Boeing 2707-100 SST mockup, September 1966
Posted by RLoret@reddit | WeirdWings | View on Reddit | 47 comments
Posted by RLoret@reddit | WeirdWings | View on Reddit | 47 comments
erhue@reddit
let's see if Boom supersonic ends up being vaporware or not
Pretty_Aside_7674@reddit
What do u think about them building their own engine?
matreo987@reddit
was talking to my co worker about boom today actually. we are both military propulsion maintainers, and we work on engines every day. i feel like making an entire aircraft, in house, pushing the limits of civilian supersonic engineering is not feasible for a startup company.
making the airframe? extremely challenging but possible with modern manufacturing. the Concorde’s delta wing took over a million man hours to design and perfect.
making the engine? also extremely challenging. making a supersonic passenger aircraft requires a ton of thrust. they’d have to go towards an afterburning engine or massive turbofans. but those turbofans won’t have enough thrust at high speeds to maintain supercruise. afterburning = extremely loud. that was one of the main issues with the concorde, residential areas near airports hated it.
it’s gonna be a hell of a project. i hope it works out and i’d love to be a passenger. i just think it’s too extravagant on too many different levels for a single company.
GlockAF@reddit
It was always most likely to be vaporware, but when it was announced that they were going to build their own engine that put the entire box of nails in that particular coffin
capnsheeeeeeeeeet@reddit
I think they’ve got orders and are moving forward. The aircraft is only two years away.
zoinkability@reddit
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erhue@reddit
orders have been placed for many other projects which haven't materialized in the past. The aircraft being only two years away is very amusing to hear... Certifying even normal airliners takes several years once they're built. They don't even have an engine. They won't have a plane in two years.
Pretty_Aside_7674@reddit
ngl I think more people would have believed in them if they went with the old design
ackermann@reddit
I thought so too… but then they did actually build a plane and fly it supersonic (first privately funded supersonic aircraft?)
It was late, yes, but I was surprised and impressed it happened at all.
But yeah, developing their own engine from scratch, certified for passenger airline service? That’s… ambitious
erhue@reddit
im extremely skeptical
Viharabiliben@reddit
That’s going to be very difficult
Virtual_Area8230@reddit
2707-200
waldo--pepper@reddit
Braniff International. That was a nice touch by the artist!
Virtual_Area8230@reddit
https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/2707-200-3d-model.25348/page-2#post-267579
xerberos@reddit
Having those engines behind and below the main wing seems like a really weird design choice. With the flaps down, the airflow into the engines must be a turbulent mess.
Flintskin@reddit
if the aircraft would be at a high angle of attack when the flaps are down and the engines should be clear of their wake
postmodest@reddit
The nose on the 2707 drooped, too. ...then kinked back up because reasons.
Viper6060@reddit
Variable geometry wing. Not a delta wing means not so high angle of attack during low speed flight as during landing phase.
buttspider69@reddit
The 60s were the future
postmodest@reddit
We really have passed the zenith of Empire.
AreWeThereYetNo@reddit
And it stayed that way.
joe9teas@reddit
Except with Concorde
jar1967@reddit
What killed the SST was the 747 and fuel effecent turbo fan engines
Jessie_C_2646@reddit
And protestors.
Busy_Outlandishness5@reddit
It wasn't environmentalists that killed off the SST; it was accountants.
The protests were more of a face-saving excuse to cancel the SSTs, while the real reason -- as borne out by the Concorde -- was the realization it was impossible to do anything but lose astounding amounts of money on each passenger carried, even with the most exorbitant ticket prices.
To quote an old advertising aphorism, speed was the sizzle that sold jets to the public; the steak was the significantly lower operating costs that jets offered over the last generation of highly-complex piston planes.
Jessie_C_2646@reddit
The protestors had a strong enough lobby that they got Concorde restricted to supersonic flight over water only. But they weren't alone. It was economics, engineering and environmentalism together which really killed the SST. Until we find a way to make supersonic travel as quiet, cheap and technically feasible as subsonic, it's just not going to happen.
AcidaliaPlanitia@reddit
With all the crazy shit being built in the 60s, I remain shocked that the US gave up on this.
jar1967@reddit
So did everyone else. The culprit was the turbo fan engine
Virtual_Area8230@reddit
The GE4 and P&W JTF17 worked just fine. Both were run on test stands. The GE4 hit almost 70,000lbs of thrust and the JTF17 59k.
jar1967@reddit
The turbo fan what is much more fuel and allowed a 747 to take people across the atlantic at 1/10 the price and still make more money per passenger
Virtual_Area8230@reddit
It wasn't just the turbofan. A 747 could carry more passengers in a cheaper aircraft. A 747 could make money. A supersonic transport couldn't. Neither the Concorde or Tu-144 were money makers.
04BluSTi@reddit
I've been in that mockup, or rather, the last variant of the 2707. I have pics from the Boeing historical rebuild center in Everett.
ggrey@reddit
🤯
I have always loved this might-have-been. I even have a vintage tin toy of it on my desk at Boeing. Does the mockup still exist? Is it still visitable?
04BluSTi@reddit
It exists, and its in a state of repose with the rebuild center. I have other variants I'm interested in that may or may not exist according to Boeing's historians.
The rebuild center is worth a visit if you can get approval. My dad and I had some laughs with Brian Wygle when we were there. My dad and Mr. Wygle knew each other from programs back in the day...
Jessie_C_2646@reddit
Last I heard it's at the Everett Museum of Flight restoration facility.
SnooPets8441@reddit
W
Northern_Wyven_63@reddit
why couldent we have this future
NewSpecific9417@reddit
Looks beautiful, but can’t help but to think of the torment maintenance workers would’ve had to go through due to the swing-wings.
FartInGenDirection@reddit
The reason why the runways at DFW are so long
Clickclickdoh@reddit
I thought that was A340s on a hot August day.
SayWoot@reddit
So..... a Concorde?
Virtual_Area8230@reddit
More like what a Concorde would wish it could be.
Aware_Style1181@reddit
Much bigger and much more complex. Boeing’s backup project was the 747.
Leakyboatlouie@reddit
I wonder if that's the one that ended up in Kissimmee, Florida. They built a large metal building around it, and there were some other planes on static display, but it was kind of underwhelming.
eagledog@reddit
I miss the optimism of that era
ohno-mojo@reddit
Why is the I silent? SUPERSON_C