HD Screens instead of windows...

[Garry Russell]

Yep ...pressure failures are usually the structure and sometimes where there is no cut out.

[airboatr]

I bet the Nigels get Windows. ...

[petermcleland]

This is a supersonic aircraft and would get very hot and expand in length by 5 to 12 inches at Concorde speeds. Concorde's fuselage along the passenger part got up to 91 to 94 degrees C...The nose was very much hotter at about 124C and the tail a bit cooler at about 90C. All this heat and expansion are a bit of a nightmare to design around and no windows would certainly help. The pressurisation was higher pressure than normal airliners as the cabin altitude remained at about 5,700 feet even though the aircraft would be at 60,000 feet.

One aspect of this great altitude was that unlike normal airliners it could not get down quickly from cruise altitude in the event of an explosive decompression...So it had to be built so that it would never have an explosive decompression. When I did an explosive decompression from 25,000 feet to 56,000 feet in a decompression chamber at the school of aviation medicine it was emphasised that if I got 100% Oxygen without pressure, I would only have about 30 seconds of useful consciousness. So all my kit was inflated automatically, pressurising that outside of my chest and legs...But I had to get that mask toggle down very quickly to contain the automatically pressurised flow of oxygen to my mask. I spent a week learning to do pressure breathing and it is not easy. Nobody could do that and survive a decompression to that altitude without training and nobody would be wearing the protective clothing anyway.

Supersonic aeroplanes are totally different from normal aeroplanes and when you consider placing them outside the Military you face some very difficult problems. You can't just put the passengers or crew in spacesuits!

[Garry Russell]

Ah..yes I see Peter.

There is a whole load of difference between a DC 6 and Concorde as regards pressure

Wasn't it the temp on the nose that limited Concordes speed at any given time when supersonic??

I also read the Pepsi Concorde was very speed limited because it was not white...the optimum colour.

The lack of sweep looks odd in such a fast aeroplane??

I was always amazed that given the intense cold at altitude, the icredible heating at speed with all the stretching and shrinking that they developed a paint that could adhere despite all the forces.

[airboatr]

Well another thing it ain't got besides windows (Compared to Concord that is]

is
Class