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End of an era - Concorde to stop flying in October


BCanr2d2

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After 27 years in service, the technical wonder that was the Concorde is to be taken out of the skies due to the flagging economy and low passenger numbers.

 

Sadly, the 747 series from Boeing, which was cheaper, and a more reliable alternative, made many of the orders for the Concorde to be cancelled, with only about 16 making it into the skies instead of the planned numbers over 100.

 

Designed for Mach 2 and over, it made the trans-Atlantic flight in about 3 hours, and had the droop nose that needed to be lowered so that the pilots could see where they were landing, so long and pointy was the nose. It was a plane ahead of it's time, a wing span that fitted inside the sonic boom cone created by the nose, allowing for this supersonic speed.....

 

story.concorde.jpg

 

Let's hope they go cheap, I am sure I could afford one soon!!!!

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This is sad news indeed, I love Concorde. I remember my dad took us to Heathrow when I was but a wee lass to see the planes landing and taking off. Concorde flew right over our heads coming in to land, it was so close I swear if I reached up I could have touched it. Such a beautiful sight, and the sound it made, I will never forget it. :(

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They'll probably keep with the current wide body designs that were made so popular by the 747, which is relatively cheap to fly and maintain, even if it is only half the speed of the Concorde. Those wide wings prevent it from going too fast, they don't fit inside the sonic cone, so going over Mach 1 isn't possible....

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Originally posted by Reborn Outcast

Its sad but... its about time actually. They were always breaking down and needing repairs and yes, the passengers weren't coming back anymore.

 

dont think they were that unreliable .... the only reason they dont make money nemore (which is y theyre being taken out of service by BA) is cos its so expensive to fly on them

 

its a wonder of engineering and miles be4 its time ... but after its first and only crash .... it never really recovered

 

a crying shame

 

i wonder if the french still fly theirs?

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IIRC it costs 12.000+ $ to fly from New York to London and back on a Concorde.

 

Gee... too bad they will stop flying. I was just about to sell my house & car and fly a couple of times to NY. :(:rolleyes:

 

I wonder how all those people are now supposed to travel across the Atlantic. :confused:

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I am sad....I have always wanted to fly on a concorde. They are the coolest looking commercial liners anywhere. It is understandable why they won't be flying though.....$12.000 for a flight? :eyeraise: I thought it was like 3 or 4 thousand......guess I was wrong.

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Posted by digl, Lord of the Understatement

I wonder how all those people are now supposed to travel across the Atlantic. :confused:

slower?

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! :lol::rofl:

 

Oh dear lord I've missed your sense of humour, digl! :D

 

You make damn sure you stay here now that you're back, okay? :p:D ...The place wasn't the same without you :(

 

 

*goes off to start saving up for a flight on Concorde before they turn into nothing more than a bunch of memories and museum pieces* ...I think I need a job x.x;

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Originally posted by HBK

I didn't even know they were flying again. Weren' they grounded after an accident? Am I thinking the wrong thoughts again?

 

They were grounded after a tyre exploded on take off and ruptured a fuel tank on one of them. It had a fireball coming from the wing and the pilot did a great job to keep it away from any built up areas.

They had barely returned to service, but with the low numbers of the Concordes in use, the cost to keep them flying was climbing quite high. They were lucky to return back into service after the accident, mainly due to the costs involved to fly them..

 

Will we see them fall into private hands, and a rock star or two have them as their own personal "tour" jets?

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Originally posted by digl

slower?

 

that's what I was....trying to imply. ;)

 

People who think it's ok to spend 12.000+ $ extra so that they don't have to sit in a plane for a few hours longer aren't exactly getting much sympathy from me.

 

That's like eating from disposable plates made of gold.

 

Damn filthy rich bastards! :swear:

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Originally posted by Luc Solar

that's what I was....trying to imply. ;)

 

People who think it's ok to spend 12.000+ $ extra so that they don't have to sit in a plane for a few hours longer aren't exactly getting much sympathy from me.

 

That's like eating from disposable plates made of gold.

 

Damn filthy rich bastards! :swear:

 

people dont fly on concorde cos its faster .... they fly cos its special ... an experience

 

id love to have flied on concorde :(

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