Posts by user "Cron" [Posts: 8 Total up-votes: 0 Page: 1 of 1]¶

My question concerns the Concorde nose gear. It rotates forward for stowage thus against the airflow and perhaps requiring more hyd power than a rear retract mechanism. What were the factors in this design decision - particularly considering that this beautiful machine seemed long enough to accommodate rear retraction?

Thanks

Cron.

Not a very technical Q I'm afraid and a Q asked from a position of total ignorance with regards to airliners in general but:

The concorde galley: smaller or bigger than most? Were there any design considerations (stretching and shrinking), did the quality of nosh provided determine a particular design or equipment fit?

Lastly, trivial perhaps, were c.c. allowed the same nosh as the passengers?

Cron.

Hope I can speak for everyone in encouraging Landlady to post more as she has indicated.

Regards

Cron.

Another rather Cron mundane question I'm afraid.

Looking at the many available pictures of the Concorde cockpit, the question of access to the pilots' positions is of interest. It appears to a laymen, such as myself, that an orchestrated position take up would be required, perhaps pilot 1, then pilot 2, then engineer to avoid clambering over each other.

Upon reaching their position, the pilots must have executed some - can I say undignified - legovers and manoeuvering to seat themselves.

I'm imagining a scenario of highly qualified and (perhaps) highly paid skilled aviators with legs at strange angles grunting and twisting themselves into the most advanced aircraft in the World.

Whilst this is happening the Engineer, inwardly laughing to himself, occupies his spacious workplace.

I'm sure I am quite wrong in my visualisation but it would be interesting to hear how the Concorde cockpit layout compared to other types.

Cron.

My question concerns lighting. Not many decent pictures showing landing lights etc being used in anger.

Concorde appears to have a much reduced frontal area for the housing of such lighting.

There is also the question of lenses having to withstand supersonic flow.

And also the angle of attack on landing (hope I have the right terminology there) seemingly pointing any lighting into the sky.

Cron

It has been mentioned that to 'train for Concorde flying' a lengthy course was required with exams. My question concerns these exams: were the applicants expected to know every system on the a/c inside and out? - a seemingly impossible task.

The reason for asking is that even a cursory read of this thread leads to much mind boggle with the sheer complexity of the a/c.

If I may ask - and folk can recall - what would a sample question look like from these exams?

Odd question this which requires a bit of background to give authenticity.

When I could afford to fly R22s from an airfield neat Stratford on Avon the Heli company\x92s owner\x92s son attended some kind of auction of Concorde parts and came back with part (or all) of a Concorde rudder which was duly mounted on the hangar wall.

I gazed long and hard at it (closest I ever got to the supreme lady) and noticed a series of mysterious \x91bolts\x92 sticking out of the rear edge of the rudder. One of the helicopter engineers present rubbed his beard thoughtfully and surmised they may be \x91static wicks\x92 \x96 but nobody present was really sure.

All this of course went straight over my head but whilst they were all on tea break I managed to chip of a couple of flecks of deep blue paint from the rudder and stash them in a match box. (Back in Birmingham later that evening I sat with friends in the garden of the 'Rose and Crown' and we all touched reverentially those paint chips that had been places we could only dream of \x96 but I digress).

What were those bolt like things on the trailing edge of the rudder?

The accessibility of this thread to the 'man in the street', such as I, has confirmed to us what an astounding example of technical achievement Concorde is (not was!). (I'm going to stick my neck out and suggest that the cancellation of say the A380 would not engender a Pprune thread such as this).

Maybe a bit of a sentimental/daft question but may I ask what personal effects the discontinuation of Concorde had on the crews, the engineers and anyone 'hands on' with the aircraft?

The crews, the engineers and anyone 'hands on' with the aircraft would have known that they were involved with something very special. Moreso I detect from such posters that they seemed to have a relationship with the aircraft which went beyond the normal level of any professional working with interesting technology.

Were these people such well balanced types that they shrugged and took in their stride or was there seething but repressed anger? Was there a feeling of personal loss that such a thing would never happen again?

Haven't worded my question very well but I guess you can see what I'm getting at.

Cron.