For more than 34 years, Concorde graced the skies, but no additional variants were offered during that time.
This is fairly unusual because most airliners are developed with multiple models in mind. Whether it’s through a stretched fuselage, increase in range or an improved maximum take-off weight variant, the options are seemingly endless.
However, the supersonic people carrying machine remained largely unchanged for the duration of its service with Air France and British Airways, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t any proposed variants that never left the drawing board.
In fact, there were two main ideas put forward by the Aérospatiale and BAC: a freighter variant and a model “B” design.
During the early 1980s, a major feasibility study was conducted to examine the process of converting passenger Concorde airframes into freighter variants for the US cargo giant Federal Express.
Several items required work to safely accommodate cargo in the cabin. The oxygen and air conditioning systems were the most notable, alongside the emergency lowering mechanism for the landing gear, which would have been obstructed if it were not modified.
The Memphis-based airline originally sought three British Airways Concordes, but it became c…
