Concorde

[237SJ]

Hard to believe it was that long ago really https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/celebrations-across-britain-to-mark-50th-anniversary-of-first-concorde-flight-a4079826.html

[tonyav]

WOW 50 years ago, now that has made me feel old. I remember that 237 SJ.

[KARL]

I too remember it and the long, long lead up to it. One of very few regrets I have is that I never flew on it - but I did get my father a ticket to New York and that makes up for the regret and more.

[Zacs-Master]

Did you know that President Nixon introduced a ban on Supersonic flights over the US?

[Sqad]

Zac, yes but that was circumvented by Concorde flying to Washington D.C, landing , refuelling and then over the sea down to Miami.
Concorde was not that comfortable, as it was narrow, almost tube like and the seats small.
I would prefer a 707 First Class personally.

[Zacs-Master]

Indeed. But it was still a marvellous piece of engineering.

[Sqad]

It was Zacs, it was........and the highlights were the surge when the after burners kicked in and secondly to see the curvature of the earth.

[KARL]

My father too commented on how cramped the feel was, and he was not at all a big man (but he enjoyed the experience). He was totally unimpressed by his first (and only) helicopter flight, the transfer into downtown New York - said it was a bit of a bone shaker ride.

The US ban on supersonic flight was said to be an attempt to forestall European advantage in passenger aviation. Comparison with the US attitude/comments regarding European aversion to genetic modification of plants and animals (and the use of antibiotics, steroids, etc.) is interesting.

[agchristie]

Having just had a DVT scare I'm glad I never sat in one!

Doesn't sound comfortable to me but I can appreciate the scale of the engineering as has been commented.

[ToraToraTora]

magnificent piece of engineering. I am fortunate enough to have flown on it. Mach 2, 56000 feet, not a ripple in my Champagne.

[ToraToraTora]

Concord pilots flying to the US regularly saw the sun rise in the west as they chased the sun.

[agchristie]

^ you had your glass firmly balanced on your knee-caps? ;-)

[Peter Pedant]

yeah I worked as a clerk on Patchway
( where they built some of it)1969
killed by organised opposition of american industry ( Boeing had scrapped theirs)

only 16 were ever built ....

and the head of Mini-tech ( as we called it) one Tony benn whose constituency was - - - Patchway

[jno]

you can get the same effect by flying north, TTT

[ToraToraTora]

yeah PP, the boing attempt was hopeless, so the septics got all bitter and did what they could to knobble ours.

[Old_Geezer]

Brilliant achievement. Saw it's test flight, stood outside the works with the rest of the crowd. Shame it was taken out of service and no market found for new models.

[fbg40]

Afternoon all,
I live near Heathrow and as a Fireman was based at Feltham from 1977 to 1984. When Concorde came into land or took off the noise was deafening, but a magnificent sight.
FBG40

[237SJ]

When it used to take off, it used to emit clouds of yellow exhaust. Would never get away with that these days

[KARL]

By the time the aircraft finally got airborne it was obsolete, much of the technology, including the airframe, amounted to writing on the wall. When fuel costs rose it more or less had to be subsidised because it was so thirsty and there was no prospect of fitting new engines to it. It was doomed as something of a museum piece, a good looking one but still a museum piece. The US SST never went past the drawing board and Conkordski was as short of being a success as Concorde herself. Dreams of commercial supersonic passenger flight are not totally dead but so far there is no sign of another aircraft in that class becoming a reality in the foreseeable future.

[Canary42]

I lived near Fairford when it was being developed and it used to do test flights from there - you could get really close under the flight path on the road, and the sight/sound was really impressive. A magnificent example of how we can work with a European neighbour. Pity the dinosaurs have put a stop to that.

[retrocop]

We are still working with our European neighbours until they finally spit their dummys out and move wing production for Airbus.