Speedbird Grounded

If there was one airplane in aviation history that has been more emblematic of the possibilities of aviation and its downfalls, that plane would be the Concorde. It has been announced that by the time Christmas rolls around, the Concorde will no longer be flying - much to the joy of its detractors.

Concorde is a technological marvel, even today. Crossing the Atlantic at two times the speed of sound at 60,000 feet is simply incredible. The 747 is the next fastest airplane flying and it isn't even half as quick as Concorde.

But it was also a technological failure. At 100 seats it was just too small. No one knew how well the materials it was made of would hold up after 40 years of crossing the Atlantic. For years now they've been finding small fatigue cracks throughout the structure - some of which have reached a critical failure point. Concorde was an aircraft ahead of our technological knowledge of the time.

It's truly a shame that some people are trying to use Concorde as proof that the EU won't work. Was the Concorde program political? Absolutely- the airplane is the most visible sign of European pork barrel spending in history. Concorde and Airbus have both served to prove that the French are great at building airplanes that no one can afford (Airbus is competitive only because of French and German subsidies that artificially lower the cost of production way below it's true amount). But the French not being able to build an affordable airplane is not the same as the British joining the EU. The two issues are completely unrelated.

If you want Britain out of the EU, fine. I actually agree with the Brits staying independent of the Euroweenies. But do not try to use an unrelated project to prove your point. Concorde attempted to stretch the limits of technology; the EU only attempts to stretch the limits of common sense.