One Of The Wisest Ponders I've Had In Recent Times
"If they can fly a man to the moon how come they haven't invented a plane that can fly you around the world in like 4 hours?"
I could really go a dose of London any of these weekends.
I could really go a dose of London any of these weekends.
posted by Julia at 3:57 PM
12 Comments:
good point
I could definitely go a weekend in Positano.
Honestly, though, why hasn't it happened yet? I'm sure it'll happen in the next 20-30 years.
But why not NOW?
But you have 24 degrees in winter! We have typical summer rain in London, although an Indian summer has been predicted... Maybe they can get around to inventing that plane by September?!
Physics and economics are the two major stumbling blocks. The scramjet engine, currently under development, will allow the aircraft to travel at the requisite speed at the requisite altitude to be able to cover the distance.
Then there is the cost of the tickets. The airline has to cover the cost of operating the aircraft, including wages of staff, cost of fuel, maintenance and all those airline meals we're used to, against the number of passengers in the market to travel to Heathrow for example.
There is also the lead time in the development of a new aircraft which can be up to 10 years from a set of specs on the computer to roll out for certification by the various certification bodies.
Principally though, it's the scramjet development which is the key.
yep, it's 15 degrees at the moment - very autumnal...if they hurried up with that scramjet thingy I'd go to Belize for the weekend
Nick, there is no bigger planespotter than me, so your comment is like semi-erotica. But I know all that. If they got their act together we could be reaping the benefits now. Plus they can forego the meal if it's only a couple of hours to Europe/US. Those little cheese and cracker packs they do on Virgin are sufficient.
And sorry guys, it's another glorious day here today. Come on over!
there is no bigger planespotter than me I don't know - I did once read a book on the development of the 777, and I do have as two of my favourite dream destinations both Toulouse and Seattle. Can't wait for the A380 to come to Sydney.
Your post just reminded me that I know too many aeronautical nerds.
On Friday afternoon, I had drinks with:
* a friend who has a degree in aeronautical engineering
* a chick who works for Boeing as an engineer
* a woman who is working (or was working) on the ScramJet project
* an engineer who is upgrading Brisbane airport for the new A380.
You would have been in heaven, baby!
Fair point. What's the price of rocket fuel these days? Cheap at half the cost to be in London in four hours.
Excellent point madam.
I would love to be able to jet over to Kangaroo land rather than face the human sardine scenario that is modern flight.
Nick, have you read the one on 747s? Very good. And I did go to Toulouse 3 years ago, but wasn't organised enough to book the tour in advance. One day... *sigh*
Holy crap, Nick. That's some serious sh*t. I'll start saving now so that maybe in ten years I could afford a quick-ticket to London from NYC. I could also go some Oz, the weather sounds like a slice of Heaven.
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