Speedbird

Man once owned a time machine. A time machine that would transport him to another part of the world, and in half of its trips, would arrive before time had a chance to catch up. Ten years ago it met an unfortunate accident. And that event sent mankind flying into the past.....a good 40 years into the past.

I have been a Concorde fan from ever since I can remember. I could stare at it for hours at end and admire its beauty. I could go on for hours telling you how much of an engineering marvel it is. And I definitely intend to do so.

A scientist at NASA claimed that putting man on the moon was easier when compared to making the Concorde work. Sure, we had the technology to reach speeds in excess of Mach 2 back then. But aircraft which did so were only military. This meant a few hours of flying and then weeks in a hanger going through inspections and maintenance. Pilots had ejector seats and wore oxygen masks. The Concorde on the other hand had to load, take-off, fly 7,000 km, land, unload, load, and take-off again to make the round trip. Then there was the issue of the shock wave at Mach 1. During World War 2, whenever pilots took a dive in their fighters, they would reach speeds perilously close to Mach 1 and their controls would jam. No one knew why. Until the guys who made the Concorde figured that out. And then there was the problem of the engine. Hit the engine fans with air traveling at Mach 2 and they'd crumble like a cookie. This meant while the aircraft would fly at Mach 2, the engines needed to be fed with air at speeds much lower than that, more like 600 km/hr. Then there was the heat, expansion of the parts that comes with the heat, the design, cabin pressure, and a hundred other things. Not to forget the Brits and the Frenchies working together. The Concorde proved that given enough time and money, man could do anything.

I dreamt of flying in it one day. Regardless of the fact that I'd firstly have to be filthy rich, and that when you are flying, you cannot tell if you are doing Mach 2 or 200 km/hr, and thus there is sense of speed, no adrenaline rush. For us to feel speed we need reference points. On the road it’s usually a tree, street lamp, pedestrians, and the lot. The faster you see them pass by, the higher the sensation of speed. At 60,000 feet you don't even have clouds to give you that sensation. But what I regret more is not being able to see it. Fact is, the Concorde was never made for the rich. They were only a means to an end, a means for it to survive financially. It was made for the common man. For you and me to stand and point at it in awe.

Before 2003, the Concorde flew flawlessly. It had one job. Fly. Very fast. And it did it. But just because one airline could not make sure that the nuts and bolts on its aircraft were screwed on tight, on 25 July 2000, Air France 4590 crashed claiming 113 lives. And maybe for the first time since the Titanic, did people mourn the loss of the machine along with the loss of lives.

No matter what excuses were given for it being pulled out of service, the true reason is that it did not look good on the company balance sheets. As great as it was an engineering marvel, it was an even greater financial disaster. The British and French governments incurred a loss every time it flew. The last Concorde made was sold to Air France for one pound.  The Concorde died not because it was a flawed design, or it had reliability issues. It died because it looked bad in the account books. And that is the tragedy of capitalism.

Because rarely have we pushed the limits of our capability and curiosity regardless of its financial cost. The closest man has come to another Concorde moment is the Bugatti Veyron. And here too the story line is very similar to that of the White Bird. A story which I might come back to later. In short, even after a $ 1.7 million price tag, Bugatti incurs a loss for every unit it sells. All this because Ferdinand Piech, the chap who started the project, did not care about the shareholders and profit and loss. He dreamt of a 1000 hp car that did 400 km/hr. And he made it possible. 

Sure, there are projects right now that are exploring supersonic civilian travel. Embraer is currently designing a corporate jet, the Japs are at it too. But none will be as wonderful as the Concorde. Because that represents mans battle and victory against politics and more importantly, nature. Right now a group is undertaking restoration work on the White Bird. Their plan : make it air worthy for the 2012 London Olympics. And if this happens, as crazy as I might sound, I actually might book my tickets for London just to see it fly. Because clearly, a museum or a desktop wallpaper is no place for a machine such as that. 

 In remembrance of the victims of Air France Flight 4590.