The Concorde cruises at Mach 2, or twice the speed of sound*. That means you
can get to places in a Concorde faster than in a regular airplane. In fact, you
can "arrive before you leave!" How? Well, it's a matter of timing. For example,
if you flew from London to New York, it would take you 3.5 hours. You could
leave London at 5 PM and arrive in New York at 3:30 PM—1.5 hours
before time of take-off! Why? Because you crossed 5 time zones (setting the
clock back 5 hours) in just 3.5 hours.
Concorde Speed Facts
Take-off: 402 kph (250 mph)
Cruising: 2,150 kph (1,336 mph/Mach 2) at 16,765 m (55,000 ft)
Landing: 300 kph (187 mph)
* The generally accepted speed of sound in air is 344 m/sec (1,130 ft/sec or 758 mi/hr) at 20°C (68°F).
