Roll call, who has flown Concorde?
Discussion
"The Space Shuttle has been around as long as Concorde and they still havent got it quite right".
Not quite.
The Concorde project began in 1962 (although preliminary work on SST designs had already been in in progress in France and Britain since at least 1958).
The Shuttle project got the go-ahead in 1972 following a review of competing concepts submitted to NASA between 1970 and 1972. So, the Shuttle is about a decade younger in design to Concorde.
I do think that the Virgin Galactic/Spaceship 1 concept is the beginning of a new era. In a few years ordinary civilians will be flying in a craft at over Mach 6 (nearly three times faster than Concorde). Of course, the two concepts are radically different and have been built for entirely different purposes. However, in 20 or 30 years, if the Virgin concept proves feasible, there is no reason to see why developed versions could not be carrying more passengers further distances on sub-orbital flights.
As for not getting the Shuttle "quite right" - it's as "right" as it ever will be. It's a flawed concept and has done more damage to manned spaceflight than enabled progress to be made.
Not quite.
The Concorde project began in 1962 (although preliminary work on SST designs had already been in in progress in France and Britain since at least 1958).
The Shuttle project got the go-ahead in 1972 following a review of competing concepts submitted to NASA between 1970 and 1972. So, the Shuttle is about a decade younger in design to Concorde.
I do think that the Virgin Galactic/Spaceship 1 concept is the beginning of a new era. In a few years ordinary civilians will be flying in a craft at over Mach 6 (nearly three times faster than Concorde). Of course, the two concepts are radically different and have been built for entirely different purposes. However, in 20 or 30 years, if the Virgin concept proves feasible, there is no reason to see why developed versions could not be carrying more passengers further distances on sub-orbital flights.
As for not getting the Shuttle "quite right" - it's as "right" as it ever will be. It's a flawed concept and has done more damage to manned spaceflight than enabled progress to be made.
Edited by Eric Mc on Friday 29th August 09:40
Eric Mc said:
You need to elaborate on what you are trying to say.
Are you implying that Farnborough and its various establishments (the RAE, The Institute of Aviation Medecine, the National Gas Turbine Establishment etc) were not worthwhile?
No I dont Eric. Its been my industry, it still is actually but I no longer have to prostrate myself before the MOD (much), I know *exactly* what its like. Are you implying that Farnborough and its various establishments (the RAE, The Institute of Aviation Medecine, the National Gas Turbine Establishment etc) were not worthwhile?
Dr Jekyll said:
cornishgirl said:
And one of my boyfriends told me he flew twice as fast as Concorde in the RAF when he was on an exchange with the US airforce and had a flight in a Blackbird.
Maybe, but I bet he wasn't drinking champagne and eating caviar at the time.
DJC said:
Eric Mc said:
You need to elaborate on what you are trying to say.
Are you implying that Farnborough and its various establishments (the RAE, The Institute of Aviation Medecine, the National Gas Turbine Establishment etc) were not worthwhile?
No I dont Eric. Its been my industry, it still is actually but I no longer have to prostrate myself before the MOD (much), I know *exactly* what its like. Are you implying that Farnborough and its various establishments (the RAE, The Institute of Aviation Medecine, the National Gas Turbine Establishment etc) were not worthwhile?
No, I havent. I wish I had, just to know what the fuss is about - call it curiosity.
But seriously, is it any different to being in another plane? I mean, you get in, sit down, and get out when its done. What is it that makes it a special experience? Is it just the fact that it was a concorde?
But seriously, is it any different to being in another plane? I mean, you get in, sit down, and get out when its done. What is it that makes it a special experience? Is it just the fact that it was a concorde?
My parents did the Page and Moy trip to the Monaco Grand Prix for their 40th anniversary. Concorde down to Nice, Orient Express back to Paris, first class Eurostar from Paris and a sunny Monaco Grand Prix with good Champers all the way!!
They both reckoned it was of the best weekends ever and thought Concorde was stunning.
They both reckoned it was of the best weekends ever and thought Concorde was stunning.
big_rob_sydney said:
No, I havent. I wish I had, just to know what the fuss is about - call it curiosity.
But seriously, is it any different to being in another plane? I mean, you get in, sit down, and get out when its done. What is it that makes it a special experience? Is it just the fact that it was a concorde?
The first advantage was you boarded the aircraft directly from the lounge, which was a 1st class lounge plus a bit.But seriously, is it any different to being in another plane? I mean, you get in, sit down, and get out when its done. What is it that makes it a special experience? Is it just the fact that it was a concorde?
The takeoff was sensational, it felt like twice the acceleration of anything else.
Even the subsonic stretch from Heathrow to the Bristol channel seemed a bit faster than usual, judging from the look of the ground passing below. Then there was another kick in the back as the afterburners cut in to go supersonic.
Across the atlantic the impression of height was extraordinary, the very atmosphere seemed far below. Yet the pressurisation inside the cabin was greater than a normal airliner so you felt fresher and more comfortable. As you tucked into a delicious meal with champagne at Mach 2 and 60,000 feet in the summer of 2003, you could reflect on the fact than in a few months time nobody, however rich, would be able to do this again.
Almost as soon as you had finished the meal you were heading into JFK with a minimum of air traffic delays, as the Captain said, 'they know who we are'.
Off the plane at Kennedy the passengers were numbered in dozens rather than hundreds, so it was straight through immigration without a queue and an hour after touching down you were dumping your bags at your Manhattan hotel.
Not only had you just enjoyed the most exciting day of your life, but there was still time to enjoy New York, after all it was still only 10 AM.
So yes, it was special.
I got tickets for myself and my girlfriend (for her birthday) a few years back. Just a short supersonic flight. Before we were supposed to fly the AF concorde crashed so our trip was cancelled.
Flew into Manchester today and saw the BA one parked up - still an amazing site. Looking at all the other a/c dotted about it was clear that air transport today is just a means of getting from A to B.
Concorde was all about the journey and the glamour of flight.
I can't think of any other area where we have taken such a step backwards.
Flew into Manchester today and saw the BA one parked up - still an amazing site. Looking at all the other a/c dotted about it was clear that air transport today is just a means of getting from A to B.
Concorde was all about the journey and the glamour of flight.
I can't think of any other area where we have taken such a step backwards.
Chainguy said:
As for the BA fleet, the were in fantastic shape when retired. The last set of deep NDE checks showed airframes which were the equivalent in fatigue of a 4 year old 737.
It wasn't without it's problems though. There were several structural failures of one of the rudders in later years, and despite a new inspection regime and tighter standards on production they still kept failing.Whilst not initially aircraft threatening it's not exactly desirable on a supersonic aircraft
Nimbus said:
oyster said:
None of this cheapo first class stuff, what about the real deal?
Yes thanks, JFK back to Heathrow 1 month before it stopped service.Worth every penny
A few years before 9/11 I was in engineering and we used to get a lot of senior external visitors who wanted to see the big bird. I used to take them to the the hangar where there was always a spare (we had a Concorde back up) and used to walk them around as well as inside the cockpit. Those were the days...........
eccles said:
Chainguy said:
As for the BA fleet, the were in fantastic shape when retired. The last set of deep NDE checks showed airframes which were the equivalent in fatigue of a 4 year old 737.
It wasn't without it's problems though. There were several structural failures of one of the rudders in later years, and despite a new inspection regime and tighter standards on production they still kept failing.Whilst not initially aircraft threatening it's not exactly desirable on a supersonic aircraft
I was told though that a fix had been found, and was being worked through, just before the old girl was axed.
So sad she's gone. Some of my best childhood memories are from Prestwick, watching the new pilots get type rated doing touch and goes on 13/31.
The world really has went backwards just that little bit.
Dr Jekyll said:
Almost as soon as you had finished the meal you were heading into JFK with a minimum of air traffic delays, as the Captain said, 'they know who we are'.
Dr Jekyll said:
big_rob_sydney said:
No, I havent. I wish I had, just to know what the fuss is about - call it curiosity.
But seriously, is it any different to being in another plane? I mean, you get in, sit down, and get out when its done. What is it that makes it a special experience? Is it just the fact that it was a concorde?
The first advantage was you boarded the aircraft directly from the lounge, which was a 1st class lounge plus a bit.But seriously, is it any different to being in another plane? I mean, you get in, sit down, and get out when its done. What is it that makes it a special experience? Is it just the fact that it was a concorde?
The takeoff was sensational, it felt like twice the acceleration of anything else.
Even the subsonic stretch from Heathrow to the Bristol channel seemed a bit faster than usual, judging from the look of the ground passing below. Then there was another kick in the back as the afterburners cut in to go supersonic.
Across the atlantic the impression of height was extraordinary, the very atmosphere seemed far below. Yet the pressurisation inside the cabin was greater than a normal airliner so you felt fresher and more comfortable. As you tucked into a delicious meal with champagne at Mach 2 and 60,000 feet in the summer of 2003, you could reflect on the fact than in a few months time nobody, however rich, would be able to do this again.
Almost as soon as you had finished the meal you were heading into JFK with a minimum of air traffic delays, as the Captain said, 'they know who we are'.
Off the plane at Kennedy the passengers were numbered in dozens rather than hundreds, so it was straight through immigration without a queue and an hour after touching down you were dumping your bags at your Manhattan hotel.
Not only had you just enjoyed the most exciting day of your life, but there was still time to enjoy New York, after all it was still only 10 AM.
So yes, it was special.
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