concorde

Concorde Jet Undergoing $22 Million Recommission

Filed under: Wings

Progress is a funny thing. Mankind had been racing past aviation milestones for generations. But it seemed like everything came to a sobering halt when the Concorde crashed in Paris ten years ago, killing 113 people and putting the brakes on supersonic commercial aviation. The trial over the incident is only now wrapping up in Paris, but the Concorde may not be grounded forever.

Mirroring the two national airlines that operated the Concorde for years – British Airways and Air France – a $22 million collaboration between Britain's Save Concorde Group (SCG) and France's Olympus 593 has been hard at work to get the supersonic jetliner back in the air. The joint team of engineers is now preparing for initial tests on the Rolls-Royce engines that could lead to the Concorde being cleared for flight once again. The target is to have the jet fly over the opening ceremonies for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

But before you go rearranging your next vacation around the shorter transatlantic flight times the Concorde once afforded to those who could afford it, bear in mind that the goal is to have it operational in a "heritage capacity", indicating that while it may fly for demonstration purposes, it likely will never return to commercial aviation.

[Source: BBC News via Switched]

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Tags: aviation, concorde, jet, london, olympus 593, PlanesTrainsAndAutomobiles, save concorde group

Concorde Parts up for Auction

by Sandy Maple (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings, Auctions

Maybe you never got a chance to fly on the Concorde before the last flight in 2003, but soon you will have the opportunity to own a piece of it. Beginning September 28th and continuing through October 1st, 835 lots of Concorde related items will be sold to the highest bidder. Included in the sale is everything from spare parts to pilot's uniforms, with most bids expected to range from $67-$400. If you have a little more to spend and possibly a larger place to house your collection, you can bid on the plane's landing gear, which weighs 1.5 tons and is expected to fetch upwards of $2,700. Don't be surprised if these estimates are low. In 2003, the Concorde's trademark needle nose sold for $634,000 although it was valued at only $13,000.

The proceeds of the auction will finance a planned airline park in the French City of Toulou. The Aeroscopia will open in 2010 and feature the history of Aerospatiale Toulouse, the maker of Concorde.

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Tags: aeroscopia, aircraft, airplane, auction, aviation, concorde, plane, supersonic, toulou

The QSST, A Concorde For The Next Generation

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

The Concorde may be gone but supersonic flight is far from forgotten. Lockheed's Skunk Works is hard at work on the QSST (Quiet Supersonic Travel). The jet is designed to travel from New York to Los Angeles in two hours. The jet travels at speeds up to Mach 1.8. The unique design curbs the sonic boom making it friendly for U.S. skies. The QSST will sell for an astounding $80 million and could be ready as soon as 2013.

[via Aero-News Network]

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Tags: concorde, flight, planes, sonic, super sonic