Remembering the days of civilized air travel

• New York to London on a BOAC Stratocruiser Jeffrey W. Renshaw
• THE SALTY SEAS SUPERSONICALLY, or,
  Some Subtleties of Springtime Spherical Sheraton Shuttling Dwight L. Chambers
• Manila to San Francisco.   Mike Butler.
• Happy birthday 707.   Eric Margolis
• Passenger Memories.

Return

New York to London on a BOAC Stratocruiser: Jeffrey W. Renshaw

   As a young man during the early 50's, I was fortunate to have traveled many times on those magnificent airliners of the day - The Boeing Stratocruiser, Lockheed Constellation, Douglas DC-7C and Bristol Britannia - flying between New York and London. My father had retired from flying after the war and was in management with BOAC stationed in the US at LaGuardia first, then Idyllwild (Kennedy). 
       The early BOAC Stratocruisers (called the "Monarch") and Contellations were all gleaming aluminum, reflecting the ramp lights while waiting to board their passengers. No walkways back then, just a short journey from the terminal to the steps up to the aircraft. Sometimes, if the weather was foul, ground crew would escort passengers to the aircraft shielding them with umbrellas - what service!! . Usually the engines on the starboard side of the aircraft (right or opposite side from entry doors) would already be running. Inside, these "giants of the sky" were roomy and comfortable. The bathrooms were large with private toilet areas, double sinks, wall length mirrors where I can recall men shaving in the early hours before arrival.  During these long flights, berths were provided for those passengers who desired them and my sisters and I spent many a night in between those crisp white sheets peering out the small "porthole" window at the stars or the moon. Sometimes, as I recall, the flight to London from New York lasted 15 hours going via Gander, Newfoundland; Shannon, Ireland; Prestwick, Scotland then on to London. Many times a stop at Manchester would be in the itinerary.
       Dining on these flights was equal to that in some of the finest restaurants, even in "Tourist" class. Stewards (there were few stewardesses in the early years) dressed in white dinner jackets would serve appetizers from silver trays onto real china using real silverware and glass. There was a choice of entree and dessert as well as a full complimentary "bar" service. Smoking was the norm and the Stratocruiser had a lounge down a central circular stairway where one could sit and "chat" with an after dinner drink and a smoke. A few hours before arrival time as the dawn approached, the head steward would come by and offer a "spot of tea" prior to a breakfast of "bangers", eggs, bacon & toast.
       On some occasions, because of father's status with BOAC, I spent many hours of the journey on the flight deck (cockpit) in awe of all the lighted dials and switches. I would listen intently as the Captain explained the workings of each and every instrument, dial, switch and lever. While wearing a set of headphones, I could hear the Captain talk to the ground controllers and watch him maneuver the large steering column, throttles and rudder pedals while getting permission to change course or altitude. This was my most exciting part of the trip and if allowed I would spend the whole time there. Even back in my window seat I would always be glued to the window watching for a movement of the control surfaces out on the straight wing.  At night, the engine exhaust would appear as a blue flame from the sides of each of the four droning engines while moonlight or navigation lights glistened off the propellers.
       I can clearly recall landing at the crack of dawn at Shannon or Prestwick and seeing rabbits by the runway as we gracefully touched down and roiled to the terminal where we disembarked for a short time, having a snack and tea in the lounge while the aircraft was refueled for the rest of our journey. During the descent stage, the steward would come around with a tray of "sweets", hard candies which one would suck on to ease the inner ear pressure.
       Arriving at London, the passengers disembarked onto busses with comfortable, high back seats for the short ride to customs.  BOAC also provided busses to their main "Airways Terminal "in central London. This certainly was the "Golden Age" of civil aviation!
       October 4, 1958 ushered in the jet age when the BOAC Comet 4 made the first scheduled transatlantic journey with a full compliment of passengers.  BOAC had operated the first commercial jetliner service, the ill-fated Comet 1, in 1952 but discontinued service after several crashes due to airframe failure. None of our family ever flew on the Comet 1 since it operated mainly on the far eastern routes. I flew on the Comet 4 many times, as well as the 707 and VC-10. These early jets hold a very special place in my heart but none as close as those slow, graceful prop liners.

                                                                                                                                    Respectfully Submitted,

                                                                                                                                           Jeffrey W. Renshaw           

Manila to San Fransisco

In the '50s our family lived in the Philippines. On occasion (vacation or in the case of my father, business) our family would fly from Manila to San Francisco and return. We flew in the Stratocruisers. What was neat for us kids is that my parents knew many of the passengers. They (all) also knew most of the flight crews. Usually the Captain would ok the removal of the booze from the cocktail lounge and turn it in to a day care center for the kids. The adults would post one of the parents at the top of the stairs to keep us kids from coming up, though many of us felt we should have posted one of us at the top of the stairs to warn of any adults that might want to come down.  I have many a memory of sharing a bunk with one of my brothers on the long (52 hour total travel time) flights.

    One of my worst memories is of one trip on one of the legs from Hong Kong to Guam toWake to Honolulu. A Chinese lady with two very young kids (babies) boarded. I believe she had refugee status and was on here way to the US to begin a new life. Unfortunately, she did not speak English and no one on board spoke her dialect of Chinese. Her kids cried and screamed the whole way across. Or at least that is what I remember (I was 9 at the time).

I hated the 707's when they came in. I thought PanAm was going to the dogs when they got rid of the Stratocruisers.

                                     RETURN                                                     Mike Butler Feb  98

HAPPY BIRTHDAY 707
by Eric Margolis - 11 Dec 1997
FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT

Thirty-nine years ago this week, a National Airlines
Boeing 707 flew from New York to Miami - the first          
commercial jet flight in the USA. The great air
transport revolution had begun.

And what a revolution it was. I vividly recall as a
child flying in 1949 from New York to Paris in a
prop-driven, Boeing Stratocruiser, a civilian version   
of the B-29 heavy bomber.

The Stratocruiser was roomy, but agonizingly slow.
New York to Paris took 14-16 hours, as I recall,
depending on the winds. Prop-driven aircraft of the
era flew much lower than today's jets, which meant
bumpy, rough rides. I even remember throwing up on             Boeing 707
singer Eddie Fisher aboard an Eastern DC-6 back in
the early 50's, when we were caught in a nasty storm
on the way to Miami. Fisher was extremely gracious.

A circular staircase in the Stratocruiser's nose wound
down to where the bombardier once sat, a smart
cocktail lounge for the elegantly attired, first class
passengers. In those days, all passengers dressed up to
fly.

I actually had a costly berth bed, with curtains, just
like on trains, and recall feeling terribly guilty I
couldn't sleep (and still can't on planes).

Later, in the 50's, I flew and hated loud, clunky,
DC-6's. But I loved the gorgeous, sexy Lockheed                
`Constellation,.' designed by Howard Hughes.
`Connies' were one of the most beautiful planes ever
built, like big, P-38 fighters.

Still, each 16 hour Atlantic crossing was torture.
Then, in 1959, as a teenager, I boarded a
just-introduced Boeing 707 for a flight from New
York's Idelwild Airport (today JFK) to Paris. . Only
seven short hours across the Atlantic; no rough                            Stratocruiser
weather, and no noise, the other curse of piston                            
engines. I was thrilled. The 707 was a miracle in sheet
metal.                                                                                               DC7

The robust 707 flew twice as fast, a third higher, and
carried more than twice the passengers of older
aircraft. Its four jet engines were far more reliable and
safer than piston engines, which shot out flames at
night, petrifying passengers. The 707 opened the era
of popular air travel and mass tourism, driving
passenger trains, buses, and ocean liners into
extinction.                                                                                        DC 7

Britain actually beat Boeing by launching the Comet,
the world's first commercial jet. But Comet was
grounded after fatal crashes caused by metal fatigue.
My father took one of the first Comet flights. He got
off in Rome,. The Comet took off, and blew-up in
mid-air.

Convair launched two competitors to the 707: the 880
and 990 `Coronado,' sleek, beautiful planes, smaller
and faster than the stout 707. A Swissair Coronado
set a world speed record in the late 1950's when the
jet stream boosted it to supersonic speed. But the
Coronados, which I really liked, carried too few
passengers and lost money,.They were taken out of
service. The handsome Douglas DC-8, an excellent,
sturdy aircraft, became the 707's main rival. France's
excellent Caravelle jet lacked the range to compete.

Today, most 707's are out of passenger service,
though many still fly freight, and in military versions.
Boeing is just ending production of 707's for AWACS
airborne radar and electronic intelligence versions.

Four years ago. I boarded a Pakistani Airways flight
at Lahore and was delighted to discover it was an
original, unmodified, late-50's model 707, making its
last passenger flight before being converted into a
freighter. It had open shelves instead of stowage bins,
and big, dome lights in the ceiling. I felt in a 50's time
warp.

But what really amazed me were the seats. The
original economy-class seats were larger, wider and
more amply spaced than today's business-class seats.
Unlike current passenger jets, there was lots of fresh
air in the cabin, and room to walk around.

This PIA 707 was one of the last vestiges on earth of     
civilized air travel.

Copyright: Eric Margolis, 11 December 1997                      

RETURN    

FLYING A PANAM

STRATOCRUISER

   Back in the 1950's airplanes had names Stratocruiser, Clipper, Constellation, Electra not numbers (707,747,DC10,ect). Today a jet flight over the Atlantic takes 7 hours. The Stratocuiser took over 14 hours. On the trip from Paris, the plane had to stop at Shannon Ireland to refuel. The plane's  design was based on that of the B-29 Bomber. It was the original jumbo, with a circular staircase linking the main cabin with a lower deck lounge, in an all first class configuration for 70 pampered passengers. No four across seating here. In 1952 planes had to be comfortable because of the time it took to cross the Atlantic. We left Paris in the evening, and after dinner, the plane was ready for sleeping. Fold down berths dropped from overhead, and the seats reclined so that everyone could sleep. It may have taken 13 hours to get to New York, but you could do it in style and comfort. After evening takeoff you could adjourn to the bar and lounge. A few drinks later, you climb the stairs to the upper deck to a seven course dinner, then back down to the cocktail lounge for an after dinner drink, while the flight attendants prepared your sleeping berth. You would then retire which wasn't easy due to the engine vibrations. We had the forward compartment with two seats facing each other on each side of the plane. When we woke up, the plane was vibrating a little less. One of the engines was out, and we learned we would be making an emergency landing in Newfoundland. Since we were next to the flight deck, we would get periodic visit and updates from the flight engineer who would look out the window to check the engines. We arrived in New York ten hours late.

Both PANAM and TWA had planes that made the crossing bearable. However they were gas guzzlers with high maintenance cost, low passenger loads, and therefore expensive to operate. The Ocean liners still had an edge in comfort and reliability. They were the first choice when crossing the Atlantic.

RETURN  

        
Copyright April 30, 1999 (with an epilogue July, 2003), by Dwight L.
Chambers
permission to copy is granted provided the title and authorship
statement is retained.

-- Introduction:  It has been my intention for about 25 years to fly
Concorde--preferably to Paris--and I finally got to do so.  Many of you
have asked for details of my recent flight, so I thought I would write
down ALL my impressions, at the risk of boring everybody.  But this way    
you will not miss the details which I would surely overlook if I told
you individually.

-- History:  The Concorde first flew in 1969 and entered commercial
service in 1976.  The Russians built a copycat model, but it crashed
during the annual Paris air show effectively killing it.  A US Supersonic
Transport was proposed; it was finally killed by the Carter
administration as financially ineffective; this was viewed by many as typical
Democrat-anti-business policy but has proven astute over time.  Concorde
today flies daily between New York - CDG (Charles de Gaulle Paris) by Air
France once daily, and to LHR by British Air twice daily. This requires
6 planes yet 14 were built.  In the past there were flights to
Washington with continuations to Miami, and some to South America. 
Occasionally "flights to nowhere" are scheduled for fans like me--they depart from
various cities and go out supersonic over the ocean for an hour or two,
returning to the departure point.  Round the world charters for
tourists and golfers are occasionally organized by tour companies.  There is
no aircraft, civilian or military, that can follow Concorde
supersonically across the Atlantic unless it has pre-positioned midair refueling.

-- The Idlewild airport.  Actually it hasn't been Idlewild (IDL) since
they changed the name to JFK in 1964, but I still think of it as
Idlewild.  This airport is the American home of Concorde.  It has been 35
years since I flew out of the beautiful TWA terminal 5 in 1963 as a child. 
It was quite modern then, and even today, Eero Saarinen's architecture
has a delightful air to it.  I revisited it during this trip and
realized that it surely inspired the sets of the Jetsons cartoons.  He also
designed the Saint Louis arch and the terminal building at Washington
Dulles airport.

-- Financials:  The flights pay their own way, but have never recovered
their development costs, however this was known before the project was
commenced.  It is probably a tax subsidy for the rich, but so is your
local stadium.  Actually I would rather sit in Concorde than in my local
stadium, but I can only do it once as I am not rich.  A flight to
Europe and back will cost about $9500 from JFK. You can throw in Phoenix for
another $200.  This is comparable to a regular first-class ticket on a
subsonic widebody.  A one-way can be had for about $5000.

-- Frequent Flyers:  By happenstance, I had some Delta miles (since
they never expire) and they had built up.  I noticed that their ties to
Air France were strengthening two or three years ago, and recently they
began code sharing as well.  One winter day in December I was reading
some fine print and saw that you could redeem 200,000 Delta miles for a
Concorde flight, so I called right away and reserved, fearing they would
revoke such redemptions at any minute, or not have any seats left, just
as my luck would typically run.  For comparison, Europe on Delta is
50,000 miles, Business is 80,000, and First is 100,000.  You may disagree,
but I've done all three classes and knew for sure that the Concorde was
good value for me.  Total cost of the ticket:  $30.79 which was for the
various minor taxes.

-- Normal Transatlantic Jet Lag:  All carriers' transatlantic flights
mostly depart eastbound at around sundown, and this is true up and down
the American coastline.  From Phoenix where I live there is an 8-hour
time change (in the summer) for London and 9 for Paris.  So you
typically fly 9am - 3pm (about 4 air hours) from Phoenix to the east coast,
wait two or three more hours, then climb in the sardine can for the 8-hour
ocean flight.  The seating will be 2-5-2 on a 767 and DC-10, or 3-4-3
on a 747.  (Did you remember to check your window seat assignment every
month so they didn't shift you into a center seat?  Did you take a tour
package, where there is no pre-assigned seating?).  You stagger off the
plane in Europe around 9 am, ride into town for an hour, and sit in the
lobby of your hotel for another hour or two while your room is cleaned. 
You immediately climb into your bed for a sound sleep thru dinner, and
wake up famished at 3am.  Thus begins your normal European visit.

-- Concorde Jet Lag:  Since the Air France Concorde takes off early in          
the morning, you must take a PHX-JFK flight the day before.  Delta
included mine for free with the Concorde ticket.  The Idlewild airport is THE FINAL CONCORDE FLIGHT
ugly enough that it makes the warehouse district in Phoenix look quite
upscale.  Anyway, since there is no in-terminal airport hotel (in the
US, you would need to fly to Chicago, Miami, or Dallas for this) you ride
the so-called "5-minute shuttle" to an adjacent hotel.  The hotel food
is awful, and you offer up another of many thanksgiving prayers that
your food tomorrow will be on Air France (5 stars) rather than British
Air (1 star).  Freshly shaven and fully rested with 3 hours of jet lag
eliminated, you take the 6 am shuttle to the airport in order to fully
explore the terminal before the 8am flight, but also to avoid the hotel's
so-called breakfast.  In effect, I have devoted one extra day to the
Concorde experience, due to living on the US west coast, and this would
not apply to someone living on the east coast. Your seating will be 2-2
on Concorde, all First Class.

-- The Concorde departure lounge:  At IDL/JFK you will depart on Air
France from Terminal 1 (there are nine).  As the shuttle pulls into the
airport, Concorde sits at gate 1 for all to see.  You can see the other
Concorde's rudder over at British Air terminal 7.  Many people
(including me) are still thrilled by the Concorde design, which a recent New
York Times article named one of the best designs of the past few decades,
or something to that effect.  Inside the brand new gleaming Terminal 1,
you approach the Air France ticket counters.  Concorde is the only
flight out of Terminal 1 until noon, so there are four red carpets leading
up to four lady agents, all dressing really sharp as French women do. 
Four agents for 100 passengers = no waiting in line. You hold your
breath wondering if the Delta computer really did talk in French to the Air
France computer.  But not to worry, "Bon jour, Monsieur Chambers, seat
8A is OK?" "Mais bien sur."  Into the First Class lounge which is
Really Nice.  It is two stories of Scandinavian style birchwood, leather,
and the excellent food you would expect from Air France.  Rationalizing
that it will be 2pm in Paris when we take off, I help myself to a glass
of champagne after finishing my croissant.  Also open are a nice bottle
of Volnay red and another white Burgundy which I can't remember.  My
alcohol consumption starts a trend among the other early arrivers.  The
bakery products--croissants, pains au chocolat, and baguettes--are a
tribute to New York, and definitely better than the slipshod messes you
get in Atlanta from Delta.  Indeed, last year Delta's Atlanta first class
departure lounge didn't even have food!  See the epilogue to this story
for other changes.

-- Amongst the glitterati:  I feel rather young (at 48) among the
crowd, which looks like couples mainly. Many are quite elderly.  Definitely
some business people. My wife (staying at home--not enough Frequent
Flyer miles) advised leather shoes (soft soles OK) and gray wool slacks
which I thankfully packed at the last minute; usually it is jeans and
sneakers for comfort and cattle-car ambience.  So I am dressed nicely
along with a blue blazer; still I feel overdressed.  Yet I feel
underdressed for the first time in an airport since about 1964 when the
stewardesses had hats, heels, and gloves.  This is not the usual crowd of
dark-blue-suited salesmen / businessmen that you usually see in first class
reading the golf page in the USA Today, and goosing their colleagues who
didn't get a first class upgrade as they pass thru on the way to coach
class.  I take pictures of the lounge before too many people arrive to
make fun of this gawking farmboy. There are many aviation web pages
that carry pictures of Concorde, so we need not repeat them here.  You may
check your coat in the lounge and it will be handed back to you in
Europe shortly before landing.

-- All aboard, please:  We are called at 7:15 for the 8:00 flight.  I
have to duck about a foot to enter, but at 6 feet 3 inches tall can
stand up easily in the main cabin, which is divided into a front and back
section.  The back section, 2x2x15 boards first.  I'm in the front
section, 2x2x10, in seat 8A. I REALLY wanted a window seat, and got it.  
The fuselage is about 9.5 feet wide, which is quite narrow compared to
the 707/727/737/757 single-aisle jet (which all share the same fuselage,
but I can't find their exact measurements).  It may even be smaller
than a DC-9/MD-90.  I am reminded of a submarine and the economy of space
that it requires.   The cabin has a shiny whitish appearance, due to
the smaller windows, and small-capacity overhead luggage bins of the same
color that flow smoothly into the ceiling.  The capacity of each
overhead bin is about 1.5 good-sized briefcases, so y'all don't be dragging
your nasty roll-ons on board like a bunch of Las Vegas tourists.  If you
can fly Concorde, then you have time to wait for the baggage to arrive
at the baggage claim.  Actually, several closets are available.  When
we deplane, it seems to take just two minutes to get all 100 people off
the plane, rather than the usual 300 plus their guitars and souvenir
pineapples.

-- Greet your neighbor:  A medley of Mancini tunes is playing,
including the wonderful Baby Elephant Walk.  I will look like one after eating
in France for a week.  As you know I was in a Mancini-commissioned
short-film in the 70s, so this is wonderful.   There is the usual stowage
under the seats, which are all gray leather, and the Air France
seatbacks are exceptionally taller than the British Air ones, and this helps
eliminate the coach-class look.  My torso is extremely long, yet I have
to crane my neck to see the Mach meter at the front of the cabin, which
is the only instrumentation.  BA has several other instruments, like
altimeters, visible on its versions.  My forehead-to-cabin-wall distance
is about 2 inches, as opposed to about 6 inches on a domestic 757 in
first class, which is interesting perhaps, but I measure it for
curiosity's sake and not because it feels cramped.  The windows are one half
normal size,  about the size of your hand, but they are set higher up so
you don't have to bend your neck to see straight out.  I had no trouble
watching the sights roll by.  I am elated to find that I don't have a
seat-mate in 8B, and there are seven other empty seats on this flight. 
There is about 6" from my knee to the seat back in front of me, just
like any domestic First Class or international Business Class.
Specifically, 31" seat-to-seat pitch on a Delta 757 domestic First, vs. 33" on
Concorde. But seat width is noticeably narrower, 17" vs. 21" in first
class and 19/18" in economy for the 757.  This is similar to coach, except
that the fold-down 4-inch armrest increases each person's hip room by
leaving space below the armrest, and keeps the seatmate farther away
than would happen in economy.

-- The physics of flight:  Now, Air France tail number F-BVFC pushes
back at 7:50, 10 minutes early.  We will hit Mach 2 at 9:30; more about
that later.  For those whose eyes have not glazed over yet, or closed
completely in a deep sleep, we will explain that Concorde flies subsonic
like any other plane up to 30,000 feet (most jets fly between 30-40000
feet).  Concorde has two notable differences.  The first is takeoff and
landing, and the second is cruise above 30,000 feet.

-- The First difference:  Takeoff and Landing.  To achieve maximum
lift, engineers want a wide (side-to-side) wingspan to cut thru lots of
air.  Think of a glider with its huge wingspan.  On Concorde or any
supersonic aircraft the wings must be tucked in close to the fuselage, and
swept back even further than a subsonic jet, so that the wing tips do not
extend into the cone of sonic boom surrounding the fuselage. This
delta-wing shape severely reduces lift, as compared to a traditional
wide-wingspan jet.  Thus at takeoff, Concorde must roll faster to generate
increased lift.  Perhaps 230 mph as opposed to 170, if I remember
correctly.

All supersonic aircraft have afterburners.  An afterburner simply dumps
jet fuel into the exhaust pipe of the jet engine.  Concorde uses its
afterburners at takeoff, from the minute it starts to roll.  Fuel
consumption is at least doubled, and for Concorde the thrust is increased 17%
above the normal 100% (non-afterburner) thrust.  It is also LOUD.  You
notice this upon takeoff and for about 10 seconds after the wheels
leave the ground, at which point the afterburners are turned off.  The
takeoff roll is extremely Fast and noticeable, equivalent to about 0-60 MPH
in 8 seconds.

Because the delta wing extends to the very back of the fuselage, you
will notice that there are no separate elevators, that stubby pair of
tail fins extending horizontally below the rudder, that you would find on
normal passenger jets. The elevators and ailerons are built combined
(called elevons) into the back edge of the Concorde wing, and
consequently there can be no wing "flaps" on Concorde.  On regular planes, flaps
are lowered to increase lift during takeoff and landing.  Having no
flaps, Concorde operates in an extremely nose-up attitude (which increases
lift) during takeoff and landing.  Which leads to the famous droopy
nose for pilot visibility.  So takeoff is fast, loud, nose up, and then
you immediately bank steeply left to abate noise over the neighborhood. 
Like all jets.  But your bank is highly exaggerated because again, you
have no flaps.  Whee!

-- Subsonic to 30,000 feet:  You are in a long line of planes that are
slowly accelerating and climbing to cruising altitude.  Concorde cannot
fly supersonically until it reaches 28,000 feet, so it joins the queue
of other departing aircraft.  After about 20 minutes, it reaches this
height.

-- The Second Difference:  Extended Cruise.  At this point the
afterburners are turned back on, and you barely hear them.  However, I
purchased an all-about Concorde videotape (5 hours, two reels--they explain
every dial in the cockpit) beforehand and I knew just when it would
happen.  The Mach meter starts to rise above 0.95.  The whole plane tilts
upward a bit, there is a very slight increase in engine noise, and a bit
more wind roar.  No one else in the cabin seems to notice.  You go from
Mach 0.95 (visible on the cabin bulkhead) to 1.70 in about 12 minutes. 
At this point you are at 50,000 feet, and the afterburners are shut off
for the rest of the flight.  You are still accelerating from the normal
thrust, but much more slowly.  To go from Mach 1.7 to 2.0 takes another
twenty minutes or so.  If you have followed carefully, you have noted
that the afterburners are on for about 12.5 minutes during the whole
flight.

-- Wanna get high, man?  In a domestic jet flight, air traffic control
(ATC) sends you along fixed paths at fixed heights, and you are passed
from one air-traffic center to the next, almost like an interstate jet
highway system. As a jet burns fuel, it can fly ever higher, for better
efficiency, but under the ATC system you must generally maintain a
fixed height and speed.  That way you don't crash into those planes above,
below, and in front of you.  A normal jet's autopilot will steadily
increase and decrease your speed every few seconds to maintain a steady
altitude and speed.  Rather fuel-inefficient and like being stuck in
traffic.  Since there are no other commercial aircraft above 45,000 feet,
Concorde will simply rise higher and higher above 50,000 feet as fuel is
burned off.   Rather than being set to maintain altitude and speed, its
autopilot is set to maintain speed only (Mach 2), and it aims the plane
slightly higher (slower) or lower (faster) to maintain Mach 2.  We
attained 57,000 feet to Paris, and 60,000 back to New York. It varies based
on the temperature and density of the air on a given time, date, and
weather.

-- What's the weather like?  There isn't any.  Weather occurs in the
troposphere, which tops out at about 45,000 feet.  Thunderstorms (the
most dangerous) with their classic anvil-shaped clouds, have flat tops
because they rise, hit the tropopause, and spread out.  Concorde is flying
in the stratosphere.  So there are no weather diversions and bumpiness. 
How about the jet stream?  There isn't any in the stratosphere, just
some gentle breezes 5-20 mph.  Which leads us to...

-- The North Atlantic Track System (NATS):  In the last episode we
described how Air Traffic Control sends us from one Enroute Center to the
next, under the watchful eye of the controller, and on view on their
radar screen at all times. Problem:  the last two radar stations on each
side of the Atlantic are at Gander, Halifax, and Shannon, Ireland. 
Their radar reaches out only about 300 miles at most.  In 1946, TWA could
take you from New York City to Paris in 22 hours, on aircraft such as
the beautiful Constellation with the three oval tail fins, at 300 mph,
over Greenland or Iceland, with fuel stops along the way. With the jet
age something else was needed and the Track System is it.  Today, six
planes fly side by side, separated by 60 miles (one degree of latitude).
More planes follow along farther behind, or 2,000 feet above and below. 
The pilots check in via low-quality short-wave radio as they cross 50
degrees W, then 40, then 30, then 20, then 15.  The eastbound tracks
(named M, N, ... Y, Z) are adjusted daily so that they follow the jet
stream as closely as possible, to save time and fuel for all the airlines. 
They are occasionally published on the web, for those who are
interested.

-- Staying on Track:  Recently each jet, and Concorde too, has been
outfitted with an inertial navigation system (three actually, for spares
and tie-breaking) that use tiny gyroscopes to keep track of where you
are, within about 200 feet.  The INS is tied to the autopilot and can
guide the plane across the track without human assistance, if necessary. 
Anyway, the third person in Concorde's cockpit is no longer a
navigator, but a flight engineer, and helps work the extra gauges much as in the
727 tri-jet or an early 747. Surprise:  the instruments are no more
complex on Concorde than a 747!  On newer planes CRT technology lets us
switch between multiple views on a single screen, so things don't look as
cluttered, so the 757, 767, and later 747s don't need the third person,
and automation makes it much cheaper that way.  But Concorde was built
in pre-CRT times, and it would be expensive to convert from the analog
panels to CRTs, and of little use.  What track does Concorde use? 
Since Concorde flies above the jet stream, its track doesn't change from
day to day.  BA uses track "SN" to London.  The waypoints are:  at 50
degrees W, we are at latitude 45 degrees 54 minutes N.  Thence to 40 W, 47
04' N.    Then 30 W, 49 26' N. Then 20 W, 49 49' N.  Then 15 W, 49 41'
N.  Then to Shannon Air Traffic Control.  These waypoints are loaded
into the Inertial Nav System and thence to the autopilot. This probably
would not be general knowledge if various hobbyists had not posted it on
the Internet, so thank you everyone for sharing.

-- Disaster!  How awful if we lost the corkscrew.  But what if we lose
an engine?  Concorde has four, and can maintain level flight on two.

-- A Good Circle is not a Great circle: If you put a piece of string on
a globe and pull tight, it is called a great circle route.  If you
would like to plot a great circle route for any two city pairs in the
world, check out the web for such a tool and it will show you a map and the
latitude/longitude waypoints. A great-circle plotting chart is how
sailors navigated in decades past.  On such a chart the lines of longitude
and latitude look as if they are a tight grid with extreme stretching
at the four corners.  The interesting property is that any straight line
drawn in any direction, anywhere on these maps, is automatically a
great-circle route, i.e. the shortest distance between two points on a
sphere.  By contrast, recall that a straight line on a Mercator projection
is a line of constant compass bearing, NOT the shortest distance. The
Mercator route is much easier to steer, even if the distance is longer. 
Again, Concorde can and will fly very nearly a great circle route in
the Track System since it will not be fighting wind along the way, unlike
a regular plane.

-- Encore du vin, s'il vous plait:  Well, enjoy your flight.  At Mach
2, you are going 1300 mph, which is about twice as fast as a .22 LR
bullet. It is 23 miles per minute, or about an English  channel (at its
narrowest point) crossing per minute.  The cabin is pressurized like most
jets to 5,000 feet. Speaking of food yes of course it was great despite
the cramped galleys.  Perhaps I should scan and post the menus.  There
is no film equipment.  The chief steward presents me with my
Certificate of Authentication of Supersonic Flight plus a small stash of Concorde
stationery.  The non-American airlines thankfully fly with the cabin
door open, so you can walk up and greet the crew and take pictures.  On
the return flight I noticed that a passenger asked to sit with the
pilots on the jump seat to observe the landing.  Oooooh, now why didn't I
think to do that?  Big dummy.  Oh well, too late now.

As we approach the French coastline, the throttles are closed at 57,000
feet, Mach 2, and five minutes later friction has dropped us to 30,000
feet and mach 0.95.  Subsonic over land to Paris, then we land Very
Nose Up.  Hello, airport Sheraton after 3.5 hours.  Baggage claim is a
snap, and one grande dame has 15 suitcases, all matching.

-- Airport Hotels are great:  One last observation which can be used by
non-Concorde flyers as well:  As I get off Concorde at 5pm Paris time,
I walk 200 feet indoors to the ultramodern Paris CDG Airport Sheraton,
check into my room and take a bath (such luxury--they also have a
separate shower enclosure). I then walk in the terminal to one of the three
excellent restaurants in the terminal. Forget what you have heard about
airport food when you eat at these three places.  I fall asleep around
1am (7pm New York time) in the $heraton's king-size (rare in Europe)
bed and awake at 9am quite refreshed.  The next day, I can ride the
subway into Paris (25 minutes) since there is a station in the
terminal/hotel building basement, or ride to the coast, or London, or Brussels, or
Geneva, on the train, as there is also a high-speed TGV  train station
(185 mph) beneath the terminal.  I mention these facilities since they
enhanced the experience so much for me.

-- Conclusion:  I am very excited, yet also annoyed that the flight is
over so quickly.  You want to savor the moment while it lasts, knowing
that after this trip it isn't ever going to happen again (aside from
the return to New York), and it is another thing to cross off the
lifetime goals list.  I scarcely had time to eat all the food, view the
surroundings, and work my extensive checklists of noticeable things.  So for
the next expedition, I am considering the New York - Johannesburg
flight.  It is over 15 hours, and the longest nonstop flight in the world. 
This should eliminate any sense of being rushed!  I already have the
South Atlantic planning charts.  They take Delta miles too!

The end.
---

As of mid-2003, subsequent to this trip:

*  TWA went bankrupt and the IDL/JFK terminal sits empty.
*  Delta no longer flies First Class on international; just Economy and
Business-Elite.
*  The Idlewild (JFK) airport has been spiffied up and now (very soon)
connects directly to the subway.  There is a people-mover that connects
the nine terminals.  The brand-new new International Terminal 4 is a
marvel.
*  The Paris TGV has been extended down to Marseilles on the
Mediterranean Sea, and is working its way down to Spain.
*  Delta has transferred most of its 757s to its low cost carrier
(named 'Song;' where do they come up with these names?  Must have paid the
consultants a Whole Bunch) and ripped out the 24 first class seats in
favor of all Economy.  I can't really blame them; most of my countrymen
are having attacks of--dare I say--cowardice these days and are afraid
to fly.
*  The north Atlantic airspace is getting crowded, and GPS is becoming
more accurate, so the vertical distance on the Track System is reduced
from 2000 feet to 1000.
*  All 727 tri-jets, which have a three-man crew (expensive) have all
been retired from commercial passenger service.
*  The door between the cabin and the cockpit is now closed and locked
on all flights in the US.
*  The longest flight is still Atlanta-Johannesburg, but when the
777-200LRs and A340-500s enter service on long routes (probably later in
2003) there will be even longer flights, such as Los Angeles to Singapore.
*  On July 25 2000, a Concorde crashed upon takeoff.  A large piece of
metal which had fallen off a Continental plane cut Concorde's tire
open.  Pieces of the tire punctured the wing and the fuel tanks. 
*  Within about a year, Concorde was flying again.  Regrettably, the
final BA test flight happened to be on Sept 11, 2001.
*  Michelin supplied the new redesigned tires.  The tread simply will
not separate under any circumstances (puncture, heat, etc).
*  Kevlar (from bulletproof vests) was inlaid in the wing so that even
if debris were kicked up, it would not puncture the fuel tanks.
*  British Air decided to take a $200 million writeoff to scrap the
Concordes.  They were losing $50 million annually.
*  British Air and Air France will not sell the Concordes to Virgin
Airways; they prefer to poison the well and they dare not let anyone else
try to make a success of it.
*  When I heard of the shutdown, I immediately called Delta for another
free ticket.  There were none left.  This time my wife and I both had
200,000 miles available. 
*  The Air France final flight on May 31 2003 was approximately
one-half empty.

The end.
                      RETURN

Passenger Memories:

Chris 7/2005