3 ms·
Concorde was very advanced for its time, but it still had things like vacuum tube technology in the avionics bays etc. that would have been supremely expensive
by cyberferret 9y ago
Concorde was very advanced for its time, but it still had things like vacuum tube technology in the avionics bays etc. that would have been supremely expensive to upgrade/replace/repair. Also construction material etc. were good, but have advanced incredibly in the past few decades. Engine technology too.
But there are still physical limitations around size of a supersonic capable airframe and the like, which limits the design of new aircraft and will still keep the price per seat quite high.
However, by far, the biggest limitation that I can foresee is that the aircraft will have to fly non standard routes in order to avoid creating sonic booms over densely populated areas.
- chillydawg 9y agoLondon - New York alone is probably enough to make it worthwhile.
- notahacker 9y agoNew York to London is nowhere near enough to make an aircraft development programme worthwhile, especially not one requiring substantial technological novelty. Demand for high speed business class flights on that route is - based on the last supersonic operator - in the region of one flight per day. The A380 programme has over 200 aircraft delivered and over 100 more ordered and is not expected to break even.