P.M. BRIEFING : U.S. Input Asked on Concorde
U.S. aircraft makers Boeing Co. and McDonnell Douglas Corp. have joined a Western European study to develop a 21st Century version of the Anglo-French supersonic Concorde airliner, Aerospatiale of France said today.
The two U.S. aerospace giants and Deutsche Airbus of West Germany agreed to join France’s Aerospatiale and the U.K.’s British Aerospace PLC to evaluate the new airliner, the French firm said.
Aerospatiale and its Concorde partner, British Aerospace, said May 9 they planned to replace Concorde, the only supersonic airliner in commercial service. But they said they needed input from others in the industry.
The new aircraft would fly farther and slightly faster and more quietly and cheaper than the 20-year-old original, which can travel at 2.3 times the speed of sound.
Super-Concorde would streak from Paris to Tokyo in five hours, less than half the flight time of conventional aircraft, and carry at least 200 passengers--double Concorde’s capacity.
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