Bygone innovation

The story of aviation could not be told without mentioning the Concorde. This plane could travel at twice the speed of sound at 1,354 miles per hour (faster than the Earth rotates). A flight from New York to Paris took approximately 3.5 hours rather than today's typical 7. This

may sound like a dream of the future, but it was a very real product and experience of the recent past. But it failed. Why?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_wuykzfFzE

The Concorde was first introduced in 1976. Notable for its 60,000 ft cruising altitude, where a passenger could view a skyline of rich purples and the curvature of the Earth, a flight on the Concorde was a memory like no other. The price for a round trip ticket however could cost up to $12,000. A price like this would not discourage the elite who were common passengers. Other concerns such as uneconomical use of fuel due to the use of afterburners, routes were strictly offered only across the Atlantic because of potential sonic boom damage on the ground. Because of the substantial amount of money updates to the plane would take, by 2003 British Airways and Air France decided to ground Concorde permanently.

For design the Concorde soared in its innovative features, such as its delta wings and its droop nose (which was vital to the pilots being able to visual the runway on the high angle of attack necessary to reduce drag in flight). Passengers who had the privilege to fly on the Concorde attest the dining made today's meals pale in comparison.

For all of the beautiful and amazing attributes the Concorde had going for it, not all good things last. I believe design is thoroughly a part of this question, because for all of the possible innovation and improvement, we must constantly ask what is the cost? In Concorde's case, time was saved in travel: moving faster and more exquisitely than ever before. But the potential cost to the environment's ozone, and insanely high economic price tag would make this a journey only to be passed down in story.

Visiting the National Air and Space Museum in Virginia over spring break I had the opportunity to see one of the retired Concorde's with my own eyes. It is a vehicle of splendor and the essence of ingenuity; it is the aircraft that inspires dreamers to dare.