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Mach 2 Web Site

blusk
Aviator C
Part of the stuff that I had to move to my new office (see post below)  was the photo of the first Concorde on which I was lucky enough to fly in 1983.  (I made a second trip in June 2003, a couple of months before it was pulled from service.)  If you are an aviation geek like me, you might be interested in this web site about the most amazing airliner ever built.
10 Comments
chuchoteur
Adventurer B
Brian, we are now all dying from curiosity... you should post a pic of your new office! :o) (with maybe a "spot the candy corn" competition) :o))
Greg4
Explorer C
hey swa fans!, I have a question is swa going to be doing a new cities and expanding at washington dulles at all? I am surprised they are'nt doing and coast to coast flights with thant new city? ! what are they doing with the washington dulles airport city ? it's just strange they are not adding any flights yet i think !
blusk
Aviator C
Hi Raphael, Well, my office is still a little too messy to photograph right now, but once the rest of my furniture comes, I'll fire up the digital camera. Brian
pcerda
Adventurer B
I've seen the office (most of it was in boxes) but the pictures and models were awesome! Hopefully I'll get back there pretty soon to see the rest! I've seen a bunch of questions on Dulles over the past few months. The only thing I can guess is since we're adding a bunch of planes we'll start opening up more routes sometime soon, but that's only a guess. I don't even know who handles routing and adding new routes........maybe scheduling? Jedi Blog Master
Eric2
Explorer C
Concorde most amazing aircraft?? Not the 737??? In all fairness (I never got the chance to fly the Concorde, I'm afraid), the Concorde was a great plane. But it was darn near impossible to make any money flying it due to high fuel and mx costs as well as the 3-man flight crew. It was loud fuel hog. I am told by a friend of mine who took in back in 1999 on the JFK-CDG route, that the seats were rather narrow, the cabin very cramped and the overhead bins too small -- sounds like a RJ to me!! I guess the reason why you took it wasn't for the luxury, but the 3 hour trans-Atlantic crossing. However, I still wish I got the chance to rake a ride in that baby! I'm sure there is a thrill in going mach2 over the ocean in a space-shuttle look-alike. I also think the retracting nose is pretty cool! Cool pic: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Concorde_under_Verrazano_Bridge.jpg
blusk
Aviator C
Hi Eric, I guess I should have said most amazing from a technological viewpoint. From an economic, reliability, and longivety viewpoint, the 737 truly is amazing. The most exciting thing about flying on Concorde was the takeoff--with all four afterburners lit, the kick in the seat was better than Space Mountain. Looking up out of the tiny window into the dark upper reaches of the atmosphere told you that you were on an commercial aircraft unlike any other. Brian
Leah4
Frequent Flyer B
I wish I could have flown the Concorde! That would have been awesome. When my parents & I were coming back from Israel in 1994, we had to change planes & go through customs at JFK. After landing, the pilot announced that a Concorde plane was taking off, or landing-I forgot which; it was to the left, which is the side we were sitting on. Unfortunately, when I looked out the window, I didn't see it. 😞 Perhaps Southwest will build this type of aircraft someday! I wish! 🙂
Eric2
Explorer C
I don't disagree - the Concorde is/was amazing - I meant the 737 comment as a joke, however, in a half serious way (the 737 is a much better plane when it comes to the aspects that matter most from a business perspective). I can only imagine the afterburners on the Concorde take-off - must have been amazing. On the website you linked to, they give the history of each of the Concordes. Amazing how few hours they have on them! The old 737-200s put em to shame.
blusk
Aviator C
Leah, Concorde is the only aircraft I have flown on where you see folks on the ramp staring at it when it passes by. Eric, Well they both are amazing in their own way. You're right, Concorde had awful utilization, but the aircraft was so complex that after a three-hour flight, it required hours of maintenance, especially toward the end of its service life. Also consider the wear and tear on the airframe because on every flight the airframe stretched four to six inches with the heat from the friction, and then it would have to contract. The cabin floor was built on rollers to handle this stretching/contracting. Blog Boy
Eric2
Explorer C
Made me think of a random Q: How long does it take to A and B check a 737?