October 22, 2001

6:50 AM

The Concorde Flies Again After an overhaul of the supersonic jet's safety features (after the July 25 crash near Paris), British Airways' Concorde undertook it's first trans-Atlantic flight to New York. British Airways has also set up a Concorde's Return To Service mini-site...
posted by tpl1212 (6 comments total)

Am I alone in not caring about this? No offense. Sure the plane is pretty cool, but there is no chance that I could ever fly on this thing. If I could afford it, I certainly wouldn't waste my money like that.

Maybe it is some sort of Brit national pride thing?
posted by hotdoughnutsnow at 8:21 AM on October 22, 2001

Wow. Now the wealthy can flit about with greater ease. Woooo!
posted by aramaic at 8:28 AM on October 22, 2001

No offense taken, of course. I was thinking the same thing, along the lines of "pride." Perhaps this is a "ra-ra-shish-boom-ba" moment for the airline industry in the wake of a crippling industry tailspin...I don't know.

Of course, some of the safety upgrades - "Aviation experts have designed durable new radial tires that would burst into lighter, more flexible fragments if a blowout occurs. Engineers have also installed fuel tank liners, designed to prevent leaks if the plane's wing is ruptured. The liners are made in part with Kevlar -- a fiber used in bulletproof vests." - seem part common sense, part "pretty cool."
posted by tpl1212 at 8:29 AM on October 22, 2001

...yeah, I liked the bit about the redesigned tires. I wish I were an engineer; I think I'd really enjoy doing "failure mode" design.
posted by aramaic at 8:30 AM on October 22, 2001

I can quite firmly state, as a Brit, that I've never felt pride in Concorde.
posted by Summer at 8:51 AM on October 22, 2001

Something against wealthy people, aramaic?
posted by mw at 10:19 AM on October 22, 2001