Concorde to fly again?

[RANGERS]

Much though I doubt Concorde will ever fly again, there are numerous examples of aircraft which employed a similar generation of technology which though long since retired from commercial or military service, are still certified to fly, albeit with some restrictions on what they're permitted to do. If the airframes can be shown to be sound, and all were well below their intended lifespan when they were retired, then the engines will be the major problem. That said, what's the difference between getting/ keeping an Olympus serviceable and any first generation jet engines?

 

John Travolta has one of several Boeing 707s in private hands which are fine for the use to which they're being put, but which would never be able to re-enter commercial service. Similar applies to all the military jets in the hands of enthusiasts, they're fairly restricted in terms of what they're allowed to do, even more so since the tragic events at Shoreham. If the intention really is to return it to commercial service at Supersonic speeds then I suspect it is a non-starter.

[Jeff Smith]

...what's the difference between getting/ keeping an Olympus serviceable and any first generation jet engines?

There were not that many Olympus 593 engines manufactured. There will be no spare parts available on the world market, unlike more common old turbojet engines like Avons, Vipers, Speys, etc.

 

Current noise restrictions are grounding several old pure jet or low by-pass powered aircraft. Some get by with specially made silencers (hush-kits) but only if the market is big enough. Some older aircraft have been retrofitted with more modern engines, eg USAF B707 based tankers with CFM56s.

[PhilJ W]

Its also a question of numbers of aircraft produced/left. They're s plenty of Boeing 707/747's left to make support viable, especially as many have been converted to freighters. Aircraft such as Concorde, and others such as the VC10 have never been around in sufficient numbers to make such support viable.

[45156]

Current noise restrictions are grounding several old pure jet or low by-pass powered aircraft. Some get by with specially made silencers (hush-kits) but only if the market is big enough. Some older aircraft have been retrofitted with more modern engines, eg USAF B707 based tankers with CFM56s.

And that's the abiding memory of Concorde in the South London skies.  I lived in the Croydon area and when the wind was in the wrong direction, the aircraft off the Southern stacks used to come over at about 4000' before turning right to join the finals back over Greenwich, and you always knew when Concorde was about to appear, as you could hear it before you saw it - and when the cloud was low, you could just hear it.  It was a very noisy aircraft indeed.

[Jeff Smith]

The Vulcan was a very special project which enjoyed considerable free of charge industrial support.  My own company had to lash-up/re-create old development test rigs to certify the engine controls and flight controls; and I should imagine only a limited time release was granted.

 

I don't think we will see many, if any, large jet or turbo-prop powered British aircraft returned to service, ie VC10, Comet, Trident, Viscount.  Many years ago as a R-R apprentice I was involved in re-building a piston engine for the Shuttleworth collection.  We had to cast and machine new aluminium pistons.  This is very different from trying to reproduce jet engine parts which are often made from very exotic materials with special cooling air passages, tight clearances and fatigue lives.