Ah, the starship. I will never forget its distinctive sound of it flying
over my house during far too infrequent production test flights.
There may have bee nasal problems that could have been solved with minor
surgery, but the thing that killed its efficiency and sales prospects was
the FAA. The starship was pioneering, and the certification process was
educational for the FAA, who had no experience with an all composite
structure. The certification required many years of project killing time and
pound after pound of excess weight.
Almost all were bought back by Beech, and disposed of, but one owner, in So.
California I think, who so loved his that he not only kept his, but also
bought several of the incomplete airframes for spares.
-----Original Message-----
From: Chris Trask
Sent: Saturday, September 17, 2016 8:57 AM
To: Olympus Camera Discussion ; Olympus Camera Discussion
Subject: Re: [OM] For the Concorde Enthusiasts on the List
It was sad the day that Concorde operations were ended. Even though it
was costly to operate and had a number of problems, it was a significant
advance in commercial air travel. I had a few encounters with Concorde back
when I was flying, and they are not to be forgotten.
I'm waiting patiently for the first commercial canard planform. Boeing
had proposed it in the early stages of what became the 777, and it was very
disappointing when they dropped the idea. The Beechcraft Starship was a
worthy effort, but they ruined the fuel efficiency by using a barn door nose
instead of fully streamlining it for lower drag. The last time I saw one of
those was down at Marana Airpark where a number of them were parked minus
the engines.
New, radical designs are always a risky venture. The Soviets built the
Tu144 and crashed one at Orly while demonstrating low speed capabilities
against Concorde. Boeing never made a prototype of their swing-wing design.
I received this link in a news letter this morning. I believe we have
some Concorde enthusiasts on the List.
https://www.businesstraveller.com/business-travel/2016/09/14/auction-concorde-parts-taking-place-november-toulouse-france/
Chris
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro
- Hunter S. Thompson
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