Vintage Space Models Limited British Airways Concorde Model Airplane. Created by Space Models Limited, in British Airways livery, complete with a stand. Made of fiberglass and plastic composite. Small torn label indicates it was made by the Space Models company, likely between the 1970s and 1990s.

Size: 23 1/2 x 10 1/4 x 9 in. 

#8366 . 

Concorde is a retired Anglo-French supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France and the United Kingdom signed a treaty establishing the development project in 1962 at an estimated cost of £70 million (£1.68 billion in 2023). Construction of the six prototypes began in February 1965, and the first flight took off from Toulouse on March 2nd, 1969. The market was predicted for 350 aircraft, and the manufacturers received up to 100 option orders from many major airlines. On October 9th, 1975 it received its French Certificate of Airworthiness, with the UK CAA approving them two months later. The unique tailless aircraft design with a narrow fuselage permitting 4-abreast seating for 92 to 128 passengers, and possessed an ogival delta wing and a droop nose for landing visibility. It was powered by four Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593 turbojets with variable engine intake ramps with rapid heating ability for take-off and acceleration to supersonic speed. Constructed out of aluminum, it was the first airliner to have analogue fly-by-wire flight controls. The airliner could maintain a supercruise up to Mach 2.04 at an altitude of 60,000 feet. Unfortunately, delays and cost overruns increased the program cost to £1.5-2.1 billion in 1976 (£11-16 billion in 2023). Concorde entered service on January 21st, 1976 with Air France from Paris-Roissy airport, simultaneously with British Airways from London Heathrow. Transatlantic flights were the main market, specifically to Washington Dulles and New York JFK early on. Air France and British Airways remained the sole customers with seven airframes each, for a total production of twenty. Supersonic flight more than halved travel times, but sonic booms over the ground limited it to transoceanic flights only. Its only true competitor was the Tupolev Tu-144, a Soviet supercharger developed and operational in the same period, carrying passengers from November 1977 until a May 1978 crash. Another potential competitor, the Boeing 2707, was canceled in 1971 before any prototypes were built. On July 25th, 2000, Air France Flight 4590 crashed shortly after take-off with all 109 occupants and four on the ground killed. This was the only fatal incident involving Concorde; commercial service was suspended until November 2001. The surviving aircraft were retired in 2003, just 27 years after commercial operations had begun. All but 2 of the 20 aircraft built have been preserved and are on display across Europe and North America. Their unique design and concept reflected the futurism wave that swept through design, fashion, and art in the Space Age, and remains a recognizable symbol of human ingenuity decades after its disappearance from the air.