Originally Posted by
jobpatto
My knowledge is trivial in comparison to the info in this blog....so much so that I was nervous to post it.
If it wasn't for people like you, asking the questions, this thread would long since have petered out.
I just couldn't shake the statistics about the speed of the 163 and the number of top German pilots that the hydrazine rockets killed.
I know the story well... and I've seen some of the photos where all that was left of the aircraft was a huge black smear on the ground....
As mentioned earlier, hydrazine was "tamed" enough in the postwar years to make its use for EPUs in the military feasible (such as the F-16), where the weight gain is more important than the difficulties of handling the stuff.
Even so, just as well it was never used on the in-service Concordes... it's not the kind of product you want around on a civilian airport....
Just imagine a Concorde at the gate.. everybody being cleared away in a wide radius... a few people driving up with goggles, helmets and asbestos suits...
"What IS going on ??" "Oh, nothing, just topping up the APU"....
jodeliste,
I have Stanley Hooker's book too. If you ever find that tape, put me on the distribution list for the DVD (all costs reimbursed, of course!).
CJ