The Droop Nose is a recognisable feature of Concorde and the Tu-144. When these aircraft were in service, the pilot would drop the nose so they would have more visibility of the runway and taxiways. When in flight, the nose would be raised. There was also a moving visor that would rise and drop with the nose.

The principle of the droop nose was tested on a converted Fairey FD2 experimental aircraft. The Concorde droop nose was designed and manufactured under sub contract by Marshall Aerospace in Cambridge, UK.

Aircraft components