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Boeing unveils new Concorde
Electronic Telegraph ^
| December 7, 2001
| Paul Marston, Transport Correspondent
Posted on 12/06/2001 4:36:26 PM PST by aculeus
PLANS for a successor to Concorde which would be three times cheaper to fly are being drawn up by the American manufacturers, Boeing.
The company said yesterday that it had been asked by airlines to revise its designs for a "Sonic Cruiser" to produce an aircraft capable of flying at 1.8 times the speed of sound, roughly 1,200mph.
Boeing's initial concept, announced nine months ago, envisaged a plane that would travel at 0.98 of the speed of sound, about 10 or 15 per cent faster than conventional jets.
However, a group of leading carriers believes that the time gain offered by the original version will be insufficient, and wants to offer passengers much more radical reductions in journey times.
Wind tunnel tests on the basic Sonic Cruiser have shown that its unique front-located winglets and outward-leaning twin tails have reduced to almost zero the buffeting effect expected as the aircraft approaches the sound barrier.
Work is also proceeding on adapting the shape of the main double-delta wings to decrease the impact of the sonic boom, opening the possibility that supersonic flight over land might become achievable for the first time.
Pete Rumsey, Boeing's director of aircraft development, said advances in technology would allow the twin-engined aircraft to be as fuel-efficient per passenger as any existing jet.
TOPICS: Front Page News; News/Current Events
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1
posted on
12/06/2001 4:36:27 PM PST
by
aculeus
To: aculeus
Boeing's 'Sonic Cruiser' will fly at up to 720mph
2
posted on
12/06/2001 4:41:14 PM PST
by
JZoback
To: aculeus
I wonder if Boeing's new leadership has the guts to follow through with a radical new plane.
To: aculeus
The ONLY relevant questions are:
Will there be NY to LA flights?
And will *I* be able afford it?
To: JZoback
VERY cool............and I will personally attest to the ruggedness and dependability of Boeing "heavies". NO one builds a heavy like Boeing. Period. End of story.
To: aculeus
I remember the story last year about the then new jet, and I thought the same thing... 10% gain is not worth it.
We should all be flying supersonic. At 1/2-1/3 the price of the Concord ($4000-5000 per way) it will be a big hit. LA to Paris in 4 hours. NY to Paris in 2 hours. That's what I'm talking about!
To: monkeyshine
Could it go from LA to Hong Kong?
7
posted on
12/06/2001 4:49:13 PM PST
by
RobbyS
To: aculeus
the twin-engined aircraft to be as fuel-efficient per passenger as any existing jet Now that's what I'm talking about! Supersonic at super prices.
To: Libertarianize the GOP
Re #4. Good question. Last time boeing had guts, it produced 747 with which they dominated the market for 20+ years. Boeing went close to financial crisis before it pulled out due to costly technical obstacles during development stage. Now that CEO's fortune is tied to the short-term movement of company stock prices, they may be strongly discouraged to stick their necks out.
To: JZoback
That is an incredible looking aircraft.
To: Libertarianize the GOP
Especially when the environmentalist wacos start screaming about the Ozone layer like they did the last time!
Comment #12 Removed by Moderator
To: RobbyS
Good question. Distance. Maybe not that far, but possibly. If these new engines are effecient I don't see why not.
To: monkeyshine
If it would at least get to Manila. Could turn that city to hub.
14
posted on
12/06/2001 4:57:16 PM PST
by
RobbyS
To: RightOnline
VERY cool............and I will personally attest to the ruggedness and dependability of Boeing "heavies". NO one builds a heavy like Boeing. Period. End of story.I wonder how much runway it will need to take off and land?
15
posted on
12/06/2001 4:59:03 PM PST
by
JZoback
To: innocentbystander
The amount of flight-time reduction may not be worth it, for NY-to-LA flights. Cutting travel time for 4-5 hours to 2 hours is not such a big deal when you add in the time spent on both ends.
But cutting the LA to Hong Kong flight time from 11 hours to 5 hours will make it very popular on that route. The big question is, will there be enough traffic on long trans-continental flights to make the market big enough to cover development costs?
To: aculeus
I expect it will fly sub-sonic over land, and super-sonic over the oceans?
17
posted on
12/06/2001 5:10:31 PM PST
by
Z-28
To: aculeus
This is gonna take some more thought and investigation.
Doubling the designed speed of an aircraft is no easy feat. I'm not sure it's even possible without ripping up the plans and starting with a clean sheet. That will delay rollout for YEARS.
Boeing caught Airbus flatfooted with the Sonic Cruiser, they have nothing comparable and won't for at least a decade. A major redesign allows Airbus to catch up.
Cost is bound to increase, too---both design and operating costs could double.
Concorde requires extensive maintenance and really drinks the fuel. Does this sound like something cash-strapped airlines are really asking for NOW?
18
posted on
12/06/2001 5:12:18 PM PST
by
ZOOKER
To: Z-28
Not if they can eliminate the sonic booms. I always suspected the real reason they didn't let the Concord fly was because it wasn't American made. All this stuff about migratory birds beging thrown off course, etc seemed rather implausible.
To: innocentbystander
A very interesting study of supersonic transport flight:
XB-70 Valkyrie
20
posted on
12/06/2001 5:15:31 PM PST
by
Z-28
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