It really is an impressive looking plane, isn't it? A few years ago now, when I was in graduate school, the group that I worked in built remote sensors for measuring mobile-source NOx emissions. I had the good fortune of travelling to Heathrow, at the request of BA, to set our instrument up at the end of the runway and measure emission from commercial aircraft as they went to takeoff thrust. It was an unforgettable experience sitting in a van 150 yards behind a 747 when it put the hammer down. One of the days we specifically went out early to try to catch the Concorde, but we had technical problems and were about 5 mintues shy of being ready when it started towards us on the taxi way. We hurried to get set up, but had to give up the attempt when the plane made it's final turn onto the takeoff runway. We had specific orders from our BA escorts to not get caught outside of the van when the plane went to full thrust, and I soon found out why. It was very loud, even compa! red to a 747, and the soot was unbelievable.
In my current life I work for NOAA, building and operating instruments on NASA high-altitude research planes. We often work out of military facilities because they can support these specialized aircraft. A few years ago we were at Edwards AFB in California, and the hangar across the way was housing a B1 bomber. The first time I saw the hangar doors open and saw the plane from the front I was struck by how much it resembled the Concord. It's an equally impressive plane. Prior to 9/11, I could occasionally get away with carrying my camera at some of these places and getting some opportunistic photos. Unfortunately those days are gone now and the penalties for sneaking photos or even being caught in possession of a camera are far too severe to take the risk. Peter Popp ---------------------------------------- Peter J. Popp Research Associate NOAA Aeronomy Laboratory 325 Broadway, R/AL6 Boulder, CO 80305 W: 303-497-5181 F: 303-497-5373 ----------------------------------------
