The popÂuÂlarÂiÂty of the phrase “style over subÂstance” has encourÂaged us to assume an inherÂent and absolute divide between those conÂcepts. But as the most ambiÂtious works of man remind us, style pushed to its limÂits its subÂstance, and vice verÂsa. This truth has been expressed in varÂiÂous speÂcialÂized ways: archiÂtect Louis SulÂliÂvan’s maxÂim “form folÂlows funcÂtion,” for examÂple, which went on to attain someÂthing like scripÂturÂal staÂtus among modÂernists of the mid-twenÂtiÂeth cenÂtuÂry. It was in that same era that aeroÂspace engiÂneerÂing proÂduced one of the most gloÂriÂous proofs of the uniÂty of style and subÂstance, form and funcÂtion, mechanÂics and aesÂthetÂics: ConÂcorde, the superÂsonÂic jetÂlinÂer that flew between 1976 and 2003.
Nobody who flew on ConÂcorde (colÂloÂquiÂalÂly but not offiÂcialÂly “the” ConÂcorde) has forÂgotÂten it. The sharpÂness and length of its ascent; the thrust of the after-burnÂer, pressÂing you into your seat like the accelÂerÂaÂtion of a high-perÂforÂmance sports car; the visÂiÂble curÂvaÂture of the Earth and the deep purÂple of the sky; the impecÂcaÂble food and drink serÂvice that turned a flight between New York and LonÂdon into a sumpÂtuÂous French meal. A host of forÂmer pasÂsenÂgers, crew memÂbers, and pilots remÂiÂnisce vividÂly about all this in the BBC docÂuÂmenÂtary ConÂcorde: A SuperÂsonÂic StoÂry. That stoÂry is told more briefly in the Vox video at the top of the post, which asks the quesÂtion, “This plane could cross the Atlantic in 3.5 hours. Why did it fail?”
The short answer has to do with busiÂness viaÂbilÂiÂty. At superÂsonÂic speeds an airÂcraft leaves a sonÂic boom in its wake, which relÂeÂgatÂed ConÂcorde to transoceanÂic flights. Its inabilÂiÂty to hold enough fuel to cross the PacifÂic left New York-LonÂdon, operÂatÂed by British AirÂways, as its sole viable route, with Air France also runÂning between New York and Paris. For ConÂcorde was an Anglo-French project, launched as a partÂnerÂship between the two govÂernÂments in 1962, at the height of the Space Age — and despite enorÂmous subÂseÂquent cost overÂruns an effecÂtiveÂly un-canÂceÂlable one, since one counÂtry couldÂn’t pull out withÂout the othÂer’s say-so.
With nationÂal pride at stake, French comÂmitÂment did much to make ConÂcorde what it was. “Because it went so fast, the V.I.P.s on board wouldÂn’t need much more, from an EngÂlish point of view, than a sandÂwich, a cup of tea, and a glass of whiskey,” says Jonathan Glancey, author of ConÂcorde: The Rise and Fall of the SuperÂsonÂic AirÂlinÂer. But the French said, “No, this a luxÂuÂry airÂcraft,” and it was ultiÂmateÂly luxÂuÂry — as well as a sleekÂly funcÂtionÂal silÂhouÂette that nevÂer stopped lookÂing futurÂisÂtic — that kept ConÂcorde going until its retireÂment in 2003. (Nor could the conÂveÂnience facÂtor be ignored, for investÂment bankers and interÂnaÂtionÂal celebriÂties alike: “It’s always excitÂing to get to New York before you’ve left,” said freÂquent fliÂer Sting.)
“The real flaw in ConÂcorde was not techÂnoÂlogÂiÂcal but social,” writes FranÂcis Spufford in the LonÂdon Review of Books. “Those who comÂmisÂsioned it assumed that air travÂel would remain, as it was in 1962, someÂthing done by the rich: and not the mobile, hard-workÂing manÂageÂrÂiÂal rich either, but the gildÂed upper-crust celebriÂty rich,” the origÂiÂnal “jet set.” Alas, the future lay not with speed but volÂume: “The BoeÂing 747 was just as bold a leap into the unknown as ConÂcorde, just as extreme in its deparÂture from the norm; nothÂing so large had ever left the ground before. And Boeing’s gamÂble paid off.” SuperÂsonÂic jetÂlinÂers have nevÂerÂtheÂless re-entered develÂopÂment in recent years, and if any come to marÂket, they’ll sureÂly do so with such luxÂuÂries unknown in the Space Age as perÂsonÂal, on-demand enterÂtainÂment sysÂtems. But will anyÂthing they can show be as thrilling as ConÂcorde’s cabÂin speedomeÂter reachÂing mach two?
RelatÂed conÂtent:
An AniÂmatÂed HisÂtoÂry Of AviÂaÂtion: From da Vinci’s SketchÂes to ApolÂlo 11
NASA CapÂtures First Air-to-Air Images of SuperÂsonÂic ShockÂwaves InterÂactÂing in Flight
Based in Seoul, ColÂin MarÂshall writes and broadÂcasts on cities, lanÂguage, and culÂture. His projects include the SubÂstack newsletÂter Books on Cities, the book The StateÂless City: a Walk through 21st-CenÂtuÂry Los AngeÂles and the video series The City in CinÂeÂma. FolÂlow him on TwitÂter at @colinmarshall, on FaceÂbook, or on InstaÂgram.
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