The Lost Era Of Aviation And The Cancelled American SST. When Airlines Ordered Supersonic Jets

The Boeing 2707 was intended to be the United States' answer to the Anglo-French Concorde and the Soviet Tupolev Tu-144. It was the centerpiece of the National Supersonic Transport (SST) program, a government-funded initiative launched in the 1960s to ensure American dominance in the next era of commercial aviation. While the military had already mastered high-speed flight with aircraft like the XB-70 Valkyrie and the SR-71 Blackbird, adapting that technology for a passenger airliner carrying 300 people proved to be an insurmountable engineering and economic challenge.

This video explores the ambitious design and ultimate failure of the Boeing 2707. We examine the original "swing-wing" (variable geometry) concept, known as the 2707-200. This design promised the best of both worlds: excellent low-speed handling for airport operations and a sleek, aerodynamic profile for Mach 2.7 cruising. However, the mechanism required to move the massive wings added immense weight to the airframe, eventually forcing Boeing to scrap the design in favor of a fixed delta wing, the 2707-300.

We delve into the use of titanium as the primary construction material. Unlike the Concorde, which was built of aluminum and limited to Mach 2.0 due to heat friction, the Boeing 2707 aimed for Mach 2.7. At these speeds, air friction generates temperatures that would weaken aluminum, necessitating the use of difficult-to-work titanium alloys. The video also discusses the environmental and political backlash that arose, focusing on the "sonic boom" problem that would have shattered windows across the continent, and fears regarding the depletion of the ozone layer by high-altitude exhaust.

Despite receiving orders from 26 airlines, including Pan Am and TWA, the program was canceled in 1971 when Congress cut off funding. The two prototypes were never completed, leaving the "American Concorde" as one of the greatest "what-ifs" in aviation history. We look at the legacy of the program and how the high-bypass turbofan engine, which prioritized efficiency over speed, ultimately won the war for the skies with the Boeing 747.

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