Trade.Information

40 years after the maiden flight of the elegant but commercially unprofitable Concorde soon be new supersonic jets at the starting line.

Half a decade after the phasing out of the Concorde, there are several projects, again a supersonic aircraft for civil aviation to build. The new pilots will be relatively small, zwölfsitzige range business, a capacity of about hundred passengers, like the Concorde, was not planned.

With the new sky-cars, the engineers paid particular attention to the two weaknesses of the legendary French-British Jets: noise and high consumption. The basic problem of supersonic aircraft remains: When you break the sound barrier will create a loud bang. That meant that most countries of the former Concorde only one overflight permission for speeds below the threshold given. Only on the open sea, the pilots were able to really give gas and speeds up to Mach 2, twice the speed of sound, create.

In the race for a new supersonic pilots for civil aviation, both Americans, Europeans, the Japanese but also very ambitious plans. Even middle of the next decade, two American companies want small supersonic range business on the market, a third U.S. aircraft have also been plans for a supersonic flying in the drawer.

Sun plans to the U.S. company Aerion a twelve seater, up to 1900 kilometers per hour is to create. Unlike the Concorde, it was economically efficient. The operating costs are roughly comparable with conventional Privatjes. Another improvement to the Concorde is the issue of noise can be achieved. The range business "SBJ" is up to a speed of Mach 1.15 supersonic dreaded the bang on the ground to avoid. But just like the Concorde, he could also only on the open sea, its maximum speed of 1.6 Mach ausreizen. Current line aircraft are only about half as fast.

Also on noise prevention requires Supersonic Aerospace International (SAI) with its "Quiet Supersonic Transport", as the name suggests, to avoid noise by a special V-tail, the bang when breaking the sound barrier a hundred times quieter than it did in the Concorde.

The EU force has been working again on a supersonic jet. Hisac, said the working title, is still in its early phase. A feasibility study will determine how the aircraft might look like. Also, Boeing and the U.S. space agency Nasa are working on a study on supersonic aircraft. They could, however, only in about 30 years in service. Since the Japanese are a little further, they hope to build their super-fast aircraft by 2020.

From the throw really big dream while the engineers of the European Aviation Agency Esa: The project will Lapcat large aircraft under consideration, the speeds of Mach 5 or Mach 8, which are nearly 9600 hours kilometers, could reach. But there is still a long way. "Are the main drive and the enormous heat," says Patrick Gruhn from German Center for Aeronautics and Astronautics. Such a European Concorde's successor, who would take even longer than the Airbus A380 super jumbo, is looming in the distant future. "The construction of a Mach-5-plane would be in 25 years - if now would be a lot of money invested," says Gruhn.

Champagne and foie gras

The fascinating history of the civil supersonic aviation began 40 years ago. On the afternoon of the 2nd Lifted in March 1969 in Toulouse, the Concorde on its maiden flight from. The elegant white Deltaflügler, a triumph of French-British engineering, a new era of civilian aviation substantiated.

With twice the speed of sound in just a little over three hours over the Atlantic, arriving in New York time after time earlier than the departure, champagne and foie gras in 18 000 meters altitude, the only supersonic aircraft in the civil aviation enthusiasts not only technology freaks, but also managers and wealthy celebrities. Claudia Schiffer, Paul McCartney, Sting and Elton John to be happy in the Langstreckten jet with folding nose have taken place.

It was the Concorde before its first scheduled deployment in 1976, an economic disaster. Many airlines already had since the first oil crisis because of its orders for the jet canceled, up to 23 000 liters of kerosene burned in an hour - at a capacity of only about 100 passengers. For comparison, a modern Airbus A320 with a capacity for 150 passengers is almost one tenth of this amount.

Finally, only the national airlines of the two home countries Concorde, Air France and British Airways, 16 machines in the line service. They sat in the aging miracle bird last only on the lucrative North Atlantic route to New York.

The end of the first supersonic era in civil aviation

In July 2000, also wanted 96 German tourists to New York to the cruise ship "MS Deutschland" to climb. But her mark with the Concorde F-BTSC rolled at the start in Paris on a metal part, which is a little before departing plane had lost. It is shredded at a speed of 324 kilometers an hour a tire, parts of which against the left wing were hurled. The shock waves ripped the tank number 5 from the inside, herausströmendes kerosene is ignited.

The burning Concorde stumbled about one minute at a height of 60 meters, then tilted to the left and crashed on a hotel in the Paris suburb of Gonesse. All 100 passengers and four crew members and four people on the ground were killed. It was the beginning of the end of the Concorde era. While stuck, Air France and British Airways again in a million upgrading its prestigious flagship, its admission wiedererhielt, but the comeback of the Concorde was the wrong time.

Tags: supersonic flight , Concorde , supersonic aircraft , civil aviation , ,

Recommend this news <none> 1=poor2=cool3=good4=better5=excellent