Subj : Re: Kerosene Engines
To   : Ward Dossche
From : David Williams
Date : Sun Sep 17 2000 03:35 pm

-> NASA for example used fairly recently the TU-144 Supersonic jetliner
-> as a testbed because it was the best platform available to perform
-> some tests related to commercial supersonic flight.

Really?! I didn't think there were any TU-144s still flying. It was
developed back in the 1960s as a rival to the Concorde, which it
resembles very closely. However, there was a disastrous crash at an air
show in Paris which effectively killed the plane's future. It was flown
within the USSR for a while - mainly as a cargo carrier, I believe - and
then faded out of public view.

In what way would NASA find the TU-144 better than the Concorde, which,
despite the recent crash, also in Paris, caused by a disintegrating tire
(Firestone, perhaps?!), has proved itself in 30 years of commercial
service?

                         dow

--- PCBoard (R) v15.3 (OS/2) 5
 * Origin: FidoNet: CAP/CANADA Support BBS : 416 287-0234 (1:250/710)

.