestones. This vibration is caused by C.A.T. (or clear air turbulance) which apparently exists at this height. It is quite disconcerting at first, especially when one considers the speed at which one is travelling. The engine noise inside the cabin was impossible to detect but at 1500 km/h and above, there was a very noticeable “whooshing” sound, like a dozen airconditioning units, and to carry on a conversation one had to speak at cocktail party volume. Two features that compete with so many others for recognition are the sheer feeling of power, and the supreme aethetic beauty of the aircraft itself. The “G” force on take-off, the climbing angle, the rate of climb, and the weightlessness one feels as the aircraft resumes horizontal flight, are just indescribable.

At 1200 km/h the captain advises that, in eight minutes, we will attain Mach 2, and suddenly we realise just how much spare power there is in this plane as the additional acceleration forces us back firmly against the seat cushions.

On the ground, with the nose up and in its flying position, the lines and appearance of this aircraft are supurb. Sleek, squat, yet so slim — never have 1 seen a machine of such grace and beauty. But to come down to earth . , . my hotel in Rio was 30 kilometres away from the airport and this journey lasted just over half the time it took to complete the Paris to Rio distance. Quite ridiculous, isn’t it?

Mr Cooper is export manager of C. W. F Hamilton and Company, Ltd.