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Blackbird SR-71 vs. Concorde - Comparison of sizes
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Blackbird SR-71 vs Concorde - Comparison

Blackbird SR-71
Concorde
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Blackbird SR-71

Blackbird SR-71

Speed (km/h)3529

The Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" is a long-range, high-altitude, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed and manufactured by the American aerospace company Lockheed Corporation. It was operated by both the United States Air Force (USAF) and NASA.The SR-71 was developed as a black project from the Lockheed A-12 reconnaissance aircraft during the 1960s by Lockheed's Skunk Works division. American aerospace engineer Clarence "Kelly" Johnson was responsible for many of the aircraft's innovative concepts. The shape of the SR-71 was based on that of the A-12, which was one of the first aircraft to be designed with a reduced radar cross-section. At one point, a bomber variant of the aircraft was under consideration, before the program was focused solely on reconnaissance. Mission equipment for the reconnaissance role included signals intelligence sensors, a side-looking airborne radar, and a photo camera; the SR-71 was both longer and heavier than the A-12, allowing it hold more fuel as well as a two-seat cockpit. The SR-71 designation has been attributed to lobbying efforts by USAF Chief of Staff General Curtis LeMay, who preferred the SR (Strategic Reconnaissance) designation over simply RS (Reconnaissance). The aircraft was introduced to operational service in January 1966.



During aerial reconnaissance missions, the SR-71 operated at high speeds and altitudes (85,000 feet, 25,900 meters) to allow it to outrace threats. If a surface-to-air missile launch was detected, the standard evasive action was simply to accelerate and outfly the missile. On average, each SR-71 could fly once per week due to the extended turnaround required after mission recovery. A total of 32 aircraft were built; 12 were lost in accidents with none lost to enemy action. During 1988, the USAF retired the SR-71 largely due to political reasons; several were briefly reactivated during the 1990s before their second retirement in 1998. NASA was the final operator of the type, retiring their examples in 1999. Since its retirement, the SR-71's role has been taken up by a combination of reconnaissance satellites and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs); a proposed UAV successor, the Lockheed Martin SR-72, has not yet been pursued. The SR-71 has been given several nicknames, including "Blackbird" and "Habu". As of 2020, it still holds the world record it set in 1976 for the fastest air-breathing manned aircraft, previously held by the related Lockheed YF-12.

Source: Wikipedia
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Concorde

Concorde

The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde () is a Franco-British turbojet-powered supersonic airliner that was operated from 1976 until 2003. It had a maximum speed over twice the speed of sound, at Mach 2.04 (1,354 mph or 2,180 km/h at cruise altitude), with seating for 92 to 128 passengers. First flown in 1969, Concorde entered service in 1976 and operated for 27 years. It is one of only two supersonic jetliner models to operate commercially; the other is the Soviet-built Tupolev Tu-144, which operated in the late 1970s.Concorde was jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation under an Anglo-French treaty. Twenty aircraft were built, including six prototypes and development aircraft. Air France and British Airways were the only airlines to purchase and fly Concorde. The aircraft was used mainly by wealthy passengers who could afford to pay a high price for the aircraft's speed and luxury service. In 1997, the round-trip ticket price from New York to London was $7,995 (equivalent to $12,900 in 2020), more than 30 times the cost of the least expensive scheduled flight for this route.The original programme cost estimate was £70 million before 1962, (£1.39 billion in 2020). The programme experienced huge cost overruns and delays, with the programme eventually costing between £1.5 and £2.1 billion in 1976, (£9.44 billion-13.2 billion in 2020). This extreme cost was the main reason the production run was much smaller than expected. Another factor that affected the viability of all supersonic transport programmes was that supersonic flight could be used only on ocean-crossing routes, to prevent sonic boom disturbance over populated areas.



With only seven airframes each being operated by the British and French, the per-unit cost was impossible to recoup, so the French and British governments absorbed the development costs. British Airways and Air France were able to operate Concorde at a profit after purchasing their aircraft from their respective governments at a steep discount in comparison to the programme's development and procurement costs.Among other destinations, Concorde flew regular transatlantic flights from London's Heathrow Airport and Paris's Charles de Gaulle Airport to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia, and Grantley Adams International Airport in Barbados; it flew these routes in less than half the time of other airliners. While subsonic commercial jets took eight hours to fly from Paris to New York (seven hours from New York to Paris), the average supersonic flight time on the transatlantic routes was just under 3.5 hours. Concorde aircraft were retired in 2003, three years after the crash of Air France Flight 4590, in which all passengers and crew members on board were killed; this was the only fatal incident involving Concorde. The general downturn in the commercial aviation industry after the September 11 attacks in 2001 and the end of maintenance support for Concorde by Airbus, the successor to Aérospatiale, contributed to the aircraft's retirement.

Source: Wikipedia

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