Robert W asked:
Have we really taken a step backwards? Suppose a real life “Jack Bauer” had to get from NYC to London to save the world. On Concorde this used to be possible in 3 hours or so. Today, on a normal jet, it takes over 7 hours. Is there a Mach 2 (or above) aircraft that is capable of flying non-stop, without refuelling, from NYC to London any more?
. . . and I mean is it at all possible. Say the US Government needed to fly someone to London as fast as possible or a nuclear bomb would blow up in New York (but for some weird reason no refuelling was possible). Does the human race have any piece of machinery capable of this any more?
According to the website ( http://www.sr-71.org/blackbird/sr-71 ) - the SR71 is also no longer operational - the final bird flew in October 1999. So . . . any other suggestions for “Jack Bauer” 
Hmmm. Apparently the Tupolev Tu-160 is still in service and fully operational. It can fly at mach 2.05 and has a range of 7,640 miles ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tu-160 ). So we’d have to rely on the Russian Bear to save New York. What have we done with our technology . . . . . !!!!!
7 users responded in this post
usualy between 5 and a half and 6 and a half depends on the day ive done it in both.
Well in that case they would fly on the SR-71. NASA has 2 that are still operational. They fly at about Mach 3.2. Meaning WAY faster than the concorde.
But your senario aint gonna happen anytime soon………
EDIT: NASA still has 2 in perfect flying order.
They might be able to use a SR71 but I doubt the work NASA is doing with them would make them likely to be available for an emergency flight .
Your point is well taken. A lot of people pleaded but in vain for British Airways to keep at least one Concorde in flying condition for use on special occasions like flyovers on state occasions and so forth if for nothing else to preserve flyable patriotic symbol for The United Kingdom.
The plane might in theory be able to be used in just such an emergency as you described. Although it’s use at a moments noticed might have required more maintenance then one only used on special occasions.
It would be nice to be able to see one fly from time to time. When the first Concorde took flight. The chase plane looked up at it in flight and overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of the aircraft sent this first message:
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……..”you cannot possibly imagine how beautiful you are”
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Sorry Concord fans. But just like Elvis, you’re just going to have to let her go.
In time. Boeing was working on a supersonic airliner a few years back, I dont know if it has stopped or what but they broke the wall down that prevented aircraft from going supersonic over land. It is a new nose cone and leading edge of the flight surfaces that they redisgned. So hopefully you will see another first from Boeing sometime soon.
I am going to say that in the future, you will travel by molecule scrambling from one transporter room to another in seconds.
Hey guy’s, he’s talking civilian flight’s, not military.