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Posted: 5/9/2015 1:33:30 AM EDT
Air Bus was NOT the maker.....

Interesting story. Was it missing spacers and tires bursting, or bad design? Was it the metal strip?
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 1:34:52 AM EDT
[#1]
Economics.
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 1:35:36 AM EDT
[#2]
They couldn't even spell it right.
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 1:36:40 AM EDT
[#3]
Edit.
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 1:36:53 AM EDT
[#4]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Economics.
View Quote

Politics, too. It couldn't break the sound barrier pretty much anywhere but over open ocean.
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 1:37:44 AM EDT
[#5]
Only rich people could afford to fly on it..
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 1:43:40 AM EDT
[#6]
The Concorde was a joint venture of Aerospatiale and BAC..  Airbus didn't exist at that time.  The fire was caused when the airplane ran over a piece of metal that fell off of a Continental AL DC-10 and the piece caused a tire to rupture which in turn caused a fuel tank on the Concorde to rupture.  If memory serves, the metal strip was. PMA part used on the DC-10's thrust reverser.
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 2:00:58 AM EDT
[#7]
the plane would expand a foot or so in flight due to the heat of the fuselage. it would create a gap in the instrument panel the flight engineer used.

on the retirement trips, many of them placed their hats in the gap and let the plane contract and keep them in place.

Link Posted: 5/9/2015 2:11:05 AM EDT
[#8]
Shitty ipotato pic of concorde parked at heathrow:

Link Posted: 5/9/2015 2:16:04 AM EDT
[#9]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
The Concorde was a joint venture of Aerospatiale and BAC..  Airbus didn't exist at that time.  The fire was caused when the airplane ran over a piece of metal that fell off of a Continental AL DC-10 and the piece caused a tire to rupture which in turn caused a fuel tank on the Concorde to rupture.  If memory serves, the metal strip was. PMA part used on the DC-10's thrust reverser.
View Quote


Up until then had never had a single loss. One of the best safety records. An amazing piece of design.


Didn't one of the NASA  moon guys say something like  going to the moon was easy, if you want to try something hard Build a supersonic passenger plane.
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 2:33:25 AM EDT
[#10]
I flew back from London on one of British Air's about 25 years ago.



An experience of a life time.
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 7:44:00 AM EDT
[#11]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:


Up until then had never had a single loss. One of the best safety records. An amazing piece of design.


Didn't one of the NASA  moon guys say something like  going to the moon was easy, if you want to try something hard Build a supersonic passenger plane.
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Quoted:
Quoted:
The Concorde was a joint venture of Aerospatiale and BAC..  Airbus didn't exist at that time.  The fire was caused when the airplane ran over a piece of metal that fell off of a Continental AL DC-10 and the piece caused a tire to rupture which in turn caused a fuel tank on the Concorde to rupture.  If memory serves, the metal strip was. PMA part used on the DC-10's thrust reverser.


Up until then had never had a single loss. One of the best safety records. An amazing piece of design.


Didn't one of the NASA  moon guys say something like  going to the moon was easy, if you want to try something hard Build a supersonic passenger plane.



This.    It never was profitable from a commercial standpoint, but what an engineering marvel.  

As an expression of National will, it was a success.  
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 7:57:33 AM EDT
[#12]
I think I remember the ticket to Europe being 14,000 dollars. Awesome airplane though.
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 8:27:22 AM EDT
[#13]
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Quoted:
I flew back from London on one of British Air's about 25 years ago.

An experience of a life time.
View Quote

How was the actual flight compared to other planes ? Other than the actual flight time, was there and difference in going 500 mph in a standard airliner and going supersonic in the Concorde ?
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 8:32:23 AM EDT
[#14]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
I flew back from London on one of British Air's about 25 years ago.

An experience of a life time.
View Quote


+1 BTDT

A bit small inside but nice ride and great looking stews back then. Not like the grannies serving today.
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 8:36:47 AM EDT
[#15]
That was one beautiful bird. Damn shame.
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 8:38:30 AM EDT
[#16]
I would have loved to flown in one.  I'm jelly of those of you, who have.
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 8:40:54 AM EDT
[#17]
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 8:44:06 AM EDT
[#18]
Worked at Kennedy Airport for the PA of NY&NJ

Loudest aircraft EVER!

Who wants to live in the neighborhood so someone can cross the pond faster?
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 8:44:48 AM EDT
[#19]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:



This.    It never was profitable from a commercial standpoint, but what an engineering marvel.  

As an expression of National will, it was a success.  
View Quote View All Quotes
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Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
The Concorde was a joint venture of Aerospatiale and BAC..  Airbus didn't exist at that time.  The fire was caused when the airplane ran over a piece of metal that fell off of a Continental AL DC-10 and the piece caused a tire to rupture which in turn caused a fuel tank on the Concorde to rupture.  If memory serves, the metal strip was. PMA part used on the DC-10's thrust reverser.


Up until then had never had a single loss. One of the best safety records. An amazing piece of design.


Didn't one of the NASA  moon guys say something like  going to the moon was easy, if you want to try something hard Build a supersonic passenger plane.



This.    It never was profitable from a commercial standpoint, but what an engineering marvel.  

As an expression of National will, it was a success.  
The U.S. Government was never going to subsidize Boeing's SST, there's a mockup somewhere in Florida. Would have been MUCH bigger than the Concorde.
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 8:48:13 AM EDT
[#20]
Design flaw. A bursting tire should never cause as much damage and bring down an airplane. A blown tire is a common occurrence on airplanes. May get a damaged flap or gear door out of it but nothing else. Usually all the fuel tank plates in this area are impact resistant for just such an occurrence. A burst tire scenario should have been factored in to the original design and testing and never was. The manufacturer at the time was more interested in getting the plane to market as fast as possible to beat out the competition and the nay sayers from the governments that where fronting the money to build it. The Continental lawsuit was a smoke screen to cover the original design and manufacturing flaws as well as short commings of the Concorde. Frenchie national pride was at stake here. The plane should have been parked years earlier do to inherit design flaws and loosing money.
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 8:49:49 AM EDT
[#21]
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 8:51:20 AM EDT
[#22]
Awesome jet. Unfulfilled dream.
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 8:55:18 AM EDT
[#23]
I remember when it first started flying, a beautiful plane compared to every other commercial airplane.
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 9:14:12 AM EDT
[#24]
I have a bud of mine from the UK who was a Concorde pilot for BA for a good chunk of it's service life there.

I see him every year at the Reno Air Races,  we speculated one year that he probably has more time in a plane supersonic than the rest of the entire crowd combined ( it would depend if there was any long haul astronauts attending ).

He has some of the best stories.

Amazing aircraft.
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 9:42:58 AM EDT
[#25]
Concorde is one of those things Europeans are incredibly proud of, but really aren't that good.

It was a complete financial failure, heavily subsidized by the British and French governments.  Only 14 ever entered service.  It's often called a "marvel of engineering", but there are some very serious issues, and really isn't that impressive compared against other craft of that era.  The treaty to develop Concorde was signed on Nov 29, 1962, a few months after Kennedy's go to the Moon speech that launched the Apollo missions.  Concorde first flew in 1969 and entered service in 1976.  In that same period the US government designed the Apollo craft, put one on the Moon, did the same thing FOUR more times, got bored with that, put up Skylab, then started the Shuttle program and got first flight shortly after Concorde entered service but only taking 5 years from concept to flight.

During the 14 years Concorde took to enter service, Boeing concepted, built, tested, and entered service the 747 in just 5.  It serves essentially the same long haul markets as Concorde, except it was profitable to run and took a few extra hours to get there.  The 747 outsold Concorde by over 100-1 in airframes and easily several times that in passenger miles.  I don't have any hard numbers but I wouldn't be surprised if the 747 has over 1000 passenger miles for every 1 of Concorde.

So yes, it was impressive compared to the other stuff Europe was putting out at the time, but completely outclassed by good old American engineering.
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 9:52:04 AM EDT
[#26]
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 9:55:10 AM EDT
[#27]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:


So, it was basically their Space Shuttle, is what you are saying.  
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Quoted:
Quoted:
Concorde is one of those things Europeans are incredibly proud of, but really aren't that good.

It was a complete financial failure, heavily subsidized by the British and French governments.  Only 14 ever entered service.  It's often called a "marvel of engineering", but there are some very serious issues, and really isn't that impressive compared against other craft of that era.  



So, it was basically their Space Shuttle, is what you are saying.  

See part in red.
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 9:58:00 AM EDT
[#28]
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 10:00:34 AM EDT
[#29]

Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:


Worked at Kennedy Airport for the PA of NY&NJ



Loudest aircraft EVER!



Who wants to live in the neighborhood so someone can cross the pond faster?
View Quote
No doubt, they sounded like a B1 bomber on takeoff.

 
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 10:02:42 AM EDT
[#30]

Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:


Design flaw. A bursting tire should never cause as much damage and bring down an airplane. A blown tire is a common occurrence on airplanes. May get a damaged flap or gear door out of it but nothing else. Usually all the fuel tank plates in this area are impact resistant for just such an occurrence. A burst tire scenario should have been factored in to the original design and testing and never was. The manufacturer at the time was more interested in getting the plane to market as fast as possible to beat out the competition and the nay sayers from the governments that where fronting the money to build it. The Continental lawsuit was a smoke screen to cover the original design and manufacturing flaws as well as short commings of the Concorde. Frenchie national pride was at stake here. The plane should have been parked years earlier do to inherit design flaws and loosing money.
View Quote
Wasn't a bursting tire, the chunk of metal flung up from under the tire into the wing.

 
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 10:06:36 AM EDT
[#31]
The accident with the ruptured fuel tank that destroyed the plane was actually the second time it happened. The first time they just had damage. Engineers wanted to use Kevlar to shield the tanks after the first time but the company did not want to. After the accident they did exactly that  but when they were ready to resume flights the company retired the plane.
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 10:07:29 AM EDT
[#32]
What's silly about the comparison?  They were the flagship of their respective continents.  They're not the same design but the 747 could serve every route Concorde could, plus others.
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 10:21:19 AM EDT
[#33]
I have been in a Concorde on ground display.  I was shocked by how small it was.  All seats were called first class but the spacing felt about like today's economy class.  The taller people in our group couldn't even stand up straight in the aisle.  They were comfy once you sat down, though pretty narrow.  For a round trip ticket of around $10k I expected more room.
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 10:21:59 AM EDT
[#34]

Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:


What's silly about the comparison?  They were the flagship of their respective continents.  They're not the same design but the 747 could serve every route Concorde could, plus others.
View Quote
Umm, the Concorde was all about speed. Supersonic speed. If you wanna talk economic viability, well that's another story.

 
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 10:41:33 AM EDT
[#35]
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Quoted:
Umm, the Concorde was all about speed. Supersonic speed. If you wanna talk economic viability, well that's another story.  
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Quoted:
Quoted:
What's silly about the comparison?  They were the flagship of their respective continents.  They're not the same design but the 747 could serve every route Concorde could, plus others.
Umm, the Concorde was all about speed. Supersonic speed. If you wanna talk economic viability, well that's another story.  


No, Concorde was designed as a trans-Atlantic transport.  At the time it was believed supersonic was the best way, everyone else was doing the same, and they didn't want to be kept out of the market.  It was meant as a common, mass market plane.  Concorde and the 747 had roughly the same number of preorders before launch.  Most of Concorde's backed out and 747's increased rapidly once they got going.  The mystique of speed(as opposed to ordinary selling point) was added later.
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 10:51:29 AM EDT
[#36]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Concorde is one of those things Europeans are incredibly proud of, but really aren't that good.

It was a complete financial failure, heavily subsidized by the British and French governments.  Only 14 ever entered service.  It's often called a "marvel of engineering", but there are some very serious issues, and really isn't that impressive compared against other craft of that era.  The treaty to develop Concorde was signed on Nov 29, 1962, a few months after Kennedy's go to the Moon speech that launched the Apollo missions.  Concorde first flew in 1969 and entered service in 1976.  In that same period the US government designed the Apollo craft, put one on the Moon, did the same thing FOUR more times, got bored with that, put up Skylab, then started the Shuttle program and got first flight shortly after Concorde entered service but only taking 5 years from concept to flight.

During the 14 years Concorde took to enter service, Boeing concepted, built, tested, and entered service the 747 in just 5.  It serves essentially the same long haul markets as Concorde, except it was profitable to run and took a few extra hours to get there.  The 747 outsold Concorde by over 100-1 in airframes and easily several times that in passenger miles.  I don't have any hard numbers but I wouldn't be surprised if the 747 has over 1000 passenger miles for every 1 of Concorde.

So yes, it was impressive compared to the other stuff Europe was putting out at the time, but completely outclassed by good old American engineering.
View Quote

Oh look, it's a butthurt Colonial.
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 10:54:20 AM EDT
[#37]
http://youtu.be/F-1zD6_Yjig




Crash footage. Crazy.
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 11:00:27 AM EDT
[#38]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:


So, it was basically their Space Shuttle, is what you are saying.  
View Quote View All Quotes
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Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Quoted:
Concorde is one of those things Europeans are incredibly proud of, but really aren't that good.

It was a complete financial failure, heavily subsidized by the British and French governments.  Only 14 ever entered service.  It's often called a "marvel of engineering", but there are some very serious issues, and really isn't that impressive compared against other craft of that era.  



So, it was basically their Space Shuttle, is what you are saying.  


With the safety record the space shuttle wishes it had
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 11:01:24 AM EDT
[#39]
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Quoted:


With the safety record the space shuttle wishes it had
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Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Concorde is one of those things Europeans are incredibly proud of, but really aren't that good.

It was a complete financial failure, heavily subsidized by the British and French governments.  Only 14 ever entered service.  It's often called a "marvel of engineering", but there are some very serious issues, and really isn't that impressive compared against other craft of that era.  



So, it was basically their Space Shuttle, is what you are saying.  


With the safety record the space shuttle wishes it had


The body count was a whole lot higher on Concorde.
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 11:31:14 AM EDT
[#40]
I used to watch (and feel) the Concorde take off every morning when I lived in Brooklyn. It never got old...
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 11:35:44 AM EDT
[#41]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
The Concorde was a joint venture of Aerospatiale and BAC..  Airbus didn't exist at that time.  The fire was caused when the airplane ran over a piece of metal that fell off of a Continental AL DC-10 and the piece caused a tire to rupture which in turn caused a fuel tank on the Concorde to rupture.  If memory serves, the metal strip was. PMA part used on the DC-10's thrust reverser.
View Quote


Came to post this, IIRC, shit fell off of a POS DC-10 and caused the crash, before that perfect safety record.
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 11:40:42 AM EDT
[#42]
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Great plane and prematurely retired
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Oh?  Was there a forgotten storeroom full of cash it had yet to lose before retirement?
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 12:15:12 PM EDT
[#43]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:


Came to post this, IIRC, shit fell off of a POS DC-10 and caused the crash, before that perfect safety record.
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Quoted:
Quoted:
The Concorde was a joint venture of Aerospatiale and BAC..  Airbus didn't exist at that time.  The fire was caused when the airplane ran over a piece of metal that fell off of a Continental AL DC-10 and the piece caused a tire to rupture which in turn caused a fuel tank on the Concorde to rupture.  If memory serves, the metal strip was. PMA part used on the DC-10's thrust reverser.


Came to post this, IIRC, shit fell off of a POS DC-10 and caused the crash, before that perfect safety record.


Never crashing  on your own fault is impressive, but remember the tiny sample size.  Air France and British Airways each had 7 planes.  If If wiki's numbers are accurate then AF only had around 90k total hours and BA around 150k.  There are dozens, possibly hundreds of individual airframes of various models with close to or over 100k hours on them.  Pick any 3 random Boeing or Airbus planes and see if they crash during their lives.  Gives about the same statistical results.

ETA: The Airbus A340, A380 and Boeing 787 have never had a fatality.  777 has had only 3 fatal crashes, one was pilot error in good weather, one was shot down, and one is still a mystery.  All 757 fatalities were human error.  767 had 1 fatal crash due to plane issues, 2 pilot error, and 3 hijackings.
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 12:23:40 PM EDT
[#44]
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Quoted:
Design flaw. A bursting tire should never cause as much damage and bring down an airplane. A blown tire is a common occurrence on airplanes. May get a damaged flap or gear door out of it but nothing else. Usually all the fuel tank plates in this area are impact resistant for just such an occurrence. A burst tire scenario should have been factored in to the original design and testing and never was. The manufacturer at the time was more interested in getting the plane to market as fast as possible to beat out the competition and the nay sayers from the governments that where fronting the money to build it. The Continental lawsuit was a smoke screen to cover the original design and manufacturing flaws as well as short commings of the Concorde. Frenchie national pride was at stake here. The plane should have been parked years earlier do to inherit design flaws and loosing money.
View Quote



Those flaws could all have been fixed.  It was the economic part hat did it in. it's too bad.

I hate the long flights to Europe. I would visit family there more often if SSTs became affordable to book travel on.

Link Posted: 5/9/2015 12:25:05 PM EDT
[#45]
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Quoted:

Oh look, it's a butthurt Colonial.
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Quoted:
Quoted:
Concorde is one of those things Europeans are incredibly proud of, but really aren't that good.

It was a complete financial failure, heavily subsidized by the British and French governments.  Only 14 ever entered service.  It's often called a "marvel of engineering", but there are some very serious issues, and really isn't that impressive compared against other craft of that era.  The treaty to develop Concorde was signed on Nov 29, 1962, a few months after Kennedy's go to the Moon speech that launched the Apollo missions.  Concorde first flew in 1969 and entered service in 1976.  In that same period the US government designed the Apollo craft, put one on the Moon, did the same thing FOUR more times, got bored with that, put up Skylab, then started the Shuttle program and got first flight shortly after Concorde entered service but only taking 5 years from concept to flight.

During the 14 years Concorde took to enter service, Boeing concepted, built, tested, and entered service the 747 in just 5.  It serves essentially the same long haul markets as Concorde, except it was profitable to run and took a few extra hours to get there.  The 747 outsold Concorde by over 100-1 in airframes and easily several times that in passenger miles.  I don't have any hard numbers but I wouldn't be surprised if the 747 has over 1000 passenger miles for every 1 of Concorde.

So yes, it was impressive compared to the other stuff Europe was putting out at the time, but completely outclassed by good old American engineering.

Oh look, it's a butthurt Colonial.

Lol. Butthurt over what? That one plane?

How's your country's space program working out? How's your country's global presence looking? How about your gun laws?

Yep.
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 12:28:34 PM EDT
[#46]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
I have been in a Concorde on ground display.  I was shocked by how small it was.  All seats were called first class but the spacing felt about like today's economy class.  The taller people in our group couldn't even stand up straight in the aisle.  They were comfy once you sat down, though pretty narrow.  For a round trip ticket of around $10k I expected more room.
View Quote


This.
I walked through one of the original test aircraft at the Imperial War Museum at Duxford.  I never would have imagined it was so small inside!
NYC to London in a small seat stuck in a narrow little pipe like that?  No thanks, I don't care if it's only 2-3 hours.  I'll take a 747 for 6-7 hours please.

Still a cool plane though.
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 12:31:59 PM EDT
[#47]
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Quoted:

Lol. Butthurt over what? That one plane?

How's your country's space program working out? How's your country's global presence looking? How about your gun laws?

Yep.
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Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Concorde is one of those things Europeans are incredibly proud of, but really aren't that good.

It was a complete financial failure, heavily subsidized by the British and French governments.  Only 14 ever entered service.  It's often called a "marvel of engineering", but there are some very serious issues, and really isn't that impressive compared against other craft of that era.  The treaty to develop Concorde was signed on Nov 29, 1962, a few months after Kennedy's go to the Moon speech that launched the Apollo missions.  Concorde first flew in 1969 and entered service in 1976.  In that same period the US government designed the Apollo craft, put one on the Moon, did the same thing FOUR more times, got bored with that, put up Skylab, then started the Shuttle program and got first flight shortly after Concorde entered service but only taking 5 years from concept to flight.

During the 14 years Concorde took to enter service, Boeing concepted, built, tested, and entered service the 747 in just 5.  It serves essentially the same long haul markets as Concorde, except it was profitable to run and took a few extra hours to get there.  The 747 outsold Concorde by over 100-1 in airframes and easily several times that in passenger miles.  I don't have any hard numbers but I wouldn't be surprised if the 747 has over 1000 passenger miles for every 1 of Concorde.

So yes, it was impressive compared to the other stuff Europe was putting out at the time, but completely outclassed by good old American engineering.

Oh look, it's a butthurt Colonial.

Lol. Butthurt over what? That one plane?

How's your country's space program working out? How's your country's global presence looking? How about your gun laws?

Yep.

lol

Thanks for proving my point. Your inferiority complex is obvious.
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 12:46:01 PM EDT
[#48]
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Quoted:

lol

Thanks for proving my point. Your inferiority complex is obvious.
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Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Concorde is one of those things Europeans are incredibly proud of, but really aren't that good.

It was a complete financial failure, heavily subsidized by the British and French governments.  Only 14 ever entered service.  It's often called a "marvel of engineering", but there are some very serious issues, and really isn't that impressive compared against other craft of that era.  The treaty to develop Concorde was signed on Nov 29, 1962, a few months after Kennedy's go to the Moon speech that launched the Apollo missions.  Concorde first flew in 1969 and entered service in 1976.  In that same period the US government designed the Apollo craft, put one on the Moon, did the same thing FOUR more times, got bored with that, put up Skylab, then started the Shuttle program and got first flight shortly after Concorde entered service but only taking 5 years from concept to flight.

During the 14 years Concorde took to enter service, Boeing concepted, built, tested, and entered service the 747 in just 5.  It serves essentially the same long haul markets as Concorde, except it was profitable to run and took a few extra hours to get there.  The 747 outsold Concorde by over 100-1 in airframes and easily several times that in passenger miles.  I don't have any hard numbers but I wouldn't be surprised if the 747 has over 1000 passenger miles for every 1 of Concorde.

So yes, it was impressive compared to the other stuff Europe was putting out at the time, but completely outclassed by good old American engineering.

Oh look, it's a butthurt Colonial.

Lol. Butthurt over what? That one plane?

How's your country's space program working out? How's your country's global presence looking? How about your gun laws?

Yep.

lol

Thanks for proving my point. Your inferiority complex is obvious.


"I'm made of rubber and you're made of glue! What you say bounces off of me and sticks to you!"

You sound like a child Swede. Guilty of the same offense you proclaim to observe.
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 12:48:39 PM EDT
[#49]
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Quoted:


"I'm made of rubber and you're made of glue! What you say bounces off of me and sticks to you!"

You sound like a child Swede. Guilty of the same offense you proclaim to observe.
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Quoted:
Concorde is one of those things Europeans are incredibly proud of, but really aren't that good.

It was a complete financial failure, heavily subsidized by the British and French governments.  Only 14 ever entered service.  It's often called a "marvel of engineering", but there are some very serious issues, and really isn't that impressive compared against other craft of that era.  The treaty to develop Concorde was signed on Nov 29, 1962, a few months after Kennedy's go to the Moon speech that launched the Apollo missions.  Concorde first flew in 1969 and entered service in 1976.  In that same period the US government designed the Apollo craft, put one on the Moon, did the same thing FOUR more times, got bored with that, put up Skylab, then started the Shuttle program and got first flight shortly after Concorde entered service but only taking 5 years from concept to flight.

During the 14 years Concorde took to enter service, Boeing concepted, built, tested, and entered service the 747 in just 5.  It serves essentially the same long haul markets as Concorde, except it was profitable to run and took a few extra hours to get there.  The 747 outsold Concorde by over 100-1 in airframes and easily several times that in passenger miles.  I don't have any hard numbers but I wouldn't be surprised if the 747 has over 1000 passenger miles for every 1 of Concorde.

So yes, it was impressive compared to the other stuff Europe was putting out at the time, but completely outclassed by good old American engineering.

Oh look, it's a butthurt Colonial.

Lol. Butthurt over what? That one plane?

How's your country's space program working out? How's your country's global presence looking? How about your gun laws?

Yep.

lol

Thanks for proving my point. Your inferiority complex is obvious.


"I'm made of rubber and you're made of glue! What you say bounces off of me and sticks to you!"

You sound like a child Swede. Guilty of the same offense you proclaim to observe.

I'm not the one who brought up something completely unrelated in a thread about the Concorde.
Link Posted: 5/9/2015 12:53:52 PM EDT
[#50]
I've been aboard one but never flew in one.  The BA Fleet Captain signed a certificate stating I did though.  Still have that souvenir.  
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