ChatterBank1 min ago
Concorde Never Looked Better
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Oh, a question ... doesn't it look fantastic?
Answers
The accident was down to French runway staff being on training instead of checking for bits falling of American planes. It could have been still flying although I doubt the economics would work now. I was just saving up to purchase a flight to NY when the accident happened, RIP to the crew and passengers and people killed on the ground.
I didn't fly on her. I've been on the one in the museum in Yeovilton. Really small spaces and very cramped. My uncle flew on her, as a few others have said, on a flight over the Bay of Biscay. Cabin crew were only allowed a tiny number of flights due to the excesses of the flight. There used to be one at the far end of the runway at Manchester Airport. Don't know if it's still there but it was when I last flew out of there 5 years ago. It looked pretty shabby though, definitely in need of a good overhaul. One person I know who works as cabin crew had never heard of Concorde. And I only asked her about it a couple of days before the news item. Must have tempted fate!
smow, 09:37. The crash didn't help but the main reason was it was not commercially viable. It cost a huge amount to run and not many takers on the tickets. It was overtaken by other aspects of flight, the cheap airlines the bulk carriers the big jets carrying hundreds. The speed was becomming less important. It had a bit of a resurgence in the 90s with basically doing joy rides. That's when I went on it, still cost £600 in 1997. Yes a truly magnificent plane, I have my certificate on the wall and I wear my silver concord badge on my blazer.
I'm on my phone, but there are loads of articles about why it was retired and what future fast planes might look like. This article covers both, in a superficial way:
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An amazing aircraft, was always my dream to fly on her, but alas. I did a talk for my 16+ English exam on her back in the 80s.
Rather tragically her first flight to New York after the Paris crash, was 11/09/2001. I don't think she got to land, and transatlantic air travel was never really the same after that.
As for the name ... in development, the British called it Concord and the French called it Concorde until December 1967 when ...
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The first Concorde prototype, 001, is rolled out in front of more that 1,100 guests at the Aerospatiale plant in Toulouse on 11 December. British Government Minister for Technology, Tony Benn, announces that the British aircraft will use the French ‘Concorde’ spelling, saying: ‘Concorde has an ‘e’ for excellence, England, Europe and entente cordiale.’
The production aeroplanes have always been called Concorde. It's the brand.
Boeing saw the way ahead with their jumbo jets: mass transport cheap rather than expensive and faster. Funny thing is, they didn't realise it, they thought Concorde was the way ahead and 747s would be just cargo planes (which is why the flight deck was above, so doors could open below ).
It was years before they realised they'd got it right, though, and saw how many people you could cram in. The first time I went on a 747 the entire top deck was a cocktail lounge.
This chap from Dublin, solved a prob with the Olympus Concorde engines (i think), and went on to being a billionaire with his inventions!
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