Inside the Cockpit of a Concorde

Concorde revolutionized commercial air travel with its supersonic speeds and other unique features. Whether it was the design of the aircraft, the cabin interior, or the way the aircraft was utilized, Concorde was different from other aircraft at the time in many ways.

Corcorde’s flight deck was also considered very different from that of traditional aircraft. The flight deck had an inherent complexity, not only due to its supersonic nature, which was not generally seen on other commercial aircraft.

Concorde’s flight deck looked rather complicated, but it was also a complicated plane to operate. The basic flight controls would have looked familiar to most pilots, as they included all the usual flight instruments. However, there were more bits and pieces, too, presenting the flight crew with additional information unique to Concorde’s role.

One of the main differences that instantly stands out is the additional bank of control panels on the right-hand side. Concorde required a minimum flight crew of three, with a flight engineer working alongside the two pilots. This was common at the time – the Boeing 707, 727, and 747 were all designed for a three-person crew. It was dropped for the 747-400, 757, and 767 but was standard at Concorde’s design and early operation.

It also had a very packed flight deck compared to other passenger jets. Due to the streamlined front end of Concorde, the aircraft had a narrower cockpit than most planes, with less headroom above. That meant buttons, dials, and switches had to be packed in much more tightly, adding to the sense of a crowded, confined space.

Although Concorde’s small dimensions effectively created the sense of a packed-in bank of instruments, there wasn’t much more on this busy flight deck than you’d find on any other airliner at the time.

(via Simple Flying)