On this day, 56 years ago, March 2, 1969 (January 14, 1969 in the lunar calendar), the Concorde flew for the first time. The Franco-British Concorde gradually took off and began its first flight. On March 2, 1969, the controversial supersonic jet "Concorde 001" made its maiden voyage in Toulouse. The flight was originally scheduled to take place in February 1968, but was postponed until 3:30 pm that day. The French and British collaborators crossed their fingers; the Concorde climbed quickly, and smoke spewed out from four Rolls-Royce-Olympus engines. After 28 minutes, the triangular plane successfully slid back to the ground. Driver Andrei Tilka is content with a top speed of 300 miles per hour. France and Britain eventually wanted the Concorde to cross the Atlantic at double the speed of sound in 3.5 hours. Airlines are taking a wait-and-see attitude towards Concorde. The original budget for developing this aircraft was US$500 million, but now the cost exceeds the original budget four times. Critics also worry that the Concorde is too heavy to carry full passengers across the Atlantic. If these problems can be resolved, Concorde could begin operation in 1974.