[MooseAndSquirrel]

Cool news. A bit ironic that the competitor to our ill-fated SST will be permanently displayed here. I saw one in the late 80's (?) during an airshow at the Museum of Flight. It was taking off just as I arrived on the tarmac and was a sight to behold and hear! It takes off at a much steeper angle than conventional jets, and was the loudest aircraft I've ever heard- just deafening. Small wonder it was banned from flying over the continental U.S. Incredibly smoky too. But such an elegant, graceful-looking plane. After a short VIP flight it landed and taxied to a stop as a surging crowd tried to get as close as possible to it. You could see that the fuselage was much narrower than a conventional jet- almost like a long business jet. I know seeing pictures of the interior it was much more cramped than a wide-bodied Boeing craft, but of course room was sacrificed for speed/fuel savings at supersonic flight. I was surprised to read that 18 Concordes exist. I know one was destroyed during a terrible crash a few years ago I believe.

[whistlingmarmot]

Cool. I think the MoF will eventually have a 727, 747 and a Concorde on display. One did crash a few years ago. Debris on the runway I think caused the problem. That crash, 9-11, and the economy all combined to spell the end for the Condorde. But supersonic aviation will continue. Dassault is working on SS business jets.

[Alan Bauer]

I know I'm sure hoping I can be at Boeing Field next Wednesday the 5th to photograph it landing somehow...a once-in-a-lifetime chance! Hmmm...I have to be in Seattle next Wednesday night anyhow...maybe I just go, oh, say, 4 hours early? Hmmmm....

[MooseAndSquirrel]

Next Weds, eh? Boy the MoF isn't wasting time getting it! I'll definitely be there then- hope the darn weather cooperates!

[Backpacker Joe]

I wish that OUR museum could *steal* away the XB-70 Valkyrie! Now that would be a plane worthy of our meeeeeeeeuzeeeeeeeeum. http://www.labiker.org/xb70.html TB

[Steve]

I doubt that we will ever see a real SS commercial jet. The reason the concordes flew as long as they did is because they had a very low usage rate. If I remember correctly the flight cycle leader had only ~7,000 cycles. SS airplanes suffer much more from fatigue than subsonic and we really don't have an economic material to deal with that. If anyone is interested I have a PP file that shows an AirFrance concorde being taken apart so it can be shipped by truck to a museum in France. It's interesting to see how small it is. When I lived on the East coast I would see a concorde fly over our house occasionally, flying into Dulles airport probably.

[Backpacker Joe]

BY cycles are you talking about take offs and landings, or are you talking about the tempeture degree cycles caused by both the heat of going supersonic, and the cold caused by the altitude the aircraft flys at? TB

[Sore Feet]

The Valkyrie was a sweet lookin plane. I remember getting a book from the library a long time ago about the various SS planes that were made. The xb-70 and the SST really piqued my interest in planes through my grade school years. On a related matter. I remember going to an air show at Boeing field back in the late 80's when a Concorde was there. I didn't see it fly, it was just sitting on the runway, but it was still cool. I do remember seeing a B-1 doing laps around the field at about 500'. That was pretty cool.

[MooseAndSquirrel]

Ditto on the Valkyrie- loved that plane as a kid. Sore Feet- you were at the same airshow as me in my post above- that was the last and maybe only time a Concorde was in Seattle. You should have seen it in the air-sweet. I heard after the current one lands in Seattle next Weds. the scuttlebutt is public viewing of some kind will be in another month or so. Lockheed F-104 Starfighter was another cool plane- first aircraft capable of sustained speed of + Mach 2 (mid 1950's). Controversial due to many crashes but apparently not due to design flaws- just took special training to fly I guess.

[Steve]

Cycle being defined as GAG (ground-air-ground) or one landing, which or course implies a take off. Temperature fluctuations are part of the problem but sonic fatigue is perhaps a larger problem, though my experience is only in sub sonic aircraft so take it FWIW.

[Malachai Constant]

Unfortunately, I find the whole thing to be somewhat depressing (maybe I'm getting old). When I was younger things always seemed to be getting better planes and cars faster and we were exploring space. It is pretty hard to get very excited over a 7E7 for example. The Concord was expensive, uncomfortable, noisy and dangerous but Tres Cool and Chic.

[Dante]

[MooseAndSquirrel]

From what I understood about the USA SST it would have been a better aircraft - sorta like how Beta was technically better than VHS. But there's no denying the Concorde is just as you described -chic. MC, Agreed, 7E7 doesn't exactly get the heart a-pounding for the average joe. I was lucky to have had the opportunity to fly first class in the 747 right after it came into service (my one and only first class upgrade ) and many folks nowadays have no idea what buzz that craft had when it first appeared. First off, even today when you get the chance to walk up to one on a tarmac, like at an airshow, etc., one is in a state of awe that something that enormous can get off the ground. Just as when standing on a flight deck of an aircraft carrier you can't get over the notion that this huge mass really moves about! Thanks goodness we have some craft going to Mars to keep our simmering space exploration going. We are definitely in the duldrums right now vis a vis space-zzzzzzzz.

[Alan Bauer]

The Concord that lands to become part of the Museum of Flight next Wednesday, November 5th, will be officially open to the public to see starting Friday, November 29th. If you are a member of the Museum of Flight you get to start being open to see it on Saturday, 11/22.

[whistlingmarmot]