LONDON - It's always a kick to consider that within the span of an average human's life—about 70 years—we went from the Wright Brothers making their first flight in a 12-horsepower wooden glider to supersonic travel becoming a reality for anyone with the cash for a ticket on the mighty Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde. Sadly, today all the money in the world can't buy you another flight between New York and London at Mach 2. But it can buy you one of the plane's four thunderous Rolls-Royce Olympus 593-610 turbojet engines, for sale on eBay complete with afterburner and a limitless ceiling on the beautiful things that might be done with it, writes Kyle Cheromcha for The Drive. Continue reading original article.
The Intelligent Aerospace take:
May 13, 2020 -While British Airways stipulates in its eBay listing that the supersonic engine can only be used for "static display," Cheromcha argues that "if you've got the roughly $725,000 being asked here, you've probably got the means to get around a pesky clause like that" as he jokes that stuffing the 32,000 pounds of thrust into another vehicle that "that history will reward you for completing the engine swap of the millennium regardless of any legal speed bumps along the way."
Of course, the aircraft it once powered is a piece of history. But, the Concorde was both expensive to make and expensive to fly in. The jet also made a mighty boom when it broke the sound barrier. Manufacturers, agencies, and nations are all attempting to take another run at supersonic commercial air travel. NASA's X-59 aims to make breaking the sound barrier a less dramatic affair for folks on the ground. Russian president Vladimir Putin says his nation could leverage military technology to make a commercial supersonic flyer, while Boeing and Aerion are teaming up on a supersonic business jet. While the Concorde has an interesting past, the supersonic future seems like it may be more fruitful.
Related: NASA ‘Son of Concorde’ is now being manufactured by Lockheed Martin
Related: The U.S. should lead the way back to supersonic flight
Related: Concorde: technical feat, financial fiasco
Jamie Whitney, Associate Editor
Intelligent Aerospace
