"Scott M. Kozel" wrote in message
...
How could an SST like the Concorde get from cruising altitude down to
10,000 feet in 3-5 minutes?

Easy, it's called an Emergency Descent. Power to idle, spoilers/speedbrakes
deployed, maybe gear extended (depends on aircraft), then dive at redline
speed. The airplane I fly (Lear 60) it takes an initial deck angle of ~ 20
degrees nose down to obtain redline, then ~ 10-12 degrees to hold it there.

We practice it every time we have a simulator check. Never takes more than
3 mins to get from FL450 to 10,000 ft.

Mish