Concorde

Is this actually likely to happen or just a lovely idea?

Concorde set to return: Jet may be used for charter flights by 2019 http://dailym.ai/1KlQs7e

 

The most likely issue is going to be Airbus and Rolls Royce not providing service back up, so no it will not be able to return to the air, not at least in the UK, exactly the same reason why the Vulcan is retiring The only chance Concorde had would have been if Virgin had purchased the planes when British Airways retired them, but the real issue was that Airbus didnt want to carry on providing the spares needed to maintain the fleet. so its a nice dream, but will fail to get off the ground.

 

If it happens I'd bet good money on a squadron of pigs escorting her on her return to flight.

 

Also the fact that it would be a cold day in Hades* before BA would sell them to their most bitter rival...

*other bad places are available

 

It would frighten the horses, Shergar in particular.

 

Arlesey for one.

 

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Actually, it's not useless, I understand it's being used as a paper store

 

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There are at least two groups aiming for Concorde RTF, and there is zero chance of it happening.

They are all focussed on buying an airframe, and seem to think that it just needs a large amount of cash to make it happen once they have their hands on one. What they conveniently ignore (and I've tried pointing it out to them, but any pragmatic contributions are declared 'negative') is that not a single Concorde Olympus engine was correctly conserved when they were decommissioned, and thus they are all corroding from the inside out, and have been for several years. None of them are suitable for either RTF or even ground running - they are basically large pieces of scrap. Once you also consider that no one (not even RR) have the facilities or parts to (re-)manufacture any engines, nor are they remotely interested in trying to do it anyway, you have one almighty showstopper. Does 120 million quid build you an Olympus production line from scratch on top of everything else? Somehow I doubt it...

The dreamers then suggest they could fit different engines - without any appreciation that you are then attempting to certify a completely different design - effectively a brand new aircraft.

And that's just the engines. I'm told Airbus have no desire to do it either, so as stated earlier, you have no design authority. Nobody who could make this happen appears to have any desire to do so.

Heritage is Merlins and Spitfires at RR - any money they do spend going forward will be on completing the rebuild of their original Spitfire, not on Concorde RTF.

 

Were the rolls royce olympus engines not used in a marine enviroment ? Are these the same/similar to what was used in concord . .

 

Similar design, very different materials - you can't turn a marine engine into an aircraft engine I'm afraid.

 

The thought of reheat in a marine environment conjures up an interesting picture. I would not want to be working in the engine room.

 

This is what I've heard has happened to the Concorde at Filton, engines seized solid apparently.

 

Quite so...

And in any case, it would be utterly pointless, as how would you harness the extra thrust that reheat gives to an aircraft, in a marine environment?

 

I seem to recall seeing two of two of the RNs fast patrol boats in the late 70s (Scimitar?) that had two huge exhausts in each side of the stern. These could well have used reheat, but not in a conventional ship.

 

I do believe the olympus, or a variation thereof, was fitted to the Sheffield Class 42 destroyers.

 

Cutlass and Scimitar, if memory serves.