Bye bye Concorde !!

The Viceroy · October 24, 2003, 07:10

As an employee of BA, ive got to see this old bird take of and land many many times over the last 6 years, not to mention the fact I once lived under one of the flight paths into Heathrow. Today, is Concorde's final flight out of Heathrow ..

Has anybody here had any experience flying on Concorde ?

What do you think the chances are now of a new supersonic passenger airline being put together, and how long before it happens ??

Currently most aircraft manufacturers seem more interested in creating bigger and more economical aircraft, which are not particularly fast .. is this the only way forward ? is there a future for supersonic passenger planes ?

Concorde RIP.

Zylka · October 24, 2003, 07:18

Sad, it still made a bit of money with the 10k a pop jet set crowd. Was this solely due to the tragedy a few back?

The Viceroy · October 24, 2003, 07:24

I think that certainly did have an impact yes. A lot of work had to be done to get the planes back in the air, and the companies that provide the spare parts were finding it harder and harder to source materials needed for them. The running costs were increasing all the time, and having them sit on the ground for a good while, with passengers affraid to use them certainly was a final nail in the coffin.

Zylka · October 24, 2003, 07:27

There will always be a market for people wanting to travel fast. I imagine there could be a midsize supersonic addition within the next 10 years (Go Bombardier!), but it probably won't happen due to upcoming (sub?) orbital flight technologies.

Ever make that move to Canada, btw?

The Viceroy · October 24, 2003, 07:31

Zylka,

Nope .. Got a nice offer to return back to London, and my wife suddenly came on "Thank God .. I didn't really want to move anyway" ..

A shame, but hay .. I work for BA, so I will be visiting as often as I like

I agree though, I think the absence of a supersonic passenger airline may spur a company somewhere to put something together .. Im guessing, but I don't think it will be UK/France next time

Why not UK/Canada ?? ..

Spiffor · October 24, 2003, 07:39

That's too bad. Supersonic civil aviation would have been really a breakthrough if it wasn't for the ridiculous costs. But indeed, maybe mid-sized jets with flexible schedules would do the trick nicely in the future.

BTW, I heard of stratospheric civil planes. Will it ever be a reality ?

The Viceroy · October 24, 2003, 07:47

Technically I guess such planes could be made, but it just seems to me that businesses (especially in the UK) wants 200% profit and no risk ..

So, such technologies sit on drawing boards, with eager engineers and aviation enphusiasts merely dreaming.

It amazes me that Concorde ever got built at all.

The age of governments doing things for civic pride are long gone, and are now left to the up and coming nations, trying to build a reputation in the world.

Seeker · October 24, 2003, 07:55

Got a nice offer to return back to London, and my wife suddenly came on "Thank God .. I didn't really want to move anyway" ..

A Marital Communication Moment

Better than finding out months later in Canada...

The Viceroy · October 24, 2003, 08:23

Ha ha ha .. one of those rare moments, to be cherished for a lifetime.

Last concorde flight out at 2, so see you all later.

Provost Harrison · October 24, 2003, 08:35

Concorde is a nice concept, but not really much more. It is small, it is noisy and it is a fuelguzzler. I think it is a marvellous piece of aviation engineering and history but it just isn't practical.

alva · October 24, 2003, 08:36

/me mumbles something 'bout rich man's toy and Louis IV..

It is a beauty though.

The Mad Monk · October 24, 2003, 09:00

They're having parties in certain neighborhoods in NYC today -- they really hated being in the flight path.

Provost Harrison · October 24, 2003, 09:04

I can imagine Mad Monk, they are supposed to be really noisy...

The Mad Monk · October 24, 2003, 09:13

...and smelly.

Apparently, it always came in so low that, not only would it rattle the windows, the windows would have to be closed because they could smell the exhaust.

Solly · October 24, 2003, 12:21

One went over us in Reading didn't it Prov?

DanS · October 24, 2003, 12:27

Quote:

What do you think the chances are now of a new supersonic passenger airline being put together, and how long before it happens ??

Well, probably a long time. For our side, Boeing tried to put together a development package for it, but abandoned it because of a lack of market.

Oerdin · October 24, 2003, 13:00

Yeah, but Boeing was trying to make the market support two super sonic planes. Now there would just be ne super sonic plane and it would be able to fly not just the Atlantic but also the Pacific.

DanS · October 24, 2003, 13:14

Good points.

The Viceroy · October 24, 2003, 13:35

Concorde flew over Reading every time it flew out to the west ! I live in Reading, and had seen it almost every night.

It certainly is loud, no doubt about that, and 100 passengers just isn't very big, especially when you consider it burns 1 tonne of fuel per passenger (if it carries a full load) from LHR to JFK.

The future version has to be quiter, it has to be able to carry more people, and at a cost which is not that much more than conventional first class travel (£2-3k per seat).

It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few years .. but Im convinced, as long as there are over 200 airlines in existance, all making a loss, your not going to get anything but aircraft which are more efficient. Hopefully when airlines start merging and going bust, and more importantly, become profitable, they will then be able to afford to run these kind of aircraft.

spartak · October 24, 2003, 14:11

I'm still working at Heathrow - concorde was absolutely the most impressive sight ever.

Snotty · October 24, 2003, 14:13

I saw it fly over twice today. Around 3ish it flew over once, and then a few minutes later another came over in exactly the same line. My client seemed quite excited and waffled on for a bit. He kept looking out at the horizon, so it might have circled round or something.

The Viceroy · October 24, 2003, 14:25

At 2.30 one took off to go around the bay of biscay, and one had taken off earlier that day for a trip to Edinburgh and back to the bay of biscay.

At 4pm those 2 met up, along with the 3rd which had just returned from JFK to return back to LHR together.