Hello everyone!
I heard the following story. Do you think it's true?
Concorde flies at such speed that the body heats up and expands to the extent that, when stationary there is no gap between the wall behind the pilot and the back of his seat. When it is supersonic, a considerable gap develops. On Concorde's final flight, the captain took of his hat and put it in the gap, for it to be squashed in the gap and preserved forever when the aircraft came to a standstill.
I'm an engineer and can think of a thousand reasons why this shouldn't be true but it seems like such a good story. Any thoughts??
2006-08-24 23:46:17 · 7 answers · asked by haggis 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Aircraft
Just found this on Wikipedia:
Due to the heat generated by compression of the air as Concorde traveled supersonically, the fuselage would extend by as much as thirty centimetres, the most obvious manifestation of this being a gap that would open up on the flight deck between the flight engineer's console and the bulkhead. On all the Concordes that had a supersonic flight before retirement, the flight engineers placed their hat in the gap before it cooled, where they remain to this day. However in the case of the Seattle museum's Concorde, the protruding cap was cut off by a thief in an apparent attempt to steal it, leaving a part behind. An amnesty led to the severed cap being returned; the museum has been examining options to reattach it in some way.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concorde#Trivia
Behind the console not the seat!
Obnoxiousposter - a Sardine Milkshake???
2006-08-25 00:03:44 · update #1
Its all a bunch of bullcrap the cockpit of a concorde is protected by a heat shield during supersonic flight and im not talking about a shield like in star wars. during takeoff the nose droops so the pilot can see the runway when its in the air the pilot raises the nose whidh has a heat shield that comes up when in its locked position, the heat shield protects any heat from affecting the cockpit anyway what wikipedia said is true but think about this the plane is 203 feet long that 30 centimeters has to be spread all throughout the entire fuselage not just behind the pilot's seat. oh and yes the seats can move forward and back. it is the same in all commercial jet liners accept for the airbus
2006-08-26 08:42:59 · answer #1 · answered by Rick S 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
NO. It's not true. Yes, a supersonic aircraft's skin may expand a few millimeters during flight due to friction from the air, but for an aircraft to expand to such a degree in as small a space as the area behind the pilot's seat is impossible.
2006-08-25 00:03:02 · answer #2 · answered by JetDoc 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
haggis gave a good answer. That's what I've heard also. I've heard something similar on the SR-71. When it is on the ground, it leaks fuel like a strainer. It has to get up to speed and heat up to expand and seal the gaps. Don't know if it's true, but it sounds interesting.
2006-08-25 19:45:23 · answer #3 · answered by redbeard172 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, it is true, I heard about it on a TV show about Concorde. Evenin a subsonic aircraft, the metal will expand and the aircraft will stretch a few inches, so it is true.
2006-08-26 04:39:57 · answer #4 · answered by Jobfinder 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes it is true..
Plane is made of aluminium composite(which are know to expand) to make it light weight... And due the speed with which it travels, body generates enormous amount of friction (with ref to Air) and thus - skin heats up.
2006-08-24 23:51:37 · answer #5 · answered by Crabby 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I find it equally hard to believe the seats don't adjust. Every other airplane I have been on have tracks the seats slide on.
2006-08-24 23:57:53 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, he slid his seat forward to get a better view outside his windshield.
Now make yourself a delicious sardine milkshake.
2006-08-24 23:53:10 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋