Hello
This is one of the most incredible and informative threads on Concorde that I have found!
An introduction: I'm an artist currently living in NYC, and I've been in love with aviation since I was very little. Concorde has a very special place in my heart ever since I saw a very bad VHS copy of Airport '79 when I was 3.
The reason why I bumped into this thread was soon after her retirement, I wanted to understand how she worked, and why she was shaped and built the way she is.
I had a lot of questions, for example how was she built to allow for thermal expansion? what are those small canards behind the nose for? How do the landing gears shorten, etc. Although I am an artist, I have an above average understanding of mechanics, physics, and aviation -- at least compared to the general public.
Since I also build 3D models for animation, I decided that the best way to learn about the aircraft was to actually build one in 3D. This is a very very ambitious project, but it's the same way famous painters learnt to paint by copying the masters before them.
So, my question is, where did some of you get all those detailed diagrams of internal structures from? They're unlike any of the other line drawings I see on the internet. I'm looking for them because I want to accurately model the internal structure as a way to learn on how the plane dealt with thermal expansion / contraction and the stresses that resulted from it.
At some point I plan to release the 3D model for the public to use in CFD simulations, and to "peel back the skin" and look inside. An interactive model is better than a flat 2D drawing!
Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to let you guys know where I'm coming from.
Thank you!