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| Tours must be booked - we elected to go on the nerds special 45 minute certificated tour. |
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| This is really rather special as one is allowed to feel the joystick (yoke) and fondle the volume controls (throttles) - reheat is preselected and cuts in when they reach 100%. |
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| Something not found on an Airbus - nose droop control lever (aka droop snoot knob) - required because the vortex flow generated by Concorde's delta wing at high angles of attack reduces the forward visibility at take off and landing. Concorde does not need slats and flaps like an Airbus for take off and landing - the vortex flow acts like a giant Dyson vacuum cleaner and sucks the 180 tonnes or so of aircraft into the air.. |
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| Captain Nikos' twin brother bites his lip as the tour guide John has his third nervous breakdown trying to answer impossible questions from a devout Concorde expert. |
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| Manchester airport from the Concorde flight deck - droop snoot down - obviously. |
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| Hello good evening and welcome - David Frost once sat here commuting to New York from London Interior redesign by Habitat - small windows to peep through. Centre arm rests fold away and swivel by 180 degrees and depict speedbird motif (a BOAC thing) . Seatbelts have been stolen by a Liverpudlian visiting school party. |
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| The paraffin dart - 202ft long when cold but due to supersonic compressive heating expanded by 1ft in supersonic cruise where it flew faster than a rifle bullet. |
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| Previously never seen before top secret image from the Nikos World wind tunnel of an Airfix 1:144 model shows the pre Dyson vortex flow established as high angles of attack |
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| Underneath the double delta wing - notice the camber that at high angle of attack allows the clean and stable formation of that vortex flow that I keep banging on about |
In the history of man's technological progress, the grounding of Concorde is one of the very few examples of taking a step backwards. If the Americans can keep a fleet of B-52s flying - which will be nearly 100 years old before they are retired - surely we could have kept just two or three of these magnificent airplanes airworthy?
ReplyDeleteDear Affarer and Nikos:
ReplyDeleteConsidering the B -52 is funded through the American military, I can assure you that that they will be flying, and pounding the shit out of evildoers, as long as there is $5 in a US bank. However, the cost of operating the Concorde was seldom offset by the airfares. Even id the planes flew full, at $12,000 to $14,000 (USD) per roundtrip ticket, it didn't put a denrt in the opreratig budget.
In essence, the horrible crash of the Concorde was like the last flight of the Hindenberg. The most gracious form of travel, gone in a flash.
Nice blog, Nikos.
Fondest regards,
Jack • reep • Toad
Twisted Roads
Love the Concord, very proud of it. But shouldn't it have had variable-sweep wings, isn't that what people said?
ReplyDeleteWas that your own hat, Nikos?
ReplyDeleteI am tansfixed by the secret image. It looks like an abstract impression of a carwash.
ReplyDeleteSx
..tRansfixed.
ReplyDeleteApologies, I am in Typo heaven at the moment.
Sx
Affer
ReplyDeleteAren't we lucky that we did not pass them on the MoD for conversion to maritime patrol aircraft at a cost of £256Billion then cancel the contract when they were finished and then cut them up...
TSR2
Nimrod?
Dear Jack
ReplyDeleteThe french are always crashing aircraft - it's those long boozy lunches...
Best regards from my local, N
My Dear Gadjo
ReplyDeleteWell yes, variable geometry would be good for some American airliner that spends most of the time flying subsonically across environmentally mostly deserted countryside, but Boeing could not make it work with the 2707 project...just too heavy and Gerry Anderson like for it's own good!
Yours aye
Brains "Nikos" supermarionated as usual
Dear El D
ReplyDeleteNo, it is not a Greek fisherman's hat but a genuine Speedbird souvenir "I have control" BOAC Comet pilot's cap....according to my exactly identical twin brother
Dear Ms Scarlet in typo heathen
ReplyDeleteI did not mention it before but, if you stare at that image from 10cm for 2 hours you can make out Greek mountain goats horns.
That is so spooky!
xsN
Once again, Niko, you're one step ahead of me - I'd no idea that the yanks had already tried this. Their eventual mock up of their proposed supersonic airliner looks like a Concorde, suggesting that our design was pretty much on the button. Wikipedia says that 'Concorde was operated profitably in a niche market for over 25 years', which pleased me.
ReplyDeleteWas a wonderful trip!! you shuld go there, too
ReplyDeleteMRS Nikos
Concorde - that's a French name I guess, so was it a French plane? And that droopy snoot thing: is that because the French have big noses or because they've got droopy things?
ReplyDeleteDear Gadjo
ReplyDeleteNo, I think that you are one step ahead of me! The picture that you link to is the 2707-300, whereas I was thinking of the -100 model.
MIND YOU, the Yanks made the SR71/YF12A and that was painted black, made out of teflon and flew at Mach 3+
best wishes and thanks for reading my kefetedes me domata salata, N
Dear Big Dog
ReplyDeleteYou are of course correct to point out that the French have big noses and are essentially "gay".
Thanks for commenting, N
Mrs Nikos
ReplyDeleteIt's a real pity that I was terribly busy that day cleaning out the cat's dirt tray and that my identical twin brother Cosmote had to step in.
xsN
How much to buy that nice plane?
ReplyDeleteDear Captain Nikos, I am seething with jealousy in not being there. I did enter the one at Duxford on a return journey to the UK many moons ago but that didn't have many seats and was stuffed full of instruments.
ReplyDeleteIt was till an impressive, graceful aircraft though. I love planes - Dad was a scientist at RAE Thurleigh.
الحصول على اتصال دائم بي بعد مدة طويلة ثمن المقابلةبعد التحية صديقتي العزيزة وشكرا كثيرا في concordes هو زوج من الإب+ US$20 000000 بدون استخدام تتمتعون الثلاثاء تمنيات زوجته نيكوس تاجر خردة المشاهير
ReplyDeleteDear Geoff
ReplyDeleteYou are better off in NZ, believe me!
Thanks for commenting, N
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteجاءت أيضا. لا تنسوا لكمخبر بريان العاملةتبحثBrian Trubshaw عن وظيفة بالبطاقات
ReplyDeleteكما لا تمطر هنا. بريان Trubshaw من الإبل بقيمة عشرة.
ReplyDeleteمن سباقات اليوم إليك ويساعد يؤديه الراحة والعمل
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I'm not sure that I will ever have the opportunity to tour one of these. I was intrigued by the wind tunnel image...such clean airflow and tight vortices. Glad you were able to share the super secret images.
ReplyDelete-Lori