It’s been 20 years since Concorde carried its last passengers.
Since then, stories of what it was like to fly the supersonic icon of the sky have become the stuff of legends.
One passenger recently shared insights on what the journey entailed, which included loud noises, severe jet lag, and a certificate signed by the flight crew.
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Concorde was the first and last commercial plane to break the sound barrier.
It’s now considered an icon of the aviation world.
Stories about what it was like to pilot and how passengers were served champagne and caviar have achieved legendary status.
Reports on what it was like to fly Concorde are varied, some saying it was the epitome of luxury and others saying it was surprisingly cramped.
One passenger has shared their insights, as well as photos of the surreal view from the plane’s windows.
He flew Concorde in 1999, taking the popular route from New York to London.
This journey took four hours, which is how long NASA’s new supersonic jet will take to fly the same route.
Today’s rules didn’t apply on board this plane, and the passenger spent half an hour in the cockpit chatting to the pilots.
Which, considering how unique the plane’s cockpit looked, must have been incredible.
You might think flying at Mach 2.0 would be uncomfortable, but he says it felt no different from a regular flight.
The most exciting part was the view, which showed the curve of the Earth.
“Even saw the day/night terminator (Earth’s shadow) as we approached the UK,” he said.
Another passenger shared their experience too.
For him, the main difference was the noise: Concorde was very loud thanks to the afterburners used at takeoff.
Another unique touch was the display that showed the altitude and speed in the passenger cabin, which regular commercial aircraft don’t have.
And then there was the jet lag, which was far more intense than regular flights.
“It knocked you off-balance for almost four days,” he says.
And in case you needed proof that you’d flown faster than the speed of sound, Concorde gave out documents to confirm it.
At the end of the flight, the flight attendants would hand out certificates signed by the crew.
As memories of flying Concorde fade, a new fleet of supersonic jets is making its way to the runways of the future.
NASA’s X-59 will break the sound barrier silently while Stargazer promises to travel from New York to London in just one hour.
Whether or not you’ll get a certificate after these flights is still to be seen.
