Hi,wanting to make a flight with the concorde I'm wondering how to set up RC in order to allow a step climb that is typical for this a/c on her routing EGLL - KJFK. Is this feature supported?In real life above a certain altitude -FL410- controllers didn't pay attention to the altitude as there wasn't any crossing traffic. Thank you

ray is our concorde expert, i'm sure he'll be alongjd

Hi Alias,Concorde didn't perform step climbs in the conventional sense. It was restricted to sub-sonic speeds until clear of land mass. The optimum sub-sonic altitude was FL280, Mach 0.95.Regarding the EGLL-KJFK route the ACCEL point is just south of Cardiff in the Bristol Channel. At that point you should be at FL280 and ready to engage reheat.You should file a altitude of FL520-FL570 in RC. You will be hard pushed to climb above FL280 prior to the ACCEL point travelling at 400kts IAS. You will probably find RC clears you to FL330 once you approach your previous FL. Adjust your climb rate so that you reach FL280 5-10 miles prior to the ACCEL point. At the speed you're travelling you will soon reach it.Once at ACCEL you have already been cleared higher and can engage reheat and climb at a healthy rate. RC will soon clear you to FL350 and then to your assigned cruise level.The only thing you need to be aware of is that RC is intolerant of any descents during the cruise phase in order to maintain Mach 2.02. I suggest you switch off cruise/climb mode and once you reach Mach 2 engage Mach Hold and adjust the vertical climb to a climb rate of 100-200fpm. That keeps the passengers and RC happy.Finally, if you're flying a BA Concorde there's a special Speedbird Concorde call sign. :-)

>You should file a altitude of FL520-FL570 in RC. >Finally, if you're flying a BA Concorde there's a special>Speedbird Concorde call sign. :-)Hi Ray,thanks for your eplanations. Concerning the quote can you please tell me how to set up RC to accept such a range of flight levels? I thought it was possible to enter only one at time.Nice feature the custom callsign!Thank youLorenzo

Hi Lorenzo,That range of altitudes was purely a guide as to what you should supply to RC. RC can only accept a sigle altitude when you launch the program but during flight you can always request higher or lower.Real world ops for that route would typically have Concorde cruising around FL530-550 due to the temperature of the upper atmosphere. Strangely it was warmer at higher latitudes than closer to the equator preventing her climbing to the ceiling of FL600 on the New York hop.Enjoy your flight. :-)