Teamistry

Part 6: Will Sonic Booms Return to our Skies?

Why did Concorde disappear from our skies? In the final episode, we pose this question to the people closest to the Concorde project, from the teams who engineered its first flight to those who picked up the debris after the fatal Air France crash. We also discuss Concorde's legacy, and its impact on the aviation sector, on travel itself, and on the personal and professional lives of those who built the plane. And before they turn off their mics for the season, host Nastaran Tavakoli-Far and lead producer Pedro Mendes, alongside aviation journalist Eric Tegler, take a closer look at some recent projects that promise to fly us faster than the speed of sound – again.Guests in this episode:Jonathan Glancey, author of 'Concorde: The Rise and Fall of the Supersonic Airliner'Michel Polacco, French aviation reporter, and author of a book on the Concorde in FrenchMike Hall, Chief Engineer for Concorde Support OperationsKatie John, Editor of Mach 2 magazineJohn Britton, Chief Engineer of the British Concorde fleetYves Gourinat, former Airbus employee during Concorde’s last decade, and currently an Aviation professor at the University of Toulouse.Ricky Bastin, Technical Liaison Engineer at Concorde.Eric Tegler, Journalist covering Aerospace and DefenceFor more on this episode, visit: https://www.atlassian.com/blog/podcast/teamistry/season/season-4/will-sonic-booms-return-to-our-skies

Part 5: Rising from the Ashes

In the late afternoon of July 25th, 2000, a Concorde crashed into a hotel near Charles de Gaulle airport. Air France flight 4590 was carrying 100 passengers, most of them tourists from Germany, along with a crew of nine. All perished, including four people on the ground. The incident shocked the globe, and halted Air France Concorde operations indefinitely. On this episode of Teamistry, host Nastaran Tavakoli-Far and lead producer Pedro Mendes sit down with the team of engineers who played a leading role in piecing together the evidence from the crash site, hoping to learn exactly what went wrong. We gain insights through cockpit recordings and an interview with a friend of the pilot who tells the story of the crash – and its aftermath – truthfully and respectfully. We also address a common myth that the crash spelled the end of Concorde.Guests in this episode:Jonathan Glancey, author of 'Concorde: The Rise and Fall of the Supersonic Airliner'Michel Polacco, French aviation reporter, and author of a book on the Concorde in FrenchMike Hall, Chief Engineer for Concorde Support OperationsKatie John, Editor of Mach 2 magazineJohn Britton, Chief Engineer of the British Concorde fleetDudley Collard, member of the Aerodynamics Design team at ConcordeYves Gourinat, former Airbus employee during Concorde’s last decade, and currently an Aviation professor at the University of Toulouse.Ricky Bastin, Technical Liaison Engineer at Concorde.For more on this episode, visit: https://www.atlassian.com/blog/podcast/teamistry/season/season-4/rising-from-the-ashes.

Part 4: Becoming the Sexiest Flight on Earth

As teams of engineers work around the clock to keep the supersonic airplane safe and in the air, to the outside world Concorde has become a pop cultural icon. Princess Diana, Mick Jagger, Phil Collins, Joan Collins, Sting – these celebrities form an A-list of frequent flyers. The in-flight menu includes haute cuisine and expensive champaign; air travel aboard Concorde is a high-class, celebratory experience. To join this jet set in the air becomes anyone's most romantic travel dream, and taking a Concorde flight becomes a status symbol. The airplane is the toast of engineering circles and entertainment magazines alike. It inspires art and is even the protagonist in the movie "Airport ‘79," a thriller where a Concorde is chased by jet fighters. But in the real world, Concorde faces serious existential threats from political developments, regulations, and protests, and the only way to save it further limits who actually gets to experience the sexiest flight on Earth.Guests in this episode:Jonathan Glancey, author of 'Concorde: The Rise and Fall of the Supersonic Airliner'Michel Polacco, French aviation reporter, and author of a book on the Concorde in FrenchMike Hall, Chief Engineer for Concorde Support OperationsKatie John, Editor of Mach 2 magazineJohn Britton, Chief Engineer of the British Concorde fleetYves Gourinat, former Airbus employee during Concorde’s last decade, and currently an Aviation professor at the University of Toulouse.Ricky Bastin, Technical Liaison Engineer at Concorde.For more on this episode and to see Katie John's painting referenced in this episode, visit: https://www.atlassian.com/blog/podcast/teamistry/season/season-4/becoming-the-sexiest-flight-on-earth 

Part 3: "The Big Bird Flies!"

Years of hard work, innovation, and unprecedented collaboration between teams in the U.K. and France make the impossible, possible: the first French Concorde prototype takes flight, and a new page in aviation history is written. But the supersonic airplane isn’t ready to ferry passengers just yet. As you’ll hear in episode 3, Concorde’s journey from prototype to commercial air travel is beset by unforeseen challenges throughout the 1970s. The Oil Crisis makes the gas-guzzling plane commercially unviable, and several international carriers cancel their orders. Environmentalists protest against Concorde with claims of "Aviation Colonialism," and some communities are dealing with "sonic booms" – the thunderous clap heard from the ground when a Concorde flying overhead breaks the speed of sound. Not everyone’s happy with the realities of the supersonic dream – and they make their displeasure known.

Part 2: Building the Fastest Passenger Jet Ever

In this episode, host Nastaran Tavakoli-Far and Lead Producer Pedro Mendes travel to the Musée Aeroscopia in Toulouse, France, where they stand spellbound marveling at a giant, glistening Air France Concorde. And they meet with nonagenarian Dudley Collard, a member of Concorde’s Aerodynamics Design team. When the recording crew mention the beauty of Concorde, engineer Collard quips that all he can see are the flaws. Indeed, the story of Concorde includes a seemingly never-ending set of problems faced by these international teams just to get a prototype in the air, and how they responded by developing new ways of working together. Also in episode two: the suspicion of espionage and the capture of spies, the Americans enter the supersonic race, and how Soviet Russia's desire to overtake Concorde’s dream of supersonic flight leads to a nightmare.Guests in this episode:Jonathan Glancey, author of 'Concorde: The Rise and Fall of the Supersonic Airliner'Katie John, Editor of Mach 2 magazineNigel Ferris, a former clerk in the hangers where the British Concorde fleet was builtJohn Britton, Chief Engineer of the British Concorde fleetTed Talbot (through an actor’s voice), Chief Design Engineer at Concorde and author of the memoir ‘Concorde, A Designer's Life’Yves Gourinat, former Airbus employee during Concorde’s last decade and currently an Aviation professor at the University of Toulouse.Michel Polacco, French aviation reporter, and author of a book on the Concorde in FrenchRicky Bastin, Technical Liaison Engineer at Concorde.Dudley Collard, member of the Aerodynamics Design team at ConcordeFor more on this episode, visit: https://www.atlassian.com/blog/podcast/teamistry/season/season-4/building-the-fastest-passenger-jet-ever