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Speed
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).
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