The Concorde Breaking the Sound Barrier
Today in History: This day in 2003 marks the last flight of the Concorde supersonic jet. It had a maximum speed over twice the speed of sound, at Mach 2.04 (1,354 mph or 2,180 km/h at cruise altitude), with seating for 92 to 128 passengers. "The record time for Paris-to-NY was (and still is) two hours, 52 minutes and 59 seconds. On average, the Concorde traveled one mile every two and three quarter seconds. It was so fast that on westbound flights, it was possible to arrive at a local time that was earlier than when you left your original destination. And of course Concorde's publicists didn't miss that opportunity: British Airways used the slogan 'Arrive before you leave.'" Mental Floss
The Concorde would reach up to 60,000 ft, a height of over 11 miles and due to the intense heat of the airframe, and the aircraft used to stretch anywhere from 6 to 10 inches during flight. Every surface, even the windows, was warm to the touch by the end of the flight.
The accompanying video records the noise of the Concorde breaking the sound barrier (at about the 1:00 mark) and it is quite dramatic.
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