The roar of supersonic aircraft: Ciudad Juárez welcomes the Concorde

The new home of the titan of the skies at the Injectronic Convention Center has everything necessary to make the user experience unique. It features more than one hundred pieces from the plane and memorabilia that will transport visitors back in time to a time of luxury and good taste.

This museum has gone through various stages, each surpassing its predecessor in aesthetics and immersive experience. It was in 2004 when British Airways began negotiations to distribute the complete aircraft and their components. During this period, a group of Juárez residents, led by businessman Héctor Núñez Polanco, contacted the agencies responsible for this distribution in Birmingham, England. Once the arrangements were completed, transporting the parts to the border was an odyssey, as Abraham Zúñiga and Virgilio Polanco had to travel to the European country with the intention of transporting more than ten tons of Concorde components.

This route was dizzying, involving a thirty-day sea route to Houston, Texas, and later to our neighboring city, El Paso. Finally, the museum opened its doors in 2004 in an industrial complex on Rafael Pérez Serna Avenue, where its history began as one of the complexes designed to enhance the aeronautical industry. Later, in 2016, it opened its doors at 2091 Av. de la Industria as the Injecto Gallery, where it once again captivated the people of Juárez with a more established approach. This innovative space has moved to 2050 Antonio J. Bermúdez Street in 2024, as part of the Injectronic Convention Center.

Perhaps the most emblematic thing about this aircraft is the technology that was implemented in its creation, as it has a control cabin that moves depending on the phase of flight, this allowed it to achieve its purpose as the first supersonic commercial aircraft. This vehicle began to be conceived since the 1950s, when the United Kingdom, France, the United States and the Soviet Union were in a race to be the first in speed, which is how it became attractive to create an aircraft with the speed of a military aircraft that was for commercial use. It was the British company Bristol Aeroplane Company (BAC) that worked on the Type 223.9 project and the French Sud Aviation on Super-Caravelle, financed by the government of each respective nation. Finally, they realized that it would be by joining forces in an act of harmony, they would build something never seen before, said international treaty derived in the name of this engineering icon.

The Concorde also stood out for its engineering. Its high-end materials were not due to exclusivity; rather, its entire design required the highest quality. It was developed through the cooperation of France and England. It had delta wings, Rolls-Royce 543 engines, titanium parts, specialized brakes, and several features that made its design the most efficient at the time. When combined with the materials, this made it a high-quality vehicle. Everything inside the plane was high-end. In a word, the Concorde was an aeronautical gem that embodied everything specialized in it.

By 1960, the first designs were ready, and it wasn’t until September 4, 1971, that Concorde 001 made its first transatlantic flight. Subsequently, on June 2, 1972, a second flight was made using Concorde 002. On January 21, 1976, the aircraft began commercial flights on the London-Bahrain, Paris-Rio de Janeiro, and Paris-Mexico City routes. The reality is that this vehicle was a true experience of luxury and technology. Not only because of the beauty of the aircraft as a whole, but also because any aircraft that exceeds Mach 10 shifts its center of pressure rearward, and with this, the engineers designed the wings differently than conventional ones: the so-called delta wings, combined with its four Olympus 593 engines created by Rolls-Royce, its Bugatti landing gear, and titanium components to make it lighter and more functional.

While this plane’s transatlantic voyages were unique in their luxury and speed, they were worthy of applause, few could afford a ticket that cost $7,500, more than $15,000 in today’s dollars. Added to this, the plane’s high maintenance costs and the crash of July 25, 2000, ultimately took this metal colossus off the air. However, its legacy and the engineering innovation it left behind are worthy of study, especially in a country with a long history of industry and students developing in this field. With the arrival of this museum, the possibility opens up for the people of Juárez to experience firsthand the fascinating history of an aviation icon.

The Concorde Museum is located at 2050 Antonio J. Bermúdez Street, inside the Injectronic Convention Center. It will be open on Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with free admission.