Few aircraft in history have elicited as much heated debate as the Concorde. While it is undoubtedly an unparalleled piece of engineering, the Concorde SST has, in practice, proven impractical for the very purpose for which it was designed: high-speed passenger travel. Noise and pollution concerns voiced at the time of its introduction in 1976 restricted the Concorde from landing at many airports. Regardless, the aircraft was a magnificent example of problem solving on almost every level of aeronautical engineering. For example, Concorde’s large-area delta wings heated up considerably in supersonic flight; to combat this, fuel stored in the wings was used as a heat sink. As well, the steep angle of attack necessary when flying at sub-sonic speeds restricted the pilot’s forward view; to offset this, the Concorde’s nose was enabled to angle down. Despite its technical ingeniousness, the aircraft today is relegated to flying a rather symbolic prestige route between New York and the European centres of London and Paris. Passenger capacity is 100 with an average flight from New York to Paris taking only 3hrs 45min. Concorde’s record Trans-Atlantic crossing came on New Year’s Day 1983, making the trip from London to New York in a blistering 2hrs 56mins.
Unfortunately, however, this week saw the last flight by Concorde between Paris and New York, the British Airways route from London to New York will cease later in the year.
I have had the privilege to experience two flights on this beautiful aircraft between London and New York and will never forget the experience. So sad too, that most members of the flying public could not have a trip on her at least once in their lifetime. Alas, there is limited opportunity for doing so now. Prior to the terrible disaster just after take-off from Paris a couple of years back, Concorde had an unblemished reputation, but even before this her days were numbered as she could never quite pay her way. Such a sad indictment that sometimes great ingenuity does not pay. But, I mourn her passing, which is why a mention here, in General Knowledge is necessary for future reference. These are her statistics:- Aerospatiale/British Aerospace Concorde Category: Civilian Transport Type: Supersonic commercial transport Wing Span: 25.55m (83ft 10in) Length: 62.10m (203ft 9in) Powerplant: Four Rolls Royce/SNECMA Olympus 17,259kg (38,050lb) thrust turbojet engines w/17% after-burning Cruising Speed: 2179km/h (1,354mph) or Mach 2, twice the speed of sound. Range: 6228km (3,870miles) w/maximum payload Ceiling: 18290m (60,000ft)
[This message was edited on 06-04-03 at 02:37 AM.]
Concorde did (briefly and rather ineffectually) have a rival of sorts..The Tupolev TU-144
A brief bio and history... "The Tupolev Tu-144 was definitely the Sovjet Unions least fortunate commercial aviation project. It was built as a competitor to the British and French Concorde supersonic jetliner. The Sovjet Aerospace industry therefore hoped that the Tu-144 would catapult it into a leading position.
The whole program suffered a first almost fatal blow when one of the aircraft crashed in front of press and TV-cameras during a presentation at the Paris Air Show 1973. Although it seems today that the reason of the crash was a clear handling error of the flight crew, the fatal headlines, combined with other technical concerns such as a much higher fuel burn than anticipated that cut the range to unattractive figures, raised concern about the type's future.
After several modifications, the type was nevertheless put into service on mail flights - which must have been the world's costliest air mail operation ever - between Alma Ata and Moscow in 1975 in order to collect data and establish safe operating procedures.
A second crash that occured shortly after the type had been put into passenger service in 1977 brought the ambitious project to a fall. The last commericial service operated by a Tu-144 took place on June 1, 1978.
While several Tu-144 were donated to museums in Moscow Monino, Samara and Ulyanovsk, at least four Tu-144 remained in open storage in Moscow Zhukovsky. In 1995, one of them was reactivated for a series of test flights operated jointly by Russia and the United States."
**************************************** It is indeed a shame that such magnificent looking machines, and for all their faults impracticality and expense you cannot deny they are beautiful; almost aeronautical works of art, should no longer grace the skies. When I was on deck of a ship on which I worked some years ago in the English Channel we were overflown by Concorde as she hit supersonic over the sea. That sonic boom was a sound unlike any I have ever heard and tracing it's progress across the sky was amazing..you know how you look at large jets on a clear day, high up leaving a contrail in their wake??? They seem to creep along at a snails pace across the sky (I know they average somewhere between 350-500 MPH, but we're talking relative to the observer on the ground here) and you can sometimes just make out their tiny cruciform shape...well not so with Concorde. The lovely graceful white delta shape was small but unmistakable and even from ground (or should that be sea??) level it moved visibly quicker than any other aeroplane. The closest I have personally ever been to a Concorde was at Heathrow last November when it was parked in the next bay to the plane I was boarding. Close up she is definitely revealed as a piece of engineering, with lights on,nose drooped, panels and hatches opened, hoses trailing from her and all the sundry personnel and acoutrement that goes with an aeroplane being turned around and preped for flight...but oh! the transformation when she rolls out onto the tarmac and gathers her skirts up for takeoff is breathtaking. Thundering down the runway like some insane gigantic paper dart and screaming into the air like a banshee..an awesome spectacle and one that will alas soon be gone forever. Au Revior,Concorde, Bonne Chance, Les cieux seront plus vides sans vous...
emeraldcitizen Lowery's Law:If it jams,force it...if it breaks it needed replacing anyway.
"Did I.Q.'s just drop sharply while I was away?"{'Aliens',Flt.Lt. Ellen Ripley(Sigourney Weaver)}
I never got the chance to fly in the Concorde, but I saw the "bird" daily. We lived on the flight (actually - landing) path to JFK International, and so the Concorde passed us twice a day.
I'll never forget the first flight in, we were in Social Studies class as it boomed by, and everyone ran to the window to see.
Like every other daily occurance, the novelty wore off a bit - but I can say that nothing ever looked as graceful as that bird in flight!
Well when I first posted this I felt very sad, now months on, I feel even sadder as I watched the last flights of this lovely, graceful lady.
I was fortunate enough to have travelled in Concorde and what a marvellous experience I am not so pleased to have had. The feeling of being high up some 60,000 feet almost and seeing the awesome and dare I say, spiritual sight of the earth's curvature against a blackened sky is one which I shall never forget.
As some of you will know I was an Air Traffic Controller until very recently, and it is from this point of view too, that I feel sad. I think of many things over the years from an Air Traffic Control point of view in relation to this marvellouse aircraft. I've been deeply moved today.
So here I post a picture in remembrance of Concorde. The British Airways flights to New York and to Heathrow were called 'Speedbird 1 and Speedbird 2' i.e. BA001 and BA002 respectively.
IT COULD be Concorde’s final record. The last descent of the fastest passenger aircraft in the world will cause some of the slowest moving traffic West London has seen. More than 200,000 plane spotters straining for a parting glimpse of Flight BA02 at 3.55pm today will cause gridlock around Heathrow and could delay other scheduled flights as enthusiasts defy an appeal by police and airport authorities to stay at home and watch the landing on TV.
BAA Heathrow advised ordinary passengers heading off for half-term holidays to allow an extra hour for their journey to the airport and use public transport if possible.
The Highways Agency warned that the M25, M4 and other routes west of London would suffer very heavy traffic because of Concorde.
Hundreds of police officers will be on duty to manage crowds and thwart potential terrorist attacks as the supersonic jet slows from 1,350mph on its flight from New York to swoop across west London for the last time.
With all 1,000 tickets sold for the custom-built grandstand close to the northern runway, plane-spotters will have to take a gamble for the best views. The shape of Concorde’s nose means that it prefers to land against the wind. If, as in recent days, the winds are easterly, Windsor Park will be the spot. If they are from the West, best go to Richmond.
BA02 will be the last of three Concordes to land at Heathrow today. Minutes before, flight BA9021C will have arrived from Edinburgh while flight BA9022C will have completed a loop over the Atlantic.
Strapped into the ink-blue leather seats will be 100 hand-picked celebrities, including Sir David Frost and Joan Collins, who said she regretted the passing of such a great aircraft.
“I have always loved antiques,” she said.“And Concorde is the greatest antique there ever was.”
I watched the news this morning as the news reporter travelled to Bristol, where Concorde was first born. They interviewed a female engineer who had worked on the project all those years ago. I honestly felt moved by her recollection of the development, it feels a great shame for something so incredible in it's age to finally come to an end. I only wish I could have experienced, that which others have shared.
I found your picture today I swear I'll change my ways I just called to say I want you to come back home I just called to say, I love you come back home (Sheryl Crow and Kid Rock)
Stella Splendens December 22, 1985 - March 27, 2003 RIP
Posts: 1773 | Location: Devon, England | Registered: 02-04-02
