Editing Concorde (section)

===Early studies===
In the early 1950s, [[Arnold Hall]], director of the [[Royal Aircraft Establishment]] (RAE), asked [[Morien Morgan]] to form a committee to study [[supersonic transport]] (SST). The group met in February 1954 and delivered their first report in April 1955.{{sfn|Owen|2001|p=35}} [[Robert Thomas Jones (engineer)|Robert T. Jones]]' work at [[NACA]] had demonstrated that the drag at supersonic speeds was strongly related to the span of the wing.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/langley/robert-t-jones/|title=Robert T. Jones|date=10 August 2015|website=NASA}}</ref> This led to the use of short-span, thin, trapezoidal wings such as those seen on the control surfaces of many missiles, or aircraft such as the [[Lockheed F-104 Starfighter]] interceptor or the planned [[Avro 730]] strategic bomber that the team studied. The team outlined a baseline configuration that resembled an enlarged Avro 730.{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=67}}

This short wingspan produced little lift at low speed, resulting in long take-off runs and high landing speeds.<ref>Meyer, Jan. [http://starfighter.no/web/hi-alt.html "High altitude flying with F-104"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103071113/http://www.starfighter.no/web/hi-alt.html |date=3 January 2014}}, Starfighterens veneer Norge.</ref> In an SST design, this would have required enormous engine power to lift off from existing runways, and to provide the fuel needed, "some horribly large aeroplanes" resulted.{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=67}} Based on this, the group considered the concept of an SST infeasible, and instead suggested continued low-level studies into supersonic aerodynamics.{{sfn|Conway|2005|p=67}}