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There's a Concorde Engine Complete with Afterburner for Sale on eBay
- RCitronsBroker 3y agoshit, what a pity it’s not in working order, would’ve swapped it into my Miata in a heartbeat
- hcrisp 3y agoDoes "Nil hours" in the photo mean it was never used?
- hcrisp 3y agoArticle says the plane it came from flew 16,239 hours so I'm guessing the photo was from initial certification if it was actually used. Now that the plane is in Seattle and the engine is in the UK, does that mean it was shipped back after the plane landed? What is on display in a Seattle, dummy engines? So many questions.
- mgdlbp 3y agoThe parts of the logbook shown in the listing seem to imply that this engine was removed in the 1980s when the plane was still registered as G-BFKW. As for the plane, engines 3 and 4 are visible in a 2010 photo.¹ By 2015 the ducts had all been covered.², albeit № 3 haphazardly in the rear.³ ¹ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Concorde_(British_AW),_Seattle_(5006028875).jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Concorde_(British_AW... ² https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Concorde_2015-06_673.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Concorde_2015-06_673... ³ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Concorde_2015-06_692.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Concorde_2015-06_692...
- cjrp 3y agoThe logbook says "at commencement" (i.e. at the time this logbook starts from, the engine has 0 hours). It's because there might be multiple logbooks for an engine, so if you reached the end of logbook1 and it had 5000 hours accounted for, logbook2 would say 5000 hours at commencement.
- whalesalad 3y ago“Hey can you move your car? I’ve got a package coming”
- martinclayton 3y agoMissed it, darn.
- rbanffy 3y agoReported it as “junk” since it’s not functioning. ;-)
- AshamedCaptain 3y agoCondition is actually set to "Used". So this technically violates eBay policies, as the seller should have explicitly mentioned "For parts only". Whoever bought it can now file a SNAD case with eBay and likely get his half million pounds back.
- qiine 3y ago"According to the seller, the engine is “not able to fly” and “must only be used for static display." Hmmmm
- rovr138 3y ago> BA restriction of use, it must only be used for static display.
- DanAtC 3y ago> Something went wrong. Please disable your blocker on SimpleFlying.com Yeah, nah.
- nottorp 3y agoInteresting, because I didn't get that. Maybe my blocker disabled their blocker blocker? [It's either something in Firefox + uBlock Origin, or because I'm in the EU.]
- nelblu 3y agoSame, I'm using Firefox and unlock and didn't get this message either. Btw it reads even better in reading mode. Can you imagine needing a mode for reading for stuff that's actually meant to be read?
- nottorp 3y ago> Can you imagine needing a mode for reading for stuff that's actually meant to be read? Yes, because only in a discussion a few days ago on HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38681437 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38681437 ... someone was excited because the new web allows them to deliver 'experiences' instead of information. Gives some insight into some mindsets.
- bouk 3y agoLink to eBay listing: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/116001533010 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/116001533010
- ethbr1 3y ago"This item is no longer available." ITAR/DDTC works fast.
- londons_explore 3y agoIf there is anything still covered by ITAR in a 50 year old engine, then it really reflects badly on humanities pace of innovation.
- LeifCarrotson 3y agoThere's probably a lot covered by ITAR in a 78-year-old atomic bomb. For better or for worse, ITAR isn't specifically about new technology secrets, it's about information and material with military application. You can't sell a US WWII tank without rendering its main gun inoperable to a civilian, much less a foreigner. That's not because ITAR is worried about foreign governments reverse-engineering that gun.
- ethbr1 3y agoAfaik, there's surprisingly little about the atomic bomb construction that's covered by export restrictions. Fissile materials, ofc. But the US government took the approach that "secret is better than banned" with the bomb, and just never stated any of the details (as they would have been required to, in order to prohibit them). MAD trade secrets, I guess.
- throwup238 3y ago> You can't sell a US WWII tank without rendering its main gun inoperable to a civilian, much less a foreigner. You actually can sell a tank with a working cannon (to a civilian in the US, foreign national or not) if you have at least a Type 09 license to deal in destructive devices and the buyer has a destructive device permit. To export it would be a lot harder (and getting the aforementioned permits is no joke either).
- bluesounddirect 3y agohttps://web.archive.org/web/20231220131012/https://simpleflying.com/concorde-engine-for-sale-ebay/ https://web.archive.org/web/20231220131012/https://simplefly...
- tgv 3y agoSpare parts for the Apollo Lunar Module get auctioned too. NASA apparently just sold the lot when they shut down the Apollo program. Put it in a museum? Nah, we can totally get a fiver for this thing.
- lnsru 3y agoI work in aerospace industry now. Trust me, the amount of hardware stored for decades ongoing projects is shocking. Storages are full, basements are full. Labs and offices slowly turn to storages too. Once you throw it away, there is no way to buy a replacement. So if one can get rid of parts for some finished/discontinued project everything gets disposed asap.
- devoutsalsa 3y agoReinstating the pipework caused the first major headache; most parts had been discarded and engineers had to scour scrap yards and museums to find them. One vital piece was discovered being used as an ashtray. https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/9664538.the-falklands-raid-they-called-mission-impossible/ https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/9664538.the-falklands-raid-...
- hef19898 3y agoThere are no better souvenirs than those! I have a part of a helicopter tail rotor as a very decorativr paper weight, titanium part sure look sexy if you ask me!
- snakeyjake 3y ago>Labs and offices slowly turn to storages too. There may or may not be six pelican cases full of junk, I mean totally useful equipment, next to me in my office right now.
- kortilla 3y agoNobody cares about spare parts in a museum unless they add up to a full replica of something recognizable. Selling to people who care is likely much better in the long term. If they turn out to be valuable our grandkids can read about how someone donated them from their private collection.
- Aardwolf 3y agoI was looking for some nice heavy object for cable management on my desk, but this one may be a bit too bulky
- vandamd 3y agoAt Dyson HQ, there is a Concorde engine! (https://www.laurenfleishman.com/industry/ayv6iuo4va6yo3xuuv4hrfc0hbrayd https://www.laurenfleishman.com/industry/ayv6iuo4va6yo3xuuv4...)
- epolanski 3y agoI skimmed it quickly, but I can't see how the seller got his hands on this engine. Why isn't it being auctioned by British Airways themselves?
- RajT88 3y agoIf it's a case of sticky fingers, I would love to see how that heist went down.
- Arrath 3y agoWith a very big lunch box.
- notahacker 3y agoBA probably disposed of it years ago, possibly as part of a consignment of other unneeded spares
- philk10 3y agoI used to live near Heathrow and its flight path when it was flying and never got tired of seeing (and hearing) it
- dcminter 3y agoI used to live out at Reading (about 30 miles away) and we still had to pause conversations and phone calls when it went past. It was VERY LOUD. I also worked at BA for a while. Everyone who worked for BA would glance at their watch when they heard it take off - the BA001 flight to NYC at 10am (I think? Or was it 11am?) was a good indicator of how smoothly our systems & the airport's were running - if it was late we probably had a problem. Finally... coming in to land at the north runway you could see it directly overhead from the staff car park for Viscount House (where most of IT was based). The noise of it usually set off half the car alarms and you could see a huuuuge trail of dirty brown imperfectly burnt fuel with the engines throttled back. Good times!
- timthorn 3y agoI lived there too. When I was at school, our morning break was timed so Concorde would take off while we were out of lessons. Every now and then we'd have an extended playtime because of delays at Heathrow.
- hydrogen7800 3y agoAnd I lived on the other end, about 5 miles from the approach end of runways 22R and 22L at JFK. I always ran to the window when it came by. Big planes would sometimes rattle the dishes in the kitchen. I now live ~10 miles from a relatively busy airport with business/charter jet traffic, and its barely noticeable to me. But lots of noise complaints in my town and neighboring towns.
- quickthrower2 3y agoAlso 10 miles from a main airport and on flight path. Sometimes get plane shadows! Not too bad noise wise as they are at 3000ft I think. And either I got used to it but swear they have got quieter over time.
- rwmj 3y agoAnyone know how "BA restriction of use, it must only be used for static display" works? The buyer must agree to an additional covenant?
- gosub100 3y agoIt's probably a clause to protect the seller so the buyer can't try to return it (or refuse to pay) on the grounds that "I planned on buying this as an investment, but found out nobody in the industry will buy the parts and you didn't tell me about this first". edit: or cuts their finger off trying to play around with it.
- I_Am_Nous 3y agoOr "No you can't put this in a plane and expect it to works safely and within regulations so if you do and it explodes, not our problem"
- INGSOCIALITE 3y agoForced adblocker disabling message on link
- nemo 3y agoIt's sold already: https://jalopnik.com/concorde-engine-finally-sold-on-ebay-afterburner-inclu-1851108481 https://jalopnik.com/concorde-engine-finally-sold-on-ebay-af...
- lofaszvanitt 3y agoAnd how will they deliver this 3,5 ton, 5,5 meter long package?
- EGreg 3y agoProbably on a train!
- wongarsu 3y agoThe ebay listing is for collection only. But you can just hire DHL or whoever to ship it, even if a 5 ton pallet (once you include the stand) is a bit heavier than normal.
- zokier 3y agoShould fit well into standard box truck?
- aerostable_slug 3y agoThe late Jacques Littlefield used to tell visitors that, in some cases, transporting a given armored vehicle from the dock up to his barns in Portola Valley was the most expensive part of the vehicle's acquisition process. Specialty haulers charge a pretty penny.
- Arrath 3y agoGotta wonder for a case like that when the balance tips towards buying a truck & trailer and hiring a driver as needed.
- gernt 3y agoOne of the strangest sightings in Kansas City, MO is a Concorde nose cone encased in glass in someone's back yard easily seen when driving down the street. https://flatlandkc.org/curiouskc/question-everything/questions-answered/whats-behind-the-plane-behind-the-house-off-ward-parkway/ https://flatlandkc.org/curiouskc/question-everything/questio...
- move-on-by 3y agoWow, I’m glad I read the entire article. I did not anticipate the answer to: “Why did you buy this?”. Thank you for sharing.
- jessriedel 3y agoSpoiler for others because I don't like being teased: > “People come and look at it all the time,” Azima said. “They ask me, ‘Why’d you buy this?’ [I say] ‘I want to be buried in it.’”
- ChicagoDave 3y agoHarold and Kumar buy a Concord Jet Engine.
- mannykannot 3y agoIt has the afterburner, but it is arguably not complete without the variable geometry nozzles (yes, there were two) and intake. There's lots more information on the nozzles here: https://www.heritageconcorde.com/variable-exhaust-nozzles https://www.heritageconcorde.com/variable-exhaust-nozzles Takeaway quote: The intake and variable exhaust system are together responsible for a good deal of Concorde’s thrust development: about half of the thrust at Mach 2 is due to their combined effect.
- sgt101 3y agoNow hang on, reading Russian propaganda makes me completely certain that variable geometry nozzles were invented by the USSR for the SU-37. So I think it's clear that the information presented by you is hallucinated by a recent large language model. Just wanted to clear that up.
- mhandley 3y agoInteresting from that link that concorde could use in-flight reverse thrust to achieve an increased rate of descent. I wonder if this was regularly used, or only so concorde could descend rapidly enough from cruise altitude if they lost cabin pressure? The oxygen masks aren't effective at cruise altitude, which is one reason the windows are so small - if one fails, they needed to descend quickly before cabin pressure was fully lost.
- teeray 3y agoSome kids’ school bus is about to get a serious upgrade
- nxobject 3y agoSeatbelts everyone!
- WalterBright 3y agoThe obvious use for it is to mount it in a VW Bug.
- dylan604 3y agoThe VW Van would be a bit more appropriate I think
- jhallenworld 3y agoSome ham radio guys with a jet engine in the backyard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsR8pCkSFW4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsR8pCkSFW4
- csteubs 3y agoI grew up in northern Virginia and very fondly remember going to Dulles with my dad as a kid to watch the Concorde take off for the last time. That this is the engine off the same plane I saw 20 years ago is really cool. Our old house was directly under the approach path; the windows would shake at 2:30PM almost every day.
- Gibbon1 3y ago> watch the Concorde take off for the last time. That this is the engine off the same plane I saw 20 years ago is really cool The future is fading away quickly.
- smegsicle 3y agowhy would a passenger jet even have an afterburner you may ask? apparently it was needed for takeoff, and since it was there, also used to more quickly cross over the sound barrier
- MathMonkeyMan 3y agoshow me how to disable my adblocker
- Duanemclemore 3y agoI was an aviation and space-obsessed teen in 1994. My uncle was a private pilot. He took me to the Oshkosh EAA show that year. Being the 25th anniversary of the Moon Landing they had what was purported to be the largest gathering of Apollo astronauts all on one stage as dusk was falling. After dark I realized I was going to miss something else I REALLY wanted to see. So after dark I left this "historic" gathering early believe it or not and rushed to the flight line to watch the Concorde take off on the shuttle flight they brought it in for. With nothing between the runway and the flight line it was possibly the loudest thing I've ever heard, and in the otherwise dead darkness the afterburners lit up the entire place, their flame visible almost as long as the tail cone.