Concorde: gone but not forgotten. [Archive]

shane

24-09-2010, 15:23

I've been following with great interest this thread on PPRuNe. It starts with a straightforward technical question, but turns into a fascinating history of the most beautiful machine ever made (ok, IMHO...), by people who were deeply involved in it's creation and operation. Enjoy:

http://www.pprune.org/tech-log/423988-concorde-question.html

twelvebears

24-09-2010, 16:56

There's no debate about that, it was an amazing machine. Even more so considering when it was built.

The ONLY time when mankind has taken a backward step. In 2010 you can't get to NY as fast as you could in the 70s!

Macca

25-09-2010, 08:07

The ONLY time when mankind has taken a backward step. In 2010 you can't get to NY as fast as you could in the 70s!

You mean very wealthy people can't get to New York as fast, surely? - seem to remember it still took me 8 hours back when Concorde was still airborne.

But I agree as a symbol of mankind's technological achievement it is surpassed only by the moon landings

shane

25-09-2010, 13:52

Thermionic

25-09-2010, 14:12

Wonderfully put Shane!

Mothman

28-09-2010, 18:50

Jeremy Clarkson can be a tit at times, but he was spot on when he pointed out the lunacy of putting the future in a museum.

Reid Malenfant

28-09-2010, 18:58

I can remember as a kid being on holiday down in Cornwall & a good few times distinctly hearing Concordes sonic boom as it went through the sound barrier over the Atlantic :)

What a beautiful machine, only thing i can think of that looks even better would be the SR71 :stalks:

shane

28-09-2010, 19:25

Down here in Devon that distant but pervasive "whomp-bomp" was a feature of daily life, but always made me feel a sense of pride. It certainly wasn't loud, but you couldn't miss it. I miss it now!

Reid Malenfant

28-09-2010, 19:35

Yes, Devon to as i remember ;) Like you say it wasn't loud but there was no way of missing it even indoors, it was like a sudden change of air pressure - almost like a controlled explosion. Only the bass end though, it was mighty deep :eyebrows:

Techno Commander

28-09-2010, 22:16

I remember years ago, when I did dispatch riding; there was often an occaison to go into London. I would take a diversion on the way back homw, there was an excellent little tea shack on the heathrow perimeter road and it had been meticulously sited at the end of the Northern runway. Aircraft used to pass over at around 200" above you and depending on the the wind, they could either be taking off, or landing. Having a 747 going overhead close enough to count rivets, or feel the heat from the engines was a stunning spectacle. Concorde however made enough noise to cause cups of tea to vibrate along the counter. :)

Batty

29-09-2010, 04:36

I was in Oman for Concorde's first landing there, a bunch of us went to the perimiter fence at the start of the runway and waited for nearly 2 hours for it to turn up.
As you can imagine it was quite loud when it flew directly overhead at about 50 ft. Then it was a mad dash to get inside the vehicle before we got sandblasted by the engines.

Beautiful.

I still work for BAe albeit in Australia now.

MartinT

29-09-2010, 06:26

But I agree as a symbol of mankind's technological achievement it is surpassed only by the moon landings

Indeed and it could be argued that we don't have the capability to repeat the moon landings either. I honestly thought I would see a Mars landing in my lifetime but not any more. Where has our sense of adventure gone?

MartinT

29-09-2010, 06:29

What a beautiful machine, only thing i can think of that looks even better would be the SR71 :stalks:

Concorde is incredibly beautiful. Have you seen an SR-71 up close? Walking around one rendered me speechless with awe, what a machine! Those engines! That shape!

Reid Malenfant

29-09-2010, 15:07

Have you seen an SR-71 up close? Walking around one rendered me speechless with awe, what a machine! Those engines! That shape!
Those leaky fuel tanks :eyebrows:

No Martin, in all honesty i haven't. I should imagine the reality would far exceed the expectation though :)

Like you say the shape of the thing just inspires total awe ;) The facts about it make it kind of mind numbing. The fuel tanks leak all over the place until it gets up to operational temperature & it actually grows over a foot or so in length due to metal expansion once it's got there :eek:

Batty

29-09-2010, 22:15

I saw an SR-71 at the Farnborough air show in 1974 along with a Galaxy both were awe inspiring, the Blackbird had the cockpit covered and no spectators were allowed near.
Concorde did a touch and go on the runway and the crowd were treated to Ballet by 6 Harriers.

Dave Cawley

29-09-2010, 22:23

Have you seen an SR-71 up close

Have you touched one? Spooky........

Dave

Alex_UK

29-09-2010, 22:27

Saw a Blackbird close up at the Mildenhall shows in the 80's - also the F-117 Nighthawk (Stealth Fighter) and B-2 (Stealth Bomber) - probably the matt black paint, but there is definitely something sinister and a bit creepy about them - though they are all awesome. A Harrier at full chat hovering is also a thing of sinister beauty, seen a pair a few times but 6 must be amazing. Nothing tops the Vulcan for me, though...

Batty

30-09-2010, 02:37

My Father was in the Army and while we were in Bahrain I got to see Hawker Hunters everyday at school, these were very loud and painted black too. There were also Vulcans and Comets but to a 12 year old the fighters were the bestest. Tops for experience for me has been in a helicopter rather than jet, sat on the lowered tail door of a chinook (with a safety harness of course) skimming the ground at 150mph whilst in the Falklands was quite exhilerating, also flew in a Lynx at max chat also exiting.

anthonyTD

30-09-2010, 09:02

hi all,
i agree entirely, concorde was/is a fabulous machine, and its a real shame that it was taken out of service when it was still very much a youngster as far as flying hours is concerned! companies just seem to be more interested in making planes to fit in as many pasengers and all kinds of other crap to keep them ocupied these days, we do seem to be going backwards as far certain technology is concerned, i wonder why ?
anthony,TD...

Spectral Morn

30-09-2010, 10:36

To put it into context, imagine the most advanced fighter aircraft in the world today, complete with helmeted, space-suited, oxygen-masked pilot. At maximum height it comes upon a 40 year-old aircraft carrying 100 shirt-sleeved champagne sipping passengers. It can keep up for a few minutes but soon drops away, leaving Concorde to fly on it's way for another 3000 miles.

Thats how far ahead it was.

What about Aurora ?

I suspect at an air show in the future we will get to see this hyper sonic jet....just as we finally got to see the SR71 Black Bird.

Regards D S D L

Reid Malenfant

30-09-2010, 14:49

What about Aurora ?

I suspect at an air show in the future we will get to see this hyper sonic jet....just as we finally got to see the SR71 Black Bird.
If it exists, it's just a rumour right now as no-one even has pictures of it which conclusively identify it :scratch:

Yes a few people have heard of the name & if it does actually exist i'm sure a good few people know about it, after all it's got to be based somewhere :eyebrows:

It's more of an enigma than Area 51 which the Americans are still denying exists as well, even though people that have worked there have admitted so on camera :doh: Another non existant piece of technology is Echelon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echelon_(signals_intelligence) :lol:

One thing for sure is that no-one will ever know everything that's going on ;)

Back to the subject in hand :) Lots more on this short vid besides the Paris crash ;)

0-een7na2GU

What bugs me is why no-one has thought of spinning the wheels up to speed before an aircraft touches down, it just seems so obvious :eyebrows:

Spectral Morn

30-09-2010, 16:06

Hi Mark

Yes a mystery.

Nothing but odd sonic booms and photos and footage of strange fast moving contrails but no plane as of yet. Though I suspect quite a lot of UFO sightings could be Aurora.

Lets face it many sightings in the past were the Stealth fighter and bomber.

Regards D S D L

shane

01-10-2010, 13:54

What bugs me is why no-one has thought of spinning the wheels up to speed before an aircraft touches down, it just seems so obvious :eyebrows:

So obvious that there must be a simple reason why not. My guess is that the cost of tyre replacements is significantly less than the cost of equipment required to spin up the wheels plus the loss of revenue due to lugging around the extra weight through the life of the aircraft.

Start a thread on PPRuNe, they'll soon tell you!

Reid Malenfant

01-10-2010, 14:51

Hi Shane, you don't need equipment :eyebrows: All you'd need is a slight modification to the wheels to include this sort of thing (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Genuine-FLETTNER-TCX-2-Van-rotary-roof-air-vent-/260421649350?pt=UK_Cars_Parts_Vehicles_Other_Comme rcial_Vehicles_ET&hash=item3ca25703c6) ;)

Well not a vent, but the principal is the same no? The moving aircraft would naturally spin the wheels up :)

Perhaps i'm just stupid, please feel free to ignore me :lolsign:

shane

01-10-2010, 15:45

Watch this space:

http://www.pprune.org/spectators-balcony-spotters-corner/429290-possibly-naive-technical-question.html

Reid Malenfant

01-10-2010, 15:46

Watch this space:

http://www.pprune.org/spectators-balcony-spotters-corner/429290-possibly-naive-technical-question.html
Will do :)

Ali Tait

01-10-2010, 16:22

Yes,the Aurora thing is very interesting.After all,they kept the stealth fighter secret for about 15 years before letting the cat out of the bag,so it would follow that they are doing the same now.

Techno Commander

01-10-2010, 16:27

Watch this space:

http://www.pprune.org/spectators-balcony-spotters-corner/429290-possibly-naive-technical-question.html

Not spinning up the wheels before landing improves the deceleration of the aircraft on touchdown.

Clever answer.;)

Reid Malenfant

01-10-2010, 16:29

Clever answer.;)
Yes, it also takes big slices out of the tyres :eyebrows:

shane

01-10-2010, 20:15

Another reason I'd never have thoght of in a month of Sundays.

This was actually tried in World War Two. Due to the shortage of rubber in the early days of the war, the powers to be thought this to be good idea to decrease tire wear on landings.

A B-24's wheels and tires were modified with vanes attached that would spin the wheels up to the same speed of the aircraft. Sounded good and it was a simple idea with very little weight penalty.

One problem though. When the wheels spun up to the speed of the aircraft, the gyroscopic forces caused by the spinning wheels and tires was so strong, the aircraft could not turn.

The project was dropped.