Mach 2 In The Concorde | Colimata Concorde V3| XP12.4.2 | RX9070XT

The regular price of $50 for Colimata's Concorde is well worth it, but on sale, it's the cheapest complex airliner add-on for X-Plane 12 that I know (maybe after RVD's Caravelle III).

It's a high quality package, very faithful (within X-Plane's limitations) and very challenging to learn and operate (at least initially). Good quality of life features like X-Plane flightplan support for its INS, the aircraft status and configuration UI, automatic ASI speed bugs for takeoff and landing, the virtual flight engineer, integrated pushback, etc. Negligible frame rate impact from the systems, but switching on all the cockpit lights causes a bit of a hit (probably more caused by X-Plane's rendering engine than the add-on itself). Great product support and regular updates.

The cockpit with its controls and quirks (HDG/TRK knob on the AP!) makes for a steep learning curve, not really helped by the documentation and checklists. Once you get the basics down, you'll find that the aircraft was surprisingly automated for its age. I found the best way to learn it is to watch videos of other users fly it (like IntoTheBlue's flight with part 1 and part 2). The autopilot sometimes struggles a bit trying to get on track or attain a preset pitch or vertical climb rate, but if you're careful during critical phases (takeoff, landing, transonic transition, supersonic deceleration) and have some experience, it works out. The first officer and flight engineer are also a bit too quiet for my taste, with some announcements drowning in the cockpit noise.

X-Plane's ATC doesn't help with realistic procedures, as you don't get any priority or speed waivers or altitude blocks as the real thing did. Prepare for lots of nagging if you want to fly it true to the real thing. Or comply with ATC and prepare for agonizingly slow approaches or less than opttimum cruise behaviour.

All in all, flying the Concorde is 100 times more rewarding than a subsonic airliner. Great if you want to do a transatlantic flight, but do not have 7 hours to spare to do it in a 747.

As for the video, I'm taking note of his transonic acceleration/deceleration and supersonic deceleration technique. Mine still is a lot less smooth.

Edited May 22May 22 by Bjoern

@Bjoern , THANK YOU for the excellent comments and precious information about the addon and th details about it's realistic operation.

Looks like a "must buy" !

Edited May 22May 22 by jcomm

The Concorde - beentempted way too many times for this one - but where to I find another year to get used to this supersonic airliner. The Concorde it has Followed me about from sim to sim over the years- so far managed to set itt out. Noted a well known moderator on this forum does not fly anything else I understand. Think this is a FE's aeroplane reading up on the Concorde and the fact the FE spent his time moving fuel about between a complex series of tanks through the fuselage and wings to keep the beast cool in flight. then transistion speeds - whew all a bit much - fear If I got it it would then sit in the big back hangar for a long long time.

16 minutes ago, coastaldriver said:

The Concorde - beentempted way too many times for this one - but where to I find another year to get used to this supersonic airliner. The Concorde it has Followed me about from sim to sim over the years- so far managed to set itt out. Noted a well known moderator on this forum does not fly anything else I understand. Think this is a FE's aeroplane reading up on the Concorde and the fact the FE spent his time moving fuel about between a complex series of tanks through the fuselage and wings to keep the beast cool in flight. then transistion speeds - whew all a bit much - fear If I got it it would then sit in the big back hangar for a long long time.

There is a Virtual FE available, plus other assistance, that makes this addon quite approachable 🤙

I personally prefer the Tomcat for Mach 2. 😎

There is also a phenomenal Heritage mod for it that takes it a lot more into "study level" realm.

Well have to call it the JComm Memorial Hangar - I just had afresh Concorde delivered to the XP World- to be admired and visited from time to time. Pretty imposing in the flesh. Well what can one say - of course it is an aviation miracle and word not allowed probably one of the most beautiful aircraft designs of the last 100 years . Anyway no more looking on she is there now -got me again.

Edited May 28May 28 by coastaldriver

Guys, I was away for a few days in the hot days of Paris this week, but retirned and read your messages.

Thanks for sharingf your thoughts!

I am tempted to get this Concorde for Xp12 ;-)

20 hours ago, UrgentSiesta said:

I personally prefer the Tomcat for Mach 2. 😎

On one hand yes, but on the other hand show me a military aircraft (SR-71/A-12 aside) that can do mach 2 and sustain that speed coast to coast.

2 hours ago, Bjoern said:

On one hand yes, but on the other hand show me a military aircraft (SR-71/A-12 aside) that can do mach 2 and sustain that speed coast to coast.

This is true, but try as I might, I can never seem to recover the Concorde to an aircraft carrier 😎🤙

Honestly, the thing about the Concorde that I can't quite grip yet are the fuel tanks. There are 11. I am sure Ray P is the local resident expert on it. Because of that, I have to use auto-trim. Don't quite have the knowledge to manually trim for various levels of flight. I finally did get an idea of how to use INS navigation, thanks to the iniBuilds TriStar that kind of holds your hand through it, but also lets you take over as you get more comfortable. The Concorde fuel system is another thing to learn. But that's for another day!

8 hours ago, BostonJeremy77 said:

Honestly, the thing about the Concorde that I can't quite grip yet are the fuel tanks. There are 11. I am sure Ray P is the local resident expert on it. Because of that, I have to use auto-trim. Don't quite have the knowledge to manually trim for various levels of flight. I finally did get an idea of how to use INS navigation, thanks to the iniBuilds TriStar that kind of holds your hand through it, but also lets you take over as you get more comfortable. The Concorde fuel system is another thing to learn. But that's for another day!

BostonJeremy - I recall reading up on a number of accident reports on the Concorde particularly the last tragic flight that ended the aircrafts operational like. I learnt from the reports that because of the issue of metal stretch with speed (supersonic) skin friction as an issue (ala the SR71) so they had this ingenious but hellish system by which all the cold fuel was pumped continously acround the airframe and bdtween tanks left and right, leading edges etc etc. poof old FE must never stopped. So that is why the tank system. Rest seems quite straightforward - needs to go fast go high and just do bit like a fighter interceptor - straight up into the cruise and run. Not sure about the slow down or transistion to subsonic flight on descent - tricky it seems by inspection. Otherwise at the moment just sitting in that Cockpit and getting an appreciation for it - worse comes to worse could start reading the extensive manuals

10 hours ago, BostonJeremy77 said:

Honestly, the thing about the Concorde that I can't quite grip yet are the fuel tanks. There are 11. I am sure Ray P is the local resident expert on it. Because of that, I have to use auto-trim. Don't quite have the knowledge to manually trim for various levels of flight. I finally did get an idea of how to use INS navigation, thanks to the iniBuilds TriStar that kind of holds your hand through it, but also lets you take over as you get more comfortable. The Concorde fuel system is another thing to learn. But that's for another day!

https://www.heritageconcorde.com/fuel-transfer

On the virtual Concorde, I'll happily leave the fuel trim to the virtual FE as it's part of his job description, not mine.

Edited May 29May 29 by Bjoern

The profile is, I believe... take off with Reheat on, then turn them off for noise abatement. Then after 10,000, turn the reheats on, accelerate to 350 knots and FL280. That should put you at FL280 at Mach .95. Reheats go off and cruise with that until over water. Then reheats back on and max climb to 60,000 with reheats on. Reheats come off at Mach 1.7 You should be around FL500 when you reach Mach 2.0. From there on, it's Max Climb/Max Cruise to 60,000 with reheats off at Mach 2.02.

Hell what is the fuel burn at FT with reheat? F600 is just to keep it nicencold thin air less drag go faster at twice the height of the stropopause as well. Those RR Olympus are sure big engines down there in their box pods at the back of the wing. See that CoG is critical all the way for aerodynamic control from take off to landing and cruise - trim trim trim is the golden rule it seems. This one likes to move about it as it goes.

Have to have the honorary PROUDFOOT club now for the Concordians here HA!