Bon Voyage Concorde

[Buck]

The fate of the beautiful Conorde has been decided.

 

[DrunkenBastard]

Don't worry Buck. There will be hypersonic transports for us young uns.

 

[freeborn]

How long before we have stratoliners? Point A to B anywhere on Earth in under 2 hours... now there is something I will pay much to ride. That and an orbital trip before I die.

Free

 

[Buck]

DB! Wow, you've been passed out for a very long time. Good to have you back. Let me buy you a drink.

The Concorde was a symbol of ingenuity and technology that rivaled the Space Shuttle program. It seems both are beginning to wear out their welcome.

 

[DrunkenBastard]

All is not lost Bartender:

http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/index.cfm?id=421052003

Maybe costs will come down so us mere drunkards can also fly high?

 

[EdwardK]

http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/index.cfm?id=421052003

However, Sir Richard said he would be asking BA for the operational figures and, if Virgin could make a success of Concorde, it would seek to buy the fleet for £1 - the price the airline paid the then Conservative government.

What a scam by BA - £1 for the concorde fleet at that time! :evil:

Cheers,
Edward

 

[jtr1962]

We'll have something better in time.

Boeing dropped it's supersonic transport project. I don't believe hypersonic transports will see the light of day, either, especially in light of 9/11. A fully fueled HST has the explosive power of a small atomic bomb, and there is no way that it would be allowed to take off or land near populated areas. Hence, much of the speed potential would be lost traveling the 100 or so miles at each end of the journey via land. Also, past a certain point, most people are unwilling to pay much of a premium to get somewhere fast, and the price of fossil fuels will rise greatly as supplies dwindle, increasing fares further. Unless fusion is developed, there is simply no current viable power source for airplanes other than fossil fuels. You can't string power lines 6 miles up.

Some more discussion on why maglev will be the eventual replacement of air travel:

http://personalpages.tds.net/~cimarron/essays/4.htm

 

[Pradeep]

I just don't see how it could ever be possible to create an underwater two way tube from say San Francisco to Sydney. I would much rather fly then take my chances in such a contraption.

 

[jtr1962]

I just don't see how it could ever be possible to create an underwater two way tube from say San Francisco to Sydney. I would much rather fly then take my chances in such a contraption.

The fact that entrepreneurs are seriously studying the idea evidently means that it's economically and technically feasible. The concept really isn't that much different than today's floating oil drilling platforms which are anchored to the sea bed. BTW, you won't be "taking your chances" if such a contraption is built. I'm sure it'll be thoroughly tested before entering commercial service. If not, we're stuck with 500 mph planes until fossil fuels run out, and then it's back to ships. As I said, for various economic and terrorism reasons, SSTs and HSTs are pretty much dead in the water. The fact that the civil aviation industry is having a major collapse even with cheap fares shows that trying to develop faster planes(which would be forced to charge yet higher fares) would be a foolhardy exercise. Throw in a few more 9/11 style incidents and nobody except diehards will set foot on an airliner. Most scenarios I've read have the airliner being replaced by about 2050 regardless. Current events might just accelerate that by a few decades.

 

[blakerwry]

Anybody see Wile E. Coyote? He's got some interesting ideas for the future of travel.

 

[Buck]

Anybody see Wile E. Coyote? He's got some interesting ideas for the future of travel.

HA! But none of them worked successfully (if you consider arriving at your scheduled destination unharmed, successful).

 

[e_dawg]

Fortunately, Hooters Air is here to save the day

From the press release: "The Hooters Girls will be restaurant employees who will assist with hostess and food/beverage functions."

Ah, the thought of Hooters girls leaning over you to give the passenger in the next seat his wings and beer for the in-flight meal... god forbid there be a little turbulence at that moment :mrgrn:

 

[honold]

are all of the hooter's wings breaded? i don't like that

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

Garn, just imagine if Hooters got an SST to fly. The G-forces.....

 

[Mercutio]

I have customer who INSISTS on having meetings at hooters. Frankly, their food isn't that impressive and I don't think I'd choose to go there on my own, but the local establishment is a series of decks and recessed areas, such that there are short flights of stairs EVERYWHERE. The g-forces associated with watching the waitresses go up and down those steps is more than enough to hold my attention...

 

[e_dawg]

Stairs everywhere, eh? Coincidence? I think not... :mrgrn:

 

[Buck]

Back on topic...

BBC News
Metal shard caused Concorde crash
Tuesday, 14 December, 2004, 15:47 GMT

A rogue piece of metal that fell off a Continental Airlines jet was directly responsible for the Concorde crash of 2000, a French judge has ruled.

Magistrate Christophe Regnard noted that Concorde had inherent design flaws, which caused the plane to burst into flames after its tyre burst.

But the titanium alloy strip, which fell off a Continental Airlines DC-10 that took off five minutes earlier, played a "major role" in the tragedy, he noted.

 

[sechs]

Another reason to never fly Continental again!

 

[Buck]

BBC News
'Son-of-Concorde' plans unveiled
Wednesday, 15 June, 2005

Queen's Golden Jubilee Celebration

Japan and France are to work together to develop a successor to the retired supersonic jet aircraft Concorde.

The agreement to develop the new passenger plane was signed at the Paris Air Show, Japan added.

It would certainly be nice if they could build a competent successor.

 

[iGary]

Probably nothing more than refurbished B-2 bombers with passenger seats and an extra lavatory. :lol: