Progress Towards Certification with Concorde: A condensed version of the Society of Licensed Aircraft Engineers and Technologists 1970 Farnborough Lecture

AS background, I want to go back into history and say that ARB staff have been actively engaged in SST airworthiness discussions and research both within the ARB and with Government establishments since 1956. This work led to the formation within the ARB of the Supersonic Aircraft Airworthiness Committee early in 1960, out of which was formed the embryo of what has now become the joint Anglo‐French airworthiness requirements for the SST, the TSS Standards, with which probably many of you are familiar. Work was able to start on these Standards, thanks to the foresight of those responsible for the formation of the early Committee, within a month or so of the joint Governmental decision between Britain and France to go ahead with the Concorde project. The aim in producing the joint Standards has been to present the manufacturers with a common code against which the aircraft can be certified in both countries. The ultimate aim will be to certificate simultaneously, both in Britain and France, Concordes built to identical standards. Thus we hope to make life easier for both the manufacturers and operators, since even re‐sale — if you can imagine a secondhand Concorde — will be easier because it won't involve fundamental certification problems. Additionally, a vast amount of work has been done between the USA, Britain and France in an attempt to achieve identical standards in America. This has largely been very successful and the manufacturers are now aware of the standards needed to make an aeroplane that will be acceptable to all three authorities.