Do Go On - 340 - The Rise and Fall of Concorde

Episode Date: April 27, 2022

Concorde, the only successful supersonic airliner the world has ever known. It was cutting edge, super fast, and elegant. But what happened? We track the rise and fall of an aviation icon. Support the... show and get rewards like bonus episodes: dogoonpod.com or patreon.com/DoGoOnPod Submit a topic idea directly to the hat: dogoonpod.com/suggest-a-topic/Check out our AACTA nominated web series: http://bit.ly/DGOWebSeries​ Twitter: @DoGoOnPodInstagram: @DoGoOnPodFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/DoGoOnPod/Email us: dogoonpod@gmail.com Check out our other podcasts:Book Cheat: https://play.acast.com/s/book-cheatPrime Mates: https://play.acast.com/s/prime-mates/Listen Now: https://play.acast.com/s/listen-now/ Our awesome theme song by Evan Munro-Smith and logo by Peader Thomas REFERENCES:https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/yeager-breaks-sound-barrier https://blog.boomsupersonic.com/how-exactly-do-you-break-the-sound-barrier-369b37cc59dc https://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/flight/modern/concorde.htmhttps://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/concorde/anat-nf.htmlhttps://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/concorde-flying-what-was-it-like/index.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_France_Flight_4590https://www.heritageconcorde.com/  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Just jumping in really quickly at the start of today's episode to tell you about some upcoming opportunities to see us live in the flesh. And you can see us live at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2024. We are doing three live podcasts on Sundays at 3.30 at Basement Comedy Club, April 7, 14 and 21. You can get tickets at dogo1pod.com. Matt, you're also doing some shows around the country. That's right. I'm doing shows with Saren Jayaimana, who's been on the show before. We're going to be in Perth in January, Adelaide in February,
Starting point is 00:00:28 Melbourne through the festival in April, and then Brisbane after that. I'm also doing Who Knew It's in Perth and Adelaide. Details for all that stuff at mattstuartcomedy.com.
Starting point is 00:00:40 It's a night for the whole family. Be a part of Kids Night when the Toronto Rock take on the Colorado Mammoth at a special 5 p.m. start time on Saturday, March 9th at First Ontario Centre in Hamilton. The first 5,000 fans in attendance will get a Dan Dawson bobblehead
Starting point is 00:00:55 courtesy of Backley Construction. Punch your ticket to Kids Night on Saturday, March 9th at 5 p.m. in Rock City at torontorock.com. We can wait for clean water solutions. March 9th at 5 p.m. in Rock City at torontorock.com. We can wait for clean water solutions. Or we can engineer access to clean water. We can acknowledge Indigenous cultures. Or we can learn from Indigenous voices.
Starting point is 00:01:16 We can demand more from the earth. Or we can demand more from ourselves. At York University, we work together to create positive change for a better tomorrow. Join us at yorku.ca slash write the future. Hello and welcome to another episode of Do Go On. My name is Dave Warnke and as always I'm here with Matt Stewart and Jess Perkins. Hello Dave. Hey Dave.
Starting point is 00:01:57 Hey Jess. Good to see you. And you Matt. Here in this place, your humble abode. My humble abode. In the affluent east. Oh, there's nothing humble about this. What's this? Six, seven thousand square metres? I thinkode. In the affluent east. Oh, there's nothing humble about this. What's this, 6,000, 7,000 square metres? I think it's 7,500 actually.
Starting point is 00:02:09 Wow, sorry. If you're including the grotto, which I do. Of course. You've got to include the grotto. Yeah. It's so good to be here. I can't wait to get into it. Dave, how does this show work?
Starting point is 00:02:21 Well, Matt, what we do here is we take it in terms of a report on a topic often suggested to us by one of the listeners. Any listener can do that at any time at dogoonpod.com. And we go away, do a bit of research, and then bring it back to the others who have no idea what the topic's going to be. And it is my turn to report. And we always start with a little pesky question. Ooh, a little pesky question.
Starting point is 00:02:42 Let me ask you that question, guys. question. Ooh, a little pesky question. Let me ask you that question, guys. What supersonic airliner operated from 1976 to 2003? The Concorde. Correct, sir. My report is on the rise and fall
Starting point is 00:02:56 of Concorde. Concorde, like, rings a very vague bell somewhere deep in the back of my brain, but I have no idea what you're talking about. I feel it in my loins, Concord. Okay. It was the future.
Starting point is 00:03:08 It's interesting. And now it's the past. Yes. It's so interesting. I'd love to know about this. Great. Well, I have done this because it's been suggested by a few people. Thank you to Paul Mellor from Oldham in the UK,
Starting point is 00:03:21 Nick from Kent, and Ben Johnson from Milton Keynes. Ben Johnson. What a guy. What a guy. And Paul, great Saints supporter. He's got on board the Saints, I believe, because this show, as an Englishman, he's jumped on board.
Starting point is 00:03:35 Ah, that's nice. And I will just say of Ben Johnson, he obviously likes fast things and fiery crashes. That's what I have written here because... Dave's got that bold on his computer and he's sitting right next to me. He suggested a few such topics? Yes, the Le Mans crash was also a suggestion of his. And I don't want to give away too much,
Starting point is 00:03:58 but this may end in a similar way. Who was the middle person Who suggested it Nick from Kent Hey Nick Good on you as well We love you Nick Keep it up Nick So they're all
Starting point is 00:04:13 It's an all English topic Because this is a This used to fly from Like London to America Or something It's an English and French topic And this is actually my Third French topic
Starting point is 00:04:24 This year already. I've done Joan of Arc, The Le Mans Crash and now Concorde. God, you're obsessed with the French. I know. Speaking of Le Mans, I watched Ford versus Ferrari yesterday. Oh, good fun? Yeah, it was good. Good movie.
Starting point is 00:04:35 It was a good movie, yeah. Yeah, I enjoyed it. I haven't seen it, but... It's good. Matt Damon. Oh, Matt Damon, yeah. Christian Bale. Oh, yeah, Christian Bale.
Starting point is 00:04:44 Christian Bale is my favourite kind of role of his. Oh, I'm very good at something, but I'm not respected. What's that? And Henry Ford II, or Deuce, as everyone called him. Yeah, not a good nickname. He's played by a guy who's the coach in the new LA Lakers biopic sort of series. Oh, okay. About the 80s Lakers.
Starting point is 00:05:08 Is that good? Are you enjoying that? I've been enjoying it, yeah. John C. Reilly. Love his work. Anyway, Dave, what a weird sidetrack. I just want to say this one was voted for by our Patreon and supporters at dogo1pod.com. I put up three topics, the history of a certain thing or a product, and this one by a single vote.
Starting point is 00:05:26 So if you want to support the show on Patreon, and you can legitimately influence what we talk about. That happens to you a lot. Yeah. It's amazing, isn't it? It's because you're putting up such great options for them. Yeah, but not that great. They're all equally great.
Starting point is 00:05:42 Not one standout great one like I do. Or equally bad. Or equally bad. They're all kind of. Not one standout great one like I do. Or equally bad. Or equally bad. They're all kind of going, I guess. I don't know what any of this is. Fine. Okay. So it could be any of these perspectives.
Starting point is 00:05:54 Actually, I've been getting real close ones lately as well. It's great. I think it, yeah. I kind of like it when it's a landslide because I really feel confident we'll pick the right one. It's going to be a good topic. Yeah, that's true. I actually thought of Concorde as a topic when I was leaving Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport
Starting point is 00:06:12 a month or two ago on my honeymoon and I saw a Concorde on display as I was driving out in the taxi and I thought, surely that's just a replica. It's way too small. But when I looked into it, it was real.
Starting point is 00:06:24 Wow. It was real. So they're quite a small plane and that got me thinking so I looked up, is but when i looked into it it was real wow it was real so they're quite quite a small plane and that got me thinking so i looked up is it in the hat and it was so thank you very much to everyone that supported it jess just noted that four and a half minutes before he mentioned his honeymoon i didn't know what you were looking i saw you glad it's over uh yep yeah you're not a new record and it wasn't on his it wasn't on his screen by the way he added the honeymoon bit. Yeah, just wedges it into conversation wherever he can. Well, since I got married.
Starting point is 00:06:50 When have I ever mentioned it? When have I ever mentioned it? Anyway, me and my wife, we're on our honeymoon. My new wife. My first wife, as I refer to her. Four and a half minutes. Okay, Dave, see if you can break that next week Oh, I will
Starting point is 00:07:06 The history of honeymoons Until the 1940s, it was a commonly held belief That exceeding the speed of sound That is, breaking the sound barrier Would destroy an aircraft and any human being on board Oh, wow But that all changed with one man Chuck Yeager
Starting point is 00:07:24 Yeager? Great name. And to be honest, it was also changed by many other people who helped, but Chuck Yeager was the guy literally at the front of this breakthrough. He was a combat fighter during World War II who was a bit of a badass. Yes, we love a badass. The American pilot flew 64 missions over Europe and shot down 13 German planes. Jaeger himself was shot down over France,
Starting point is 00:07:48 but he escaped capture with the assistance of the French underground. Oh, wow. That's pretty cool. On October 12, 1944, he attained ace in a day status, shooting down five enemy aircraft in just one mission. Ace in a day. I like that. Yeah, like a frog in a pond.
Starting point is 00:08:06 Yeah. Great dessert. That's what I was thinking. I love those. I hate frog in a pond. Really? It makes the Freddo go a weird texture. Yeah, I like the idea of it more than the...
Starting point is 00:08:15 Yeah, I like the look of it. You're like, that's a bit of fun. As a kid, it was exciting. At the pub. But I love jelly. I love... Yeah, so for international people, just in case it's not... I don't know how international it is.
Starting point is 00:08:25 I think it's pretty international. It is a piece of chocolate shaped like a frog. Frodo frog. Inside jelly that's either green or blue to represent the pond. Yeah, the frog is in the pond. This has got to be a thing we've ripped off from England. Surely, yeah. It feels very English.
Starting point is 00:08:39 And then it's a bit shit. Sucked in England. I love your food. That's why I like it. Sucked in England and asked for ripping off your shit things. Honestly, if I like the food, I just assume it's English because I like bad food. That is pretty clever for a pub dessert though on a kid's menu. It's so easy.
Starting point is 00:08:56 Very clever. And it'd be pretty cheap to make. So that makes a lot of sense. But yeah, it makes the frog go a bit weird. Just give me a bowl of jelly and a Freddo. Let me have them separately without the frog going weird. Yeah. And let me eat the jelly.
Starting point is 00:09:08 Yeah. Give me all the jelly. How much jelly do you have? Give it to me. Can I get a deconstructed frog in a pond? Do you mind? I'm such a Melbourne kid. I love English food as well to some extent.
Starting point is 00:09:20 You know, big English breakfast, pints of ale. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I love it. The list goes on for you. Yeah. So he attained ace in a day status eating five froggenpons in one sitting. Whoa.
Starting point is 00:09:33 They were impressed by that. But after the war, Jaeger stayed in the US Air Force and was among several volunteers chosen to test fly the experimental and ultra top secret X-1 rocket plane. Rocket plane. Which was built by the Bell Aircraft Company to explore the possibility of supersonic flight.
Starting point is 00:09:51 Bell Aircraft. Is the Bell Aircraft Company attached to the Bell Shakespeare Company? Very, very similar. Are they? John Bell at the head of both. Is it from Bell Air or is it that's a pun or a portmanteau? It's Bel. Yes.
Starting point is 00:10:08 Aircraft company. And double L. Uh-huh. So, no. To answer your question. Just a coincidence. I felt like the things I was saying was answering your question, but you kept doing, uh-huh.
Starting point is 00:10:21 You know, I do that a bit now sometimes too. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yes. So they're employed to explore the possibility of supersonic flight. That is flight that breaks the sound barrier and travels faster than the speed of sound. So that's what supersonic flight means.
Starting point is 00:10:37 Why are you trying to beat sound? Yeah. You know what I mean? Like who cares if you're travelling faster than sound? Yeah, just travel. Whoop-de-fucking-do. Travel the same speed as sound or slower than sound. Why is sound the measure?
Starting point is 00:10:49 I want to go faster than something fast. Yeah, like a cheetah. Yeah. Am I going... I'm both a cheetah barrier. Am I flying faster than the speed of cheetah? Yeah. Yes?
Starting point is 00:10:59 Well, wonderful. That's exciting. Okay, great. I don't understand why you're trying to beat sound. It's not the same category. Different senses. It's completely different. One senses speed.
Starting point is 00:11:09 Yeah. One is sound. Exactly. Don't get them confused. Don't conflate the two. Jeez Louise. I mean, but that's what science is always doing, trying to solve problems that no one needs to solve.
Starting point is 00:11:20 Yeah. My sixth sense is speed. The movie? The movie? The movie speed Yes He can sense If somebody's watching it My seventh sense
Starting point is 00:11:29 Speed too Cruise control Do you think That someone In the world Somewhere is watching The movie speed At all times?
Starting point is 00:11:36 Oh I hope so Yes Around the world Yeah At any one time Someone in the world Is watching speed No doubt about that
Starting point is 00:11:43 Great movie That brings me joy I found an aviation website I think it's pronounced At any one time, someone in the world's watching Speed. No doubt about that. Great movie. That brings me joy. I found an aviation website. I think it's pronounced wikipedia.org. Okay, great. And what, it's all about aircraft? Oh, it has loads of info on planes and pilots and has an article on Jaeger's first sound barrier-breaking flight.
Starting point is 00:12:00 Jaeger! I love his name. He probably yelled that as he broke the speed of sound. Yeah, but nobody heard it. No, not for a little while anyway. I don't think that worked scientifically, but I just wanted to have a crack at a clever joke. Was that clever?
Starting point is 00:12:15 Yeah. Is this thing on? So when he was in World War II, he would have been dropping a few Jaeger bombs. And going, Jaeger! Matt's sipping from his milk after that one. Drink your milk. Call that a victory sip in their biz.
Starting point is 00:12:34 Nail that joke. I earned this sip of milk. Okay, this is from wikipedia.org. Two nights before the scheduled date for the flight, Jaeger broke two ribs when he fell from a horse. Why was he on a horse? Right before a big day. Don't go horse riding.
Starting point is 00:12:52 He broke his two ribs because he wanted to suck his own horse. Then he realised, hang on, I don't even need these. I can keep my ribs and suck this horse. That wasn't the problem. Oh, that's good milk. You deserve that second victory sip. You're right. I'm going to be a joke ace.
Starting point is 00:13:14 Five jokes in this episode. Wow, that's never been done. What's our record? One. What? Not good jokes. We're not there yet. Oh, okay, yeah.
Starting point is 00:13:25 You're not going for good. He was worried that the injury would remove him from the mission and reported that he went to a civilian doctor in nearby Rosamund who taped his ribs. Besides his wife who was riding with him on the horse, Jaeger told only his friend and fellow project pilot Jack Ridley about the accident. So he didn't tell anyone because he's worried he'll get struck from the mission.
Starting point is 00:13:46 On the day of the flight, Jaeger was in such pain that he could not seal the X-1's hatch by himself. Ridley, the only guy told, rigged up a device using the end of a broom handle as an extra lever to allow Jaeger to seal the hatch. So he battled through the pain, which is not a good idea. And on October 14, 1947 Jaeger flew the X-1
Starting point is 00:14:07 over Rogers Dry Lake in Southern California, exceeding 662 miles per hour, which is the sound barrier at 40,000 feet. So he did it. And people are going well, he's going to explode. Yes. And he did it with
Starting point is 00:14:23 two broken ribs. But it turns out that if you break your ribs, there's less pressure inside your body. And he did it with two broken ribs. It turns out that if you break your ribs, there's less pressure inside your body. So that's the only reason he didn't explode. Oh, okay. So it's actually really convenient. It's great. So from now on, if you're on the Concorde,
Starting point is 00:14:34 someone stood there with a baseball bat, gave you one on each side, and then you got to go on. Bloody hell, that's very impressive. So the speed of sound varies under a few factors, including altitude. But an object that travels So the speed of sound varies under a few factors, including altitude, but an object that travels at the speed of sound is referred to as travelling at Mach 1. When you hear Mach speed, that means it's travelling at the speed of sound.
Starting point is 00:14:55 So when the presidents of the United States of America, the band, sang, I will survive in my Mach 5, in my Mach 5 I will survive, what does that mean? Yeah. What does that mean? Yeah, what does that mean? Because it always felt like gibberish, but was it? Or was it just words I didn't yet know? Well, double the speed is Mach 2. Mach 3 is three times and so on.
Starting point is 00:15:16 And that's also Gillette's revolutionary three-blade razor. Yeah, that travels at the speed of sound. That was a big ad campaign. We've done it. We've somehow figured out how to put a third razor blade on this razor. They said it couldn't be done. They said it couldn't be done. They thought that the razor blade would explode.
Starting point is 00:15:40 They thought that humans shaving with three blades would disintegrate. It's too powerful. Chuck later himself described breaking the sound barrier for the first time. He said, I noticed that the faster I got, the smoother the ride. Much like on a jet ski. Is that true? Yeah. Oh, cool.
Starting point is 00:16:00 So you're just sort of skimming across the top. Love that. Suddenly the mark needle began to fluctuate. It went up to 0.965 mark. Then it tipped off the scale. We were flying supersonic, and it was as smooth as a baby's bottom. How do people say that? Stop obsessing over baby's butts.
Starting point is 00:16:19 Grandma could be sitting up there sipping lemonade. What does that mean? Off the butt. Off the butt. So, yeah, you could be, grandma could be sitting on that baby's ass sipping lemonade. Yeah, why are baby's asses the, are they even smooth?
Starting point is 00:16:37 I feel like they'd be real soft. Yeah. Is that the same as smooth? Same thing, I guess. And is it like Mark 1, Mark 2, the smooth of the baby's bottom, baby bottom 2? Yeah. It's twice as smooth as a baby's bottom.
Starting point is 00:16:48 Because like that, you'd think, because they'd be, they don't squat or anything. They'd have hardly any glute muscles. Yeah. They're actually pathetic at squats. Honestly, watch a baby do a squat. You'll feel so good about yourself. That's what, it should be as pathetic as a baby's bottom. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:17:06 That's what I said. You're a fucking idiot trying to squat. It should be as pathetic as a baby's bottom. Yeah, that's what it should be. You're currently being as pathetic as a baby's bottom in that it has no muscle structure. Yeah, I think that's better. I think I'll fix that one. Do you want to take a victory sip of that one or no? I don't know.
Starting point is 00:17:19 Is that worthy of a sip? I'm just saying you could if you want. I mean, my problem the way I'm going at the moment is this milk is going to be all gone. You're sipping too hard. Because of the top secrecy of the project,
Starting point is 00:17:31 Jaeger's achievement wasn't announced to the world for eight months. So we had to sit on that record. We had to sit on the baby's butt. That's right. Sipping lemonade. But when it was, the world knew that it was possible for humans and aircraft to travel faster than the speed of sound. Again, who cares?
Starting point is 00:17:47 It can be done. But why? That would play havoc with your stereo system. Yeah, if you're going faster than the speed of sound, if you, like once he hit supersonic and he's like, I'm going faster than the speed of sound. If he went, woohoo, does he hear that? No, I think that goes behind him. That's back there. That's back there where he said it.
Starting point is 00:18:05 He gets sucked back. Right? Yeah. Like, scientifically. Do songs go backwards? If he's playing, you know. Yeah, if he's going faster than the speed of sound, what are the songs doing?
Starting point is 00:18:14 Yeah. Playing Highway to the Danger Zone. Is that running backwards? He was the first one to hear all those messages in the Beatles songs. Hang on a second. There's something here. I should join the Navy. Well, it was a big deal because instantly airlines and governments around the world began to speculate about the possibility of creating a commercial plane that traveled faster than the speed of sound
Starting point is 00:18:35 obviously that would make journeys much quicker and who doesn't want to go on holiday or on business faster makes sense the race was on to design a plane and both the Soviets and the USA had plans to build supersonic transport, aka an SST. That's what they're called. Boeing won the competition for a government-funded contract
Starting point is 00:18:57 to build an American supersonic airliner called the Boeing 2707. They began developing it at its facilities in Seattle, Washington. A short time later, in 1966, Seattle was awarded a franchise in the NBA. I was going to say this before. That makes sense.
Starting point is 00:19:15 Because of the contract, they called the Seattle Supersonics. So there's another 1966 sports fact. Wow, that's so funny. As soon as you said Supersonics, I'm like, I wonder if that's got anything to do with the basketball team. Yeah, because people, thousands of people got jobs in their city doing this. It became this big project for the city. And they were like, oh, let's call it the Seattle Supersonics.
Starting point is 00:19:34 Rest in peace. Well, the team actually lasted longer than the Boeing contract, which was cancelled due to rising costs in 1971. So the USA pulled out of the race. They went, it's too expensive to make this SST. The Seattle Supersonics stopped existing in 2008 when they moved cities and changed their name to Oklahoma City Thunder.
Starting point is 00:19:53 I don't mind Thunder as a team name. That's all right. Yeah, that's pretty good. That's good. How do you draw it? A cloud? Yeah, like a lightning bolt. That's lightning.
Starting point is 00:20:03 Yeah, but lightning is just the sound of thunder, right? No. Lightning is the sound of thunder. Thunder is the sound of lightning. Yes, sorry. No. Still no. Still a no.
Starting point is 00:20:17 Try a third one. They often go hand in hand, but not always. Really? Well, there you go. I always thought it was the lightning. Because that's why you can tell how far, or is that a myth as well? The account in between seeing the lightning, because speed of sight is faster than the speed of sound.
Starting point is 00:20:34 Speed of light. Yeah, what did I say? I mean, I could be wrong. You said speed of sight. Oh, speed of light. I thought I said light. Anyway, speed of light is faster than the speed of sound. Yeah, the closer it is, the quicker.
Starting point is 00:20:45 The gap is between the lightning and thunder. What is thunder? You learn things on this podcast. Thunder is a sound caused by lightning. You are absolutely right. Give that man a medal. And I said, Matt, you fucking idiot. You did say that.
Starting point is 00:21:02 How dare... With my eyes. Yeah. How dare you waste my time with your stupid opinions. But no, you're absolutely right. So there you go. Sort of like the Melbourne Storm, the local rugby league team, their symbols are lightning bolt.
Starting point is 00:21:20 So if they can use that, surely the Thunder can. Storm feels like more of a general term, doesn't it? Anyway. I like weather-based team names, though. Are you looking at what? Like the Gold Coast Suns. Yeah, that's nice. Okay, see, they don't really, they just have a basketball as their logo.
Starting point is 00:21:40 I read this article about American sports logos a while ago, and they're saying that a lot of the NBA teams have basketballs in their logos because where it came from as a sport, it wasn't that popular a few decades ago. So they were like, they have to really show the sport in their logos, whereas the biggest sports,
Starting point is 00:22:00 the football teams didn't have to put footballs in all their logos. Right, but people go, Oklahoma City, Thunder, what do you do? Golf? Are you golfing? Is this a golf team? Water polo? I don't care. But that is the team of young Josh Giddy, the young Aussie
Starting point is 00:22:17 that got drafted. But there you go, a 1966 sports fact. Maybe that can be the new one. Or just add it to the Arsenal. I think Chicago Bulls also formed that But there you go, a 1966 sports fact. Maybe that can be the new one. Yeah. Yeah. Or just add it to the arsenal. I think Chicago Bulls also formed that year.
Starting point is 00:22:31 Big year in sport. Big year. So USA dropped out, but the Soviets began designing their SST called the TU-144, which sounds like a Terminator. I fucking love it. In 1962. At the time, it was thought that all future air travel would be supersonic so no one wanted to miss out but then you wouldn't have your like 17 hour flights
Starting point is 00:22:50 you know yeah we wouldn't have we you know people wouldn't be able to complain about coming to australia yeah it's so far they still would yeah oh now i don't have an excuse. But it would be all relative. So their flights around their home countries would halve. So they go, the flight to Australia, geez, six and a half hours. That's three times as long as it takes for me to do this flight. So it's still... They'd still complain. But the logic holds up, right?
Starting point is 00:23:23 That you'd assume, oh, there's this big advancement. For sure. Like the more we make this happen, the cheaper it will become and it will just become more cost-effective. Yeah, and I mean it definitely makes sense to make flight as quick as possible and to keep trying to make that faster for the convenience of many different things, not just travel but also getting things from A to B and whatever yeah but why are you trying to beat sound yeah why is that your focus because just say can we fly real fucking fast but that was the first there's some planes over there wow oh flying in
Starting point is 00:24:00 formation flying over the formula one which is on during in melbourne during the time of recording that's fun though but we're talking about planes and there's some planes. What are the odds of that? They're the roulette. I think that's the roulette. Ah. Put on a bit of a show. So you say sound is the thing because that was the first thing that they didn't think that you could go faster than that.
Starting point is 00:24:18 If you reach that speed they thought all planes and humans would die. So you've got to get through that before you can go really fucking fast. I still think it's stupid. Like, just aim for really fast. Why specifically under the lens of sound? Yeah. Ironically, the logic is not sound.
Starting point is 00:24:34 That's the first barrier. Why are we putting these barriers on ourselves? What I'm saying. I feel like my stupidity is frustrating Dave. Well, what you need to know, Jess, is they really thought all planes would soon be the only way to travel in this supersonic way, and everyone wanted to be first,
Starting point is 00:24:52 which the Soviets were in a way, but I'll talk about that and how it turned out in a minute. Okay. So the race was on, and many of their rivals were surprised when on November 29, 1962, Britain and France signed a treaty to share costs and risks in producing their own SST.
Starting point is 00:25:09 This is where the craft gets its name from. Concorde is a French word, but it's also an English word. Concorde with an E on the end is how the French spell it. English spell it without the E on the end. Both mean agreement, harmony or union. Oh, that's nice. So, two countries coming together. It's a shared word.
Starting point is 00:25:29 Great. Let's use that. Do they use the French or the English version? Well, English Aviation Minister Tony Benn recalled to the Guardian how the spelling of Concorde came about. The original plan was that both the French and English Concords would be spelled with an E. Okay. But the then British Prime Minister Macmillan,
Starting point is 00:25:52 Harold Macmillan, had been insulted by French President Charles de Gaulle on one visit when de Gaulle said he had a cold and couldn't see him. So Macmillan came back and removed the E from the end. That's respect. Yeah, I'm so sorry, Prime Minister. I don't want to pass this on. I'm trying not to pass on my sickness. I'm unwell.
Starting point is 00:26:10 He probably had COVID. You know what I mean? Yeah, I know. He was looking after you. Imagine in this day and age being insulted by that. If somebody cancelled plans because they were sick and didn't want to get me sick. Cough in my mouth. How dare you. But also, it's the pettiest thing you can do.
Starting point is 00:26:27 Come home, remove the E, cut the E. We're not using that French shit. Fuck that guy. That's embarrassing with a big E. But then Tony Benn, the aviation minister, he reversed that. He said we had to have the same name for the same aircraft. And besides, it was reversing an insult for the French, which I wasn't in favour of. He didn't think it was an insult.
Starting point is 00:26:43 No, it's not. Macmillan, let it go, mate. Who cares? But he didn't come see me and I made cucumber sandwiches. It took me ages. I didn't know how to make a sandwich. Macmillan never used an E again. Stopped doing ecstasy as well.
Starting point is 00:26:59 So it's spelt with an E on the end. Flight of the Concords, spelt C-H-O-R-D-S, is a pun. Concords. Because chords. Yeah. That's fun. There we go.
Starting point is 00:27:13 It's funny the first time you hear it and then it gets less funny each time after that. The B-sharves. British Aerospace and the French firm Aerospatiale, which was a predecessor of Airbus and the British Aircraft Corporation, which still exists, agreed to produce the supersonic airliner. Aerospatiale was responsible for the airframe, while Britain's Rolls-Royce and France's SNECMA,
Starting point is 00:27:40 which is an acronym that I don't know what it stands for. SNECMA. That is an ugly word. Yeah, I don't like that. SNECMA. As opposed to SPECIAL, which is a real punch I don't know what it stands for. SNECMA. That is an ugly word. Yeah, I don't like that. SNECMA. As opposed to SPECIAL, which is a real punch-up of special, isn't it? Yeah, SPECIAL. Oh, SPECIAL.
Starting point is 00:27:51 Oh, my God. I don't feel worthy to be near this word. So, Rolls-Royce and SNECMA developed the jet engines. The agreement stated that the aircraft would be built in both the UK and France, so they could both claim it. Okay, yeah, sure. So do a bit each. That's nice.
Starting point is 00:28:08 In the early 1960s, aeronautical engineers didn't have today's design and analysis tools or advanced computers. So they're basically... They should have had them. I know. Why didn't they have them? They chose to do it all by hand. What do you mean?
Starting point is 00:28:21 That seems like it would take so much more time. It does, but it feels like more of an achievement. Nah, I disagree. They definitely should have used modern technology. I love leaning on technology. Even basic maths. Just chuck that on my phone just to check. Oh yeah, all good. Yeah, just in your notes.
Starting point is 00:28:37 5 plus 5, that is 10. Yeah, they worked it out. Just write it in my notes. They worked it out on the notes app. Wow. They basically had to do it all by hand, as I said, but Concorde's designers came up with a remarkably advanced and unique aircraft. Honestly, Concorde is an absolute design marvel. And I'm not even a big plane guy, but when I was writing this,
Starting point is 00:28:56 I really started to nerd out over it. Okay. So here's a bit of that nerd bit. Well, let us beat that out of you because we're jocks. Yeah. Aren't we, Matt? Yeah. Yeah, we, Matt? Yeah. Yeah, we like sport and beer.
Starting point is 00:29:07 Matt, did you stop the podcast and point at a plane again? That was me. That's been me every time. Well, you both did it. Every time it's gone past, I've stopped listening to you. I've missed chunks of this because I've been going, planes. I can see a crane as well, but I'm keeping it together. Yeah, there is a crane.
Starting point is 00:29:24 I can see many cranes. Oh, my God. It's cool. It's wild that they can do it, but it's like a lot of things. It's like fireworks and stuff. People go, whoa, look at these planes zooming around. I'm like, I'd be impressed if it was like, you know, you two flying those planes.
Starting point is 00:29:39 Like, wow, look, that's cool. These are like trained pilots. But how do you know that? I thought you meant if it was you two flying the planes. If Bono was in charge. I thought he meant if we were just flying, not even in planes. That would be impressive. Yeah, I mean, that would be even more impressive, I'd say.
Starting point is 00:29:56 Well, let me try and impress you with the nerdy part of the report. Let's start with the speed. For context, a usual Boeing 747 that you've probably been on cruises at about 560 miles per hour. Okay. That's 901 kilometers per hour, which is mark 0.84. Yeah, I think that's broken the speed of cheetah sand. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:30:16 Cheetahs notoriously. Faster than a cheetah going, wow. Wow. Yeah. Wow. So, they're going at 900 k's an hour. 900 k an hour at an altitude of 35,000 feet. Just over 10,500 meters.
Starting point is 00:30:28 I mean, I could have logically figured that out. I didn't know how fast a plane went. But it takes you an hour to fly to Sydney from Melbourne. That's around 900km. Yeah. So I guess that makes sense. Yeah, I guess that checks out. So that's a normal plane.
Starting point is 00:30:42 That's a normal plane. Ones that you go on that we still use. 767, something like that. 747. Yeah, but they're all pretty similar to that. On the other hand, ballpark figure. On the other hand, a Concorde could cruise at 1,350 miles per hour, which is 2,172 k's an hour.
Starting point is 00:30:58 That's more than double. Which is Mach 2, twice the speed of sound. Wow. And they flew at, so remember 747, 35,000 feet. Concorde, 60,000 feet. Wow. You're 18,300 meters. You're 18 kilometers in the air.
Starting point is 00:31:12 Oof. And at that height, passengers were actually able to see the curvature of the earth. Wow. So cop that, flat earthers. You just need to go back to the 80s and get on one of these. That's so fast. It's so fast. You'd be in Sydney in 20 minutes.
Starting point is 00:31:27 You know? They'd be throwing cookies from the front of the place. No time to do snack service. It feels like once it's that fast and you're spending more time at the airport, it would feel weird. It would feel silly, wouldn't it? You'd be like, I'll just drive to Sydney. By the time I go
Starting point is 00:31:45 I get there an hour early so I can check my bags and then they get us on the plane and then it's 20 minutes we're up we're down oh they're going to wait for my bags at the other side the pilot looks out the window
Starting point is 00:31:56 at the wrong time you're in Brisbane yeah yeah yeah oh shit just trying to turn around without anyone noticing well actually those planes are flying real close together now.
Starting point is 00:32:06 That's cool. You're impressed? Yeah, that looks dangerous. I can't see them now. Where are they? They're just going behind that tree. Come back. I hope they don't fly too close to that tree.
Starting point is 00:32:17 I hope they're playing Scorpions, Rock Me Like a Hurricane. Here I am! Was it that one? But backwards. Yeah. The pilots will be hearing it backwards, yeah. But they prefer it that way now. That's how they hear all music.
Starting point is 00:32:30 I saw them play that when I was in Germany. Whoa. And it was pretty great. And I remember the singer, he just said a lot. He said, come on, baby. Said that all the whole way through their set. He just said it a lot. Come on baby
Starting point is 00:32:45 Do you know What are any of their other songs? Their biggest song Which apparently is Winds of Change Oh okay Do they refuse to play that live? Yeah they refuse to play it live
Starting point is 00:32:56 Apparently it's Apparently It's really on the nose over there Because it was flogged When the wall came down It was Became almost the unofficial anthem of that. Maybe them and David Hasselhoff.
Starting point is 00:33:09 And I think people are just sick of it, yeah. I get why you were nerding out. That is really fast. It's amazing, isn't it? And seeing the curvature of the earth and going so high. And apparently the sky is so blue up there. Wow. It's a beautiful view, apparently.
Starting point is 00:33:22 That's cool. Also, I guess you'd have to go higher because there'd be so much traffic and you know when you're stuck behind a slow driver yes and all these planes would be so slow comparatively you'd be like you'd have to go around them stay in the left lane was overtaking yeah and they don't they don't they just sit in the right lane and just plot along the pilot is constantly on the horn. I am going more than double what you're going. They're like,
Starting point is 00:33:47 I'm going the limit. And you're like, well, you think you're going the limit, but I think your speedo is a bit off because you're actually going 5Ks under.
Starting point is 00:33:55 Yeah. Can you just get across? Yeah, move over. So, it makes sense. I think that's probably why they go higher.
Starting point is 00:34:01 They should have just made a third lane, a Concord lane. Concord lane. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, they did it. 60 should have just made a third lane, a Concorde lane. Concorde lane. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, they did it. 60,000 feet. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:34:08 And then they could also prank and like dump the toilet on the other planes. Oh, that's fun. You'd have to get the timing just right because they're going so slow and you're going so fucking fast. You know what I mean? Yeah, but if you nail it, it's very funny. Very good. Very satisfying. So to travel at supersonic speeds,
Starting point is 00:34:25 the Concorde had to be designed completely differently from other existing passenger planes, which would fall apart and disintegrate at these supersonic speeds. Planes like the 747 feature low wings, which means the wings are mounted lower than halfway up the fuselage, the long, thin part of the plane. David, if you'd asked me what are low wings, I would have, I reckon, figured that one out.
Starting point is 00:34:46 Yeah, that one probably didn't need... That the wings would be... Explaining. Lower. Well, basically, they stick out on either side and they're most planes you've seen. Concorde, on the other hand, had double delta wings, which are shaped like triangles...
Starting point is 00:35:01 DDs. And look... Oh, massive DDs. They're shaped like triangles and look super cool, in my opinion. They sort of go out. It's like a corn chip on either side of the plane. Yeah, cool. That is super cool.
Starting point is 00:35:13 Corn chip on either side. That is really cool. The problem they had to overcome was most delta-shaped wings that cruise at super high speeds aren't well suited for taking off. So, they're really good once you're up in the air, but they're very difficult to get off the ground. Okay. So they needed wings that were able to take off, but once in the air, able to cruise at these supersonic speeds. According to PBS, it took over 5,000 hours of wind tunnel testing
Starting point is 00:35:36 before Concorde's designers and engineers were confident that they had the optimal shape. Right. But if you Google a Concord, they look real cool. Ended up being Pringle-shaped, which I think is interesting. And you cannot fit your hand in it. No. But once you pop, you cannot stop it from flying.
Starting point is 00:35:53 That's right. Concord also featured a long and thin adjustable needle-shaped nose. Yeah. Ah, yes, yes, yes. Something that a guy from the Smithsonian, who I watched a video on, referred to as a troop snoot. It's a sick planet. It looks like a good fly into space. I've just Google imaged it, and I've definitely seen that before.
Starting point is 00:36:16 Yeah, like a space shuttle also features delta wings. Delta, car and truck rental, Just call 131319 Delta Is something I think whenever I hear the word Delta I think Innocent Eyes Innocent Eyes What is that? Oh, Delta Goodrum
Starting point is 00:36:37 Delta Goodrum I also think my second favourite Australian gladiator from the show Gladiators. Oh, right. I was a big fan of Tower. Oh. The tall man. Tower's great, but everyone's favourite, of course, is Vulcan.
Starting point is 00:36:52 Absolutely. Got to be Vulcan. He's the superstar of the show. Absolutely. Then they had Australians versus English gladiators, and they had someone called Dynamite, and he was pretty cool too. Oh, that's good. That's a good gladiator name. Yeah. What would your gladiator name and they had someone called Dynamite, and he was pretty cool too. Oh, that's good. That's a good gladiator name.
Starting point is 00:37:05 What would your gladiator name be? The scientist. Yours would. You'd have a beaker. I'd be called the beaker. That's good. I'm constantly trying to do a science experiment whilst they're trying to pile drive me off a swing.
Starting point is 00:37:24 Dave's version of that would be being on the chase. One of the chase. The beaker. The beaker. The beaker. I think I'd be the tank. That's good. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Starting point is 00:37:35 Tank's good. I'd love to be called something like the nugget, but I'm not at all. I'm just going to say nugget for you. I'm just like I'm the opposite of a nugget. Well, maybe that's like one of those ironic ones. Yeah. Which I think tank is for me. Lank.
Starting point is 00:37:47 Lank. Lank and the Tank. We could be a duo. Yes. Yes. There we go. He's lanky. I'm tanky.
Starting point is 00:38:02 Is that something? I don't know. We can workshop it. Yeah. As always, Dave, feel free to edit any of this out Do us a solid Whoever does the report listeners They do the edit
Starting point is 00:38:12 So anything that's left in In this case Do not blame me and Jess Yeah it's our fault Any reference to gladiators I'm not cutting Vulcan if you're listening We love you
Starting point is 00:38:23 We love you Vulcan We love you Vulcan We love you Vulcan You too Delta So it's got a needle-like nose Which you may have seen in the image there Which some dude I watched Referred to as a droop snoot Which I loved
Starting point is 00:38:34 Love that, droop snoot Because during takeoff and landing Concorde flew at such a steep angle As it was going up With its front end tilted skyward And its tail pointing down Probably didn't say that bit A normal nose would completely block the pilot's view
Starting point is 00:38:47 and they couldn't see anything. Ah, okay. But Concorde's long pointed nose had a hinge. As the plane took off, landed and taxied, the pilot's tilted his nose forward. So it sort of lowers down a bit. But when you're in the air and they want to go supersonic, a hydraulic lift snaps the nose into place, which is real cool.
Starting point is 00:39:07 That's really cool. I think if the plane was taking off and you're going straight up, that would be awful as a passenger. I would hate that. It feels like it would be fun. I've done it in a seaplane and it was awful. When did you go on a seaplane? That's cool.
Starting point is 00:39:20 Many, many years ago. I was on a jet ski tour and you stopped at this little island. Jeez, you're banging on about jet skis. I love jet skis. I love it. That's cool. Many, many years ago. I was on a jet ski tour and you stopped at this little island. Jeez, you're banging on about jet skis. I love jet skis. I love them. And we stopped at a little island for a rest and a seaplane pilot wanders over and the tour that he had flown there was, you know, doing an activity and he's like, you guys want to come for a joyride?
Starting point is 00:39:40 What the hell? What? You sound like you're some you some sort of vip eccentric millionaire i was were you staying on richard branson's island or something it sounds like you're about to be kidnapped it was awful it wasn't it was cool was the pilot baloo yes okay from the show what was there was a show he was on and he flew a... For some reason, Baloo the bear from Jungle Book had a spin-off show where he was a pilot in a seaplane.
Starting point is 00:40:12 It's such a weird spin-off. It's going to be one of the weirdest spin-offs. You've made that up. I think you've dreamt that. You've dreamt that, I'm sure of it. Baloo the pilot. Do you know Baloo from... Yeah, well, yeah.
Starting point is 00:40:20 That's what I thought when you said Baloo, but I was like, this has got to be something else. But it's Baloo from Jungle Book. Yeah. Flying a seaplane. He puts a shirt on and he flies a seaplane and there's a little kid bear who has a little sort of board that he surfs behind the plane sometimes.
Starting point is 00:40:37 Okay, well, that's quite cute. What was that show called? Have I made it up? I reckon you've dreamt that. What a great dream. So they call it The Air Ne necessities oh my god yes dave if only you had a milk i'd be sipping i'd be sipping right now let me get you a milk to sip um yeah that would just be really i just think that would be a bit full-on yeah so, and then once the nose snaps into place,
Starting point is 00:41:07 it's so pointed and needle-shaped, it efficiently pierces the air. So that's another reason it went so quick. Wow. But to get into the sky and cruise at such wild speeds, they needed incredible engines. The planes featured four turbojet engines in total that were twice as powerful as engines on large subsonic jets. That makes sense.
Starting point is 00:41:26 I mean, if you're going to go twice the speed, it makes sense to have the engines twice the size. Twice as much NOS? Yeah, do they have more NOS? Well, mounted in pairs under the wings. Oh my God, he's found it. It's called tailspin. Oh, they fucked that.
Starting point is 00:41:39 Yeah, they really fucked that. Air necessities would have been so much better. Oh, and is that King Louie was in it as well? How weird is that? What a strange... That feels like someone's just gone into the pitch meeting with nothing. High. They've gone in stoned.
Starting point is 00:41:53 They're looking at things around the room, you know? There's a Jungle Book poster on the wall from their previous hits. Oh, yeah, it's Baloo. But he's a pilot. And they're like, okay. but not just any pilot he's a seaplane pilot sounds like and king louis i think king louis like ran a bar oh my god and there's a little bear because we love to have cute things and it surfs it's that's like a level one improv class you have to stop smoking weed before these meetings. You're killing us.
Starting point is 00:42:26 That's a brilliant idea. Wow. Okay. That was a movie or a show? TV show, yeah. How long did it run for? I reckon it used to be on in the afternoon. Like, it's just like an after school show.
Starting point is 00:42:39 This is a worthy detour, Dave. Oh, I'm fascinated by it. I'm surprised I didn't see it on Cheese TV. 7.6 out of 10 on IMDb. Actually, it'd be more appropriate on Saturday Disney. Only one season. Yeah, there we go. 65 episodes, though.
Starting point is 00:42:52 That's a long season. 65 episodes. Wow. Imagine if Gossip Girl did 65 episodes a season. Jesus Christ. Baloo, King Louie and Shia Khan. Who was the... That's a baddie.
Starting point is 00:43:05 They operate a business in Cape Suzette. That's the elevator pitch from Google. They operate a business. Couldn't be any vaguer. Yeah, that is... I love it so much. Well, a good memory you had there. It's from the year 1990.
Starting point is 00:43:19 Well, okay. So, to answer your question, Matt, the seaplane pilot was not Baloo. Now, back to Dave's report. Matt, the seaplane pilot was not balloon. Now back to Dave's report. Matt, I'm trying to talk about engines. Sorry, I'm so sorry, listeners. Jeez, that's tedious stuff. So you've missed the fact that they've got four massive turbojet engines,
Starting point is 00:43:38 twice as powerful as a normal plane, mounted in pairs under the wings. Each engine could provide more than 38,000 pounds of thrust, which sounds great. I can personally do 40,000. That's too much thrust. You will disintegrate your co-pilot or whatever. My co-pilot.
Starting point is 00:43:56 So to speak. That's what I refer to them as. Do you mind if I jump up in the cockpit? That sort of stuff. Yeah, yeah. God, you're a perv. I just want to watch. Get me in the cockpit. That sort of stuff. Code your purpose. I just want to watch. Get me in the cockpit.
Starting point is 00:44:10 Concorde was the first and still only regularly used passenger aircraft that had turbojet engines with afterburners. Which is called reheat by the British.
Starting point is 00:44:23 Raw fuel was introduced into the engines of the plane's four engines, immediately increasing the engine's thrust by almost 20%. Into the engines of the plane's four engines. Has your co-pilot ever said, can you up the thrust by 20%? Yeah. All right.
Starting point is 00:44:41 You know that, plane spotters? That's how they get a bad in the boudoir. Up the thrust by 20%. Don't whisper it. Oh, scream it. Yeah. He's getting a bit passionate. Reheat was also used to push the plane from subsonic to supersonic speeds.
Starting point is 00:45:01 This is similar to technology used by fighter jets and space shuttles. Yeah, it has a space shuttle kind of feel about it. The side effects of this were a red fiery glow in the engines, which is cool, but they were also incredibly loud, not so cool. You couldn't even be watching Devil Wears Prada that comfortably on that plane. Our subtitles are on.
Starting point is 00:45:21 Yeah. Luckily, they're going fast on the speed of sound, though. They wouldn't hear it, right? Oh, yeah, you wouldn't hear that sound. Because they're going fast. That's all good. You can't possibly hear anything. Yeah, but everyone would.
Starting point is 00:45:30 You'd be going, ah, ah. Everyone's screaming. Can't hear a thing. It's the most peaceful flight you'll ever have. The plane behind is. I hope I sit next to some babies. They're so cute. And quiet.
Starting point is 00:45:40 And soft. Especially their bums. And pathetic. Hello, little baby. Can I touch your bum? See, it's weird. Why would you do that? You wouldn't do that.
Starting point is 00:45:50 No. God. That's a great out of context quote. Anyway, like I said at the start, they weren't very big. Concorde measured 204 feet or 62 meters in length, which is about the same length as a Boeing 747. Okay. But the fuselage where the passengers sit was three times as narrow.
Starting point is 00:46:08 Oof. So they're very thin. But they still went two, three, two. Yeah. That's what's crazy about it. They're only 10 feet wide. I can't conceptualise that. The three metres, the height of a basketball ring on its side.
Starting point is 00:46:23 And then you can walk around in that bit. Can you imagine that? That's pretty small. It is small. So is it just like maybe two seats in an aisle or something? Yeah, it's two aisle two. Oh, okay. Yep. They can't just scale it up so that it's like 20% bigger all over?
Starting point is 00:46:41 Does that still work? Yeah. Just bump it up 20% more thrust 20% more more passengers so it was 204 feet long but it actually stretched
Starting point is 00:46:51 between 6 and 10 inches in flight during to due to heating of the of the frame yeah yeah yeah
Starting point is 00:46:59 yeah yeah 6 to 10 inches yeah received message received land clear. Know what you're talking about there. What?
Starting point is 00:47:13 I don't know. It was so hot from the friction of flying through the air at such high speeds when it flew that they had to come up with a new type of reflective white paint to paint it with. Oh, wow. The friction was so great that even the windows were hot to touch for passengers during the flight. So if you touched the window, it was really hot. It doesn't seem like the most pleasant way to travel, to be honest. No, it's very loud, very quite hot on the wind.
Starting point is 00:47:37 And it's fast. Exactly. Just to talk about the paint, France briefly painted one of their planes in a predominantly blue colour scheme with the exception of the wings after a deal with Pepsi. Yeah, so it could really blend into the sky.
Starting point is 00:47:52 Perfect. So it's Pepsi blue but in this paint scheme Air France was advised to remain at Mach 2, the top speed, for no more than 20 minutes at a time otherwise it would get too hot. Wow. That's how much a difference the white paint would make versus any other colour. How interesting.
Starting point is 00:48:07 Pepsi would want to be paying a lot for that. Yeah. Pepsi's colours are also the French flag colours. They're patriots. Yeah. Huh. How about that? Makes you think, hey?
Starting point is 00:48:18 It really does. It really does. What does Pepsi mean in French? Hmm. Hmm, Pepsi. I think I know that. You do too. Each Concorde had room for about
Starting point is 00:48:29 100 passengers. But I'll talk about what it was like to fly on Concorde in a little bit. Okay. So far, I'm actually sticking to the 747 or whatever. Regular? Yeah. Airbus. Give me one of those. Because sure, like this might be going twice the speed, right?
Starting point is 00:48:46 So let's say it halves your travel time. So it's only going to take me nine hours to get to, it's probably more still, like 10 hours to get to London, you know? But 10 hours on this sounds fucking terrible. You know what I mean? The view's beautiful. Yeah, the view's nice. It's incredibly loud.
Starting point is 00:49:04 It's very hot. No, inside, I must say, they air-condition it as usual. You know I touch the windows. With your tongue. I love to lick the windows. I burnt my tongue. That's why you guys always give me the window seat. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:49:18 Otherwise you start licking us. Yeah. I gotta lick something. At takeoffoff Concorde carried roughly 31,000 gallons or nearly 120,000 litres of fuel which weighed
Starting point is 00:49:31 more than 200,000 pounds the fuel because it needs more fuel than a regular plane because it burns so much yeah the fuel was distributed
Starting point is 00:49:40 across 13 tanks throughout the flight fuel was ingeniously transferred from tank to tank throughout to maintain the balance of the plane's centre of gravity. That's clever. Obviously not very superstitious, having 13 fuel tanks.
Starting point is 00:49:54 No. They didn't have a row 13, though. But they did have a bay 13 where people got absolutely wasted. Bit of an MCG joke there. Before takeoff and during acceleration to supersonic speeds, about 20 tonnes of fuel was moved backwards to tanks in the plane's tail and wings. As the aircraft slowed down at the end of the flight,
Starting point is 00:50:18 fuel was pumped forward to the tank near the plane centre. So it was constantly automatically shifting fuel around. Wow, very clever. was yeah amazing technology now speaking of takeoff former british airways concord captain john ty explains what it was like to take off on a concord okay he said each takeoff was a phenomenal experience what's this guy's job title again he He was a captain. Okay. Seems a little biased, but okay. Each takeoff was, in comparison to other planes he flew, each takeoff was a phenomenal experience. The performance such that we had to warn the passengers in advance what to expect.
Starting point is 00:50:57 Yeah, fair enough. The roar of the Rolls-Royce Olympus engines combined with being pushed back into your seat was like no other civilian plane far out because you really feel the g's it feels I'm I'm anxious I don't think I don't think I'd want to do it I'll drive it's all right I'll drive I'll drive to London it's okay I'll drive to London. I'll drive to London. It's okay. I'll figure it out. There's got to be bridges. With a takeoff speed of 220 knots or 250 miles per hour and a cruising speed of 1,350 miles, like I said, which is more than twice the speed of sound, a typical London to New York crossing would take less than three and a half hours
Starting point is 00:51:38 as opposed to about eight hours for a subsonic flight taken by other planes. Wow. Concorde's fastest transatlantic crossing was on February 7th, 1996 when it completed New York to London in two hours, 52 minutes, 59 seconds. So under three hours. New York to London, wow. Usually takes eight hours. So you are flying, both literally and figuratively.
Starting point is 00:52:03 Because of speed and the time difference between the cities, it was possible that the London to New York flight would land before it departed. Oh, I love that. A little bit of time travel. Yeah, that's fun. Whoa. Whoa. Pretty cool.
Starting point is 00:52:17 That happens on the Australia to America flight, I think. Melbourne to LA, I think that happens. Yeah. Or often, what do you land at a similar time? You go, oh. But then on the way back, you lose a day that you never get back. Never get back. I know.
Starting point is 00:52:32 I'm flying to Honolulu and I get there before I've left on the same day. But on the way back, lose an entire day. Never get that back. It's gone, Jess. Wow. Let it go. I don't think I can. Move on. What could have happened on that day? I'm get that back. Yeah. It's gone, Jess. Wow. Let it go. I don't think I can. Move on.
Starting point is 00:52:46 What could have happened on that day? I'm not going to tell you. All my dreams could have come true on that day. Dave and I will experience it. We'll experience your dreams coming true. Yeah. Do you want us to keep a diary? Yeah, if you could.
Starting point is 00:52:56 Send it to you. Just of that day. Tell you what you missed out on. Yes, please. Dear diary. Does that mean like news? All Jess's dreams came true. News and current events don't happen for me that day.
Starting point is 00:53:07 Yeah. Whoa. You're also actually a day younger, so now your birthday is what, August 25? Oh, my God. I'm even older than you now. Wait, August 27? 27, yeah, okay. Wow.
Starting point is 00:53:18 Wow. Wow. So, if anything, it's bringing you and I closer. That's all I've ever wanted. Wow. So, that is my dreams coming true. Thank you. So, it all sounds pretty's all I've ever wanted. Wow. So that is my dreams coming true. Thank you. So it all sounds pretty great, right?
Starting point is 00:53:28 The speed. Yeah. All that sort of stuff. I mean, yeah. Are there TV screens? I don't think there were originally. Some sort of entertainment? What's the food service like?
Starting point is 00:53:40 The food service was incredible. You get a five-course meal. Legit. Really? Yeah. Which I will talk about. Fuck yeah, great. The service was incredible five you get a five course meal legit really yeah which i will talk about but fuck yeah great the service was phenomenal oh cool all right so it sounds and the tickets cost a fortune i'm imagining incredible amounts i'll talk about that as well okay but incredible engineering and ingenuity meant concord traveled faster than normal planes which is great
Starting point is 00:54:01 but it did have its drawbacks one of the-products of supersonic flight is the very loud noise of a sonic boom, which can be unpleasant or distressing to those on the ground. And in some cases, it can cause damage to windows and structures. Well, on the ground. Yeah, the force is so strong. Whoa! That's amazing. Maybe another reason why they have to be so high.
Starting point is 00:54:23 Well, what is a sonic boom and what causes it? Well, let me let boomsupersonic.com answer that question. Boom supersonic. Love it. Can't get a supersonic boom. Here we go. It would have been better. Pressure waves, aka sound waves, propagate at the speed of sound.
Starting point is 00:54:42 When an aircraft is moving faster than the speed of sound, which is breaking the sound barrier, the pressure waves do not propagate in front of the aircraft, but rather create a wave similar to the wake of a boat that follows along with the aircraft, and a sonic boom is that sound wave passing by the observer. So if you're up there, you're not getting that bit, but you're on the ground, and if the plane goes overhead,
Starting point is 00:55:03 it goes poof. And it's a big sound. It's quite loud. And it's just doing that constantly over everyone it passes. Yeah. That sounds... yeah, that doesn't sound ideal. As a result, many countries banned Concorde from flying over their cities, including the USA, which ultimately limited the routes to being over water
Starting point is 00:55:22 with minimal time spent soaring over land. So, for example, Nework to la flights are impossible so so it's not even like it's a it's a once-off kind of thing it continues to ripple behind it i think it's like a boom everything it sort of touches yeah and it's sort of like as it flies past you hear you'll hear it do a boom but then you know someone a couple of k over there when it flies over then, they'll hear a boom. Wow. Okay. Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Boom, boom, boom, boom.
Starting point is 00:55:51 I want you in my room. They wrote that about. Yeah. Sonic Boom. Spired. Yeah, people don't give Vengaboys enough credit. That was Vengaboys. Bloody hell, that's good. There's a lot of very topical references in their music.
Starting point is 00:56:05 For sure. And people are just like, it's just fun dance party music. It's like it's so much more than that. It's funny that a band that travelled exclusively by bus was writing about the Concorde. Yeah. Well, they were just, I mean, you know, they were looking out their bus window.
Starting point is 00:56:19 Yeah. Hey, what's that? Boom. Well, if they were in the Concorde, they wouldn't be hearing the boom, boom, boom, boom. That's right. And they wouldn't want you in their room. Let's spend the night together.
Starting point is 00:56:29 From now until forever. Isn't the human brain fascinating? The things it holds on to. Yes. Would not have heard that song in a long time. What about the ad that you referenced before? Surely you haven't heard that. That's true.
Starting point is 00:56:44 Not since I was a kid. They used to play that at Waverley Park which is now houses. Yeah. It doesn't exist. And they still play it. It's very annoying to live there.
Starting point is 00:56:55 So in America you couldn't fly over land. So New York to LA not possible. But you could fly from New York to London or Paris because most of the journey
Starting point is 00:57:02 is over the Atlantic Ocean. Yeah, okay. These limitations had a big effect on demand for the SSTs. 16 airlines initially placed orders for the Concorde, totaling about 100 planes. Wow. Qantas, which is Australia's national carrier, initially down for six. Six.
Starting point is 00:57:18 Give us six. Wow. Out of how many? Out of 100. All right. Six percent. That's a lot. That's weak maths.
Starting point is 00:57:27 I did it! The 1973 oil crisis had many airlines cautious about aircraft with high fuel consumption rates, and the 747 was launched around the same time. Whilst slower, they were a much lower risk option for airlines as they consumed heaps less fuel. Yeah, okay. And in the 70s when Concorde was taking off,
Starting point is 00:57:49 so was the idea of being more environmentally conscious. They only started thinking about that in the 70s. People were waking up to the fact that these planes were fuel guzzlers and this led the planes to often being greeted with protesters. Like a Concorde land and people would say, this is not sustainable. But look how fast it is they'd say boo boo boo boo i want you out of the air etc you know the rest sing that
Starting point is 00:58:15 alone at home there was a real concern that if every plane flew supersonic as they wanted them to that the environmental effects could be detrimental. Over time, it was also discovered that Concorde's engines produce much more sulfuric acid particles than the exhausts of subsonic aircraft, and this sulfuric acid damaged the ozone layer. And I have read reports that they've worked out that if every plane had gone supersonic,
Starting point is 00:58:39 by now we would have destroyed the ozone. Holy shit. Bit of luck they figured that out. Yeah. Also to add to the woes of Concorde's early developments were the costs were much more than expected to make them. Spiralling during development to more than six times the original projections.
Starting point is 00:58:58 In the end, each plane cost 23 million pounds in 1977, which is just under 150 million pounds in today's money. British Airways and Air France were basically only able to afford to run them because the governments of each country footed the bill. British Airways bought some Concords from the government for a symbolic price of one pound. That's a good deal.
Starting point is 00:59:21 That's a good deal. I'd take that deal. That is a good deal. If they said to me today, you can have a Concord for one pound, I'd say yes, please. Okay. Yeah, well, I'd want to look at the paperwork.
Starting point is 00:59:29 Yeah, actually. I'd say, would you take 90p? What's the current conversion? Like AUD, one pound could be, that could be absolutely breaking us. What's that, about $1.60, you reckon? $1.60? Jeez, I don't know. That's not bad.
Starting point is 00:59:43 I don't know if I can handle that. $1.75 it's gone up to. All right. Would you pay $1.75. Jeez, I don't know. That's not bad. I don't know if I can handle that. $1.75 it's gone up to. All right. Would you pay $1.75 for a Concorde? Maybe. Maybe, but where am I going to park it? Yeah. They're not that big, remember?
Starting point is 00:59:55 Bit of street parking around here. Get a permit. I could park it in the park across the road. On the roof? On the roof, of course. Keep it out of the way. That's wasted real estate right now. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:00:08 Remember how I said initially they had orders for 100? Yeah. In the end, only 20 Concords were built with six being prototypes. So only 14 were used for passengers. Oh, right. And Qantas had them all. Good for us. We got none.
Starting point is 01:00:25 Tragic. It seems like maybe that's a good thing. Yeah. We're already damaging our ozone down here. Yeah. Pretty good. There's a hole in ours. We can wait for clean water solutions.
Starting point is 01:00:39 Or we can engineer access to clean water. We can acknowledge Indigenous cultures. Or we can learn from Indigenous voices. We can acknowledge indigenous cultures. Or we can learn from indigenous voices. We can demand more from the earth. Or we can demand more from ourselves. At York University, we work together to create positive change for a better tomorrow. Join us at yorku.ca slash write the future. It's a night for the whole family. Be a part of Kids Night when the Toronto Rock take on the Colorado Mamm family be a part of kids night when the toronto rock take on the colorado mammoth at a special 5 p.m start time on saturday march 9th at first
Starting point is 01:01:10 ontario center in hamilton the first 5 000 fans in attendance will get a dan dawson bobblehead courtesy of backley construction punch your ticket to kids night on saturday march 9th at 5 p.m in rock city at torontorock.com So there were few in number, but fly they did. However, the Soviet-built Tupolev Tu-144 the Terminator, beat them to the punch by conducting their first flight
Starting point is 01:01:40 on the 31st of December 1968. The Concorde made its successful flight just over two months later on March 2nd, 1969. Nice. They waited for a much nicer year. Yeah. I mean, if the Russians had waited one day. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:01:55 Not even a day. Yeah. Fools. The Tu-144 first went supersonic on the 5th of June 1969, four months before Concorde, and on the 26th of May 1970 became the world's first commercial transport to exceed Mach 2. Wow. So they're beating Concorde just each of these milestones. They're the first to go supersonic, but they were also the first in the bitter rivalry
Starting point is 01:02:19 to do what no one wanted to do, crash. Oh, no. At the 1973 Paris Air Show, both aircraft were due to exhibit. To quote from the plane website again, wikipedia.org. What a great website. So good. All about planes.
Starting point is 01:02:35 So good. I imagine the W part is short for wings. Yeah. Wings Wikipedia. Yeah. Wingipedia. That was taken. Ah, yeah.
Starting point is 01:02:44 So you've got to go wiki. Close enough. To quote from this, the Soviet pilot Mikhail Kozlov had bragged that he would outperform the Concorde. Just wait until you see us fly, he was quoted as saying. Then you'll see something. Oh, dear. On the final day of the show, the Concorde,
Starting point is 01:03:01 which was not yet in proper production, performed its demonstration flight first. They went first. Its performance was later described as being unexciting. It basically went up and then came down. It's been theorized that Kozlov, the Soviet pilot, was determined to show how much better his aircraft was. End quote there.
Starting point is 01:03:21 Once in flight, the aircraft made what appeared to be a landing approach with the landing gear out, but then with all four engines at full power climbed rapidly. He wanted to put on a show. Possibly stalling below 2,000 feet or 600 meters, the aircraft pitched over and went into a steep dive. Oh, no. Trying to pull out of the subsequent dive with the engines again at full power,
Starting point is 01:03:43 the TU-144 broke up in midair possibly due to overstressing the frame the left wing came away first and then the aircraft disintegrated and crashed destroying 15 houses on the ground killing all six people on board the plane and eight more on the ground oh my god and this is at a big air show where hundreds of people watching yeah so that's the's the Russian version of it. The Soviet version, yeah. The TR-20 or whatever. And did they look very similar?
Starting point is 01:04:12 And that's sort of like... It's a similar design principle, yeah. They came up, like, because they were doing the same tests, they both were coming to the same conclusions. Basically, yeah, this is the best aerodynamic shape. Right. So it really just came down to the pilot going for a bit too much? In that instance, yes, but I think their engines were,
Starting point is 01:04:35 the big difference was the engines. Right. Oh, that's, yeah, so he was sort of like, give them a show. Yeah. Let's do something flashy. Yeah, for example, I'm just going to suddenly go up in the air. Yeah. And then the engine stalled and then he had to go full power to try and not crash.
Starting point is 01:04:50 Yeah. And that was too much for the plane and it shook it apart. Far out. That's full on. And so everybody on board's killed. Eight people. Eight people on the ground. Fifteen houses.
Starting point is 01:04:59 A lot of people watching. This is a big news story. Yeah, that's... The crash reduced Russian airline Aeroflot's enthusiasm for the tu-144 and another crash in 1978 ended any chance of it being used as a passenger plane the tu-144 remained in commercial service as a cargo aircraft until its cancellation in 1983 it feels like it feels wasted as a cargo aircraft don don't you reckon? Yeah, it's so... Like, oh, we'll just use it to, I don't know, send mail around or send some shit. Yeah, because it's fast, but again, they're not that big.
Starting point is 01:05:32 Yeah. They can't carry much. It does sound like it was for the best. If it was real successful, it would have done all the more ozone damage. I mean, obviously, not ideal for the people who died. Of course, but yeah. But it's such a strange thing.
Starting point is 01:05:51 So it's the kind of thing that's just not possible to have... If they stuck with it, they could never have developed it so that it would have been more environmentally friendly. Maybe. Because I guess normal jet planes are still pretty... They are bad for the environment. Bad for the environment, yes. But what about instead of... Okay Maybe. I don't know. Because I guess normal jet planes are still pretty bad for the environment. But what about like instead of, okay, supersonics are not great, very noisy and all this stuff. Why don't we just work on making planes faster?
Starting point is 01:06:14 Yeah. Mark one and a bit. Yeah. Like just sort of, you know, middle ground. Yeah. Compromise. Or is that what they've done? Yeah.
Starting point is 01:06:22 Planes faster. Planes are quicker now. Like when you get the A380, the big Airbus with the two levels, I think they fly faster than a 747. Something about having stairs in them makes them go faster. You can go upstairs and you're like, what the fuck? I mean, we obviously can't go upstairs, but we see them. We see the velvet rope as we walk past.
Starting point is 01:06:43 As upstairs the fancy. Yeah. Wow. Wow. Wow. Pretty cool the velvet rope as we walk past. As upstairs the fancy. Yeah. Wow. Wow. Wow. Pretty cool, huh? That is so cool. That is so cool.
Starting point is 01:06:51 One day. Oh, imagine. No, definitely not. I still don't get the, you just have to have so much money to think that it's worth, because those tickets, business class or first class is like, you know, it's like 10 times as much, right? It's so much more. So, you'd have to have, you'd have to just have too much money to know what to do with it.
Starting point is 01:07:08 Yeah. We had a family friend who in retirement did quite a bit of traveling and said to me one time, and I was like late teens, he was sort of like, oh, you know, if you're going to travel overseas, do it first class. And I was like, you and I are in very different financial situations ian what do you mean you're telling an 18 year old that yeah and i'm like that's a whole like a year of backpacking budget it's crazy just so that you can lie down and have it's like well i'll sleep when i get there i reckon i'm in you mad dog i know what do i but i mean like if you can afford it, sure, I guess go for it.
Starting point is 01:07:46 But I'd rather spend that money on other things. Because you're probably like those, I guess they're all, what do you call it, counteracting our cheap flights. Yeah. Sub. What am I saying? Sub. They're subsidising.
Starting point is 01:08:00 Subsidising, yeah. Oh, right. I think I saw some maths on how much they make per seat and yeah i think it is similar to that like you know they charge these in crazy ticket prices so they can make a profit yeah but yeah but you're right if you're paying 25 000 to fly overseas wild yeah and that's that's before you got Like, you could spend 25 grand on the whole trip and have an incredible time. Like, do some real flashy stuff, but you're spending that just to get there.
Starting point is 01:08:31 That is the life I want to lead, my friend. Ian, get me in there. Is Ian single? Lovely man. No, unfortunately. Married to Faye for a very long time. A beautiful couple. Was Faye up the back?
Starting point is 01:08:42 Love them dearly. No, no, no, both in first class. Oh, right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Geez. I know. Double the ticket. And live a good life. very long time a beautiful couple love them dearly no no both in first class right yeah yeah jeez i know double the ticket and live a good life so the tu-144 crashed it was highly publicized and had an effect on people's enthusiasm for concord and was also another reason that other airlines pulled out of purchasing them so now they basically got three strikes yeah they're very loud and you can't fly them everywhere they cost a fortune which, which is, I mean, it was four strikes.
Starting point is 01:09:05 The safety's now been called into question. Yeah. So it's like, oh, okay. This isn't good. And also the fuel is very expensive. But they look cool. They look great. So in the end, it was just British Airways and Air France
Starting point is 01:09:17 and they soldiered on together. Bravely. Only two people. Very brave. Only two carriers. On January 21st, 1976, two Concords, one from each airline, took off simultaneously to mark the plane's first supersonic passenger flight. A team of about 250 British Airways engineers had worked around the clock
Starting point is 01:09:36 to ensure safety on board. Concord was subjected to another 5,000 hours of testing before it was certified for passenger flight, making it the most tested aircraft ever. So they were pretty confident that it was safe. So what's it like on board? Oh, I want to hear about this five-course meal. So it had about 100 seats for passengers,
Starting point is 01:09:56 40 in the front cabin and 60 in the rear cabin. So is front like business class or? I actually read an interview with someone who said all the seats are the same but there was like this mental thing about flying up the front where you felt fancier than in the back even though there's one class for all yeah they're no different extremely wealthy so but do the front section do they cost any more are they the same no it's the same but people still want to get you want to get the further It's the opposite of like being in the back of the bus is cool. I think it's the same.
Starting point is 01:10:28 Yeah, you're right. It's still nerds at the front. They've just got money. Yeah, you're right. They're all nerds. Rich nerds. All rich people are nerds. There were two rows of two with an aisle down the middle.
Starting point is 01:10:39 The bucket seats were pretty small too, similar in size to today's economy seats. They didn't have big recliners or anything, but they were made of leather. Okay. So, I mean, you say that like it's luxurious, but it just means if you're wearing shorts or a dress, you're uncomfortable because you stick into the chair the whole time. That's sticky.
Starting point is 01:10:56 Especially if they've parked it in the sun while you're at the beach. Oh, my God. It's the worst. You've got to put the towel down? Yeah. Just to make the drive home. And the buckle's just so hot. It burns you as soon as it touches your skin. Oh, my God.
Starting point is 01:11:07 You get third-degree burns from the seatbelt. Can you, yeah, come pick me up in the Concorde, yeah, just down at Half Moon Bay. The plane was serviced by six crew members. Okay. Because Concorde guzzled 6,770 gallons of fuel per hour. Per hour? It's so wild.
Starting point is 01:11:28 And capacity was limited to just 100. Tickets were very, very expensive. This meant that the Concorde was largely reserved for the rich and famous, lots of wealthy business execs needing to travel fast, or people who had saved up the money for years just to experience supersonic travel. I don't think I care that much. No, I think that, yeah, that's interesting. People like real plane nerds who, I can understand that,
Starting point is 01:11:53 but yeah, that would be. They're going without a holiday for 10 years just so they can get one. Yeah, I guess, yeah. And the holiday once they get there is just, it's like it's in dorm room. There are 50-year-old guys in like 12-bed backpacker dorms. But he's having a great time. And they're all going, can't wait till the flight home. How good was that flight?
Starting point is 01:12:12 They're all high-fiving. I guess like, yeah, I guess I like to spend my money on experiences. And that's an experience. Yeah, if that's what you're excited about. Yeah, people love it. Cool. But how much was it? Oh, it hasn't said yet. It hasn't said yet. I think he's holding it. Oh, my God. what you're excited about. Yeah, people love it. Cool. But how much was it? Oh, it hasn't said yet.
Starting point is 01:12:25 It hasn't said yet. I think he's holding it. It better be impressive now. It's building up real big in my mind. So there weren't TVs, but they did have a fun display on the plane showing passengers the speed the plane was traveling and people would apparently applaud
Starting point is 01:12:39 when it hit mark one and then mark two. That was a big part of it. I'm imagining it like a flip clock. That sort of... Yeah, going... Yeah, yeah. And they'll go... That's what I'm imagining.
Starting point is 01:12:50 Isn't it funny how much people would have spent back then to fly on a modern plane in just the cheap seats in economy? Yeah. You can pick a movie. Yeah, you can play games. How much does this cost? Are they the cheap seats? This is a pillow for me. A towel i love a hot towel i love them at first and then they go cold so quickly
Starting point is 01:13:12 and you left sort of holding it yeah i don't get it i don't really get it what do i do with this what do i do with this i'll watch my face that felt good now i'm holding it now at some point thought that was good yeah and they've just stuck with it i reckon it's it's like a cheap like faux piece of luxury like you go i don't get this anywhere else but you think about it you go they're just microwaved like 100 towels at once yeah okay sorry to spoil that for you no you know what because i don't necessarily like them on planes i think what i'm thinking of is like if you go and get a facial and when they're taking the product off your face they put a hot towel on to get off and that's nice but you don't have to hold the towel and deal with it they just put it away oh your your servants deal with that do they
Starting point is 01:13:54 jess that's not of my concern take it away get that towel away from me throw it on the floor yeah and now pick it up they're like you took that from me to throw it. I was going to put it away. You're a nightmare. Yeah, that's why I'm not allowed back at Indota Spa. Indota. To cater for their wealthy clientele, the Concord Fleet was stocked with fine champagne and beluga caviar.
Starting point is 01:14:20 La de fricanda. This was followed by a five-course gourmet meal. That's like beluga whale's eggs, is it? Is that what beluga caviar is? Yeah, it's fish eggs, yeah. Whales aren't fish, though. Are beluga whales even a thing? Yeah.
Starting point is 01:14:36 Yeah, that is a thing. Beluga caviar. I think that's... I don't know what beluga means. Anything to do with Baloo from the Jungle Book and Tailspin? Fucking hell. Fuck it. Fuck it.
Starting point is 01:14:47 How about this guy? Oh, fuck it. Hell. Shut your lid, you toilet. Shut it. Balooge caviar. Is caviar consisting of the roe or eggs of the Balooge sturgeon? Oh.
Starting point is 01:15:01 A fish. It is a fish. Found primarily in the Caspian Sea. Matt, it is a fish. It is a fish. A m in the Caspian Sea. Matt, it is a fish. It is a fish. A mackerel fish. So, a five-course meal. Yes, apparently you would get things like lobster and things served up to you.
Starting point is 01:15:13 Oh, wow. And because the flight wasn't that long, apparently people were eating like the whole flight. They just kept bringing out food. That's the way I like to fly. Just keep eating. Yeah, you don't need to watch something you're eating. You're busy eating.
Starting point is 01:15:26 Busy eating. Normally, you're like, oh, you want seafood when you're in a seaside town because you know it's fresh. Up in the sky, I'd be wanting to eat birds, you know. If you're on a plane, give me some quail. Do they fly? Pigeons, you know. Give me some pigeons.
Starting point is 01:15:42 What have you got in the way of seagulls? You're not going inland and going to the fish and chip shop No, you wouldn't You got a magpie? Yeah I'll eat it Here's a magpie Give me a magpie pie
Starting point is 01:15:53 Huh? Oh, now you've got my attention I know The few times that they've served pies on planes I absolutely What a perfect dish for the sky Exactly Heat it up Pie in a perfect dish for the sky. Exactly.
Starting point is 01:16:06 Heat it up. Pie in the sky. Pie in the sky. Oh, gosh. It's just... I'm so with you. I mean, should we send an email to Qantas? I think so. And just say, you fucking idiots.
Starting point is 01:16:15 That'll get their attention. You fucked up. Yeah. Oh, that's the subject. You fucking... Oh, better click this one. I've done something wrong. Oh, cool.
Starting point is 01:16:23 Who's the head of Qantas? Helen Joyce. Yeah. Alan, I'm disappointed in you. I've done something wrong. Oh, cool. Who's the head of Qantas? Alan Joyce, yeah. Alan, I'm disappointed in you. Alan, we need to talk about you. You Irishman coming over here. Yeah. Taking our multi-million dollar CEO jobs.
Starting point is 01:16:39 Yeah. That could have been me. Could have been me. And you know what I would have done? What I would have done, Alan? Would have put a pie in that sky. Would have put a bloody pie in that sky, Alan. What are you done? What I would have done, Alan? Would have put a pie in that sky. Would have put a bloody pie in that sky, Alan.
Starting point is 01:16:46 What are you doing? Do you not have pies in Ireland? I think you do, Alan. Pie-land. Pie-land. Are you ashamed of your culture because you shouldn't be a beautiful country? What about an Irish stew pie? Delicious.
Starting point is 01:16:56 Oh, yes. A beef and Guinness, please. Beef and Guinness pie. Come on. Alan. Alan. Alan. Don't be ashamed of where you come from, Alan.
Starting point is 01:17:03 Maybe put some veggies in one of them. I think we just got banned for life from Qantas. Veggies stupak. It's okay. I can't afford to fly Qantas. Qantas, Dave. Come on. Jesus Christ.
Starting point is 01:17:13 Jetstar or bust for me. I'm not happy about that. It's just the way I have to live. Tiger. Sometimes when you're desperate. Despite the cramped quarters, Concord was seen as fit for a king or queen. Thank you. Queen Elizabeth II first travelled on the Concord in 1977.
Starting point is 01:17:32 Oh, you weren't calling me a queen. No, sorry, I was talking about the queen. Could you call me a queen? Yes, queen. The airliner was also used for trips to Barbados in 1987. Wow. 2003 for the queen. And as well as a visit to the Middle East in 1984
Starting point is 01:17:46 and to the United States in 1991. So the Queen, she's all over it. Was she sitting in there with some guy who just saved up all his money for 15 years? Imagine that. Oh, Queen, you love planes too. Oh my God. Let's look at that dial.
Starting point is 01:18:00 Or did she like rent out the whole plane? I reckon she rented it. Was Annie Walbox when he rented out the whole cinema in Annie? Okay, that is, I would say, less expensive. Really? I think so. A whole cinema? It's got more seats, I guess, isn't it?
Starting point is 01:18:22 When you rent a cinema, do you have to pay for every seat? Do they assume that that movie would have been full? Yeah. It's got more seats, I guess, isn't it? When you rent a cinema, do you have to pay for every seat? Every seat. Do they assume that that movie would have been full? Yeah. Pretty arrogant on their part. I've never been in a full cinema. That's not true. I have.
Starting point is 01:18:35 We rented a cinema about five months ago. Yeah, how much was that? I don't know. It wasn't full, though, was it? I worked it all out. Do we have to pay for those empty seats? Do we have to pay for those empty seats? Yeah.
Starting point is 01:18:43 Is it like a wedding? Oh, boy. Now, I mentioned Concorde in my fairly recent Live Aid episode as Phil Collins flew on the aircraft between the UK and America so that he could perform at both the London and Philadelphia concerts. Now, is there a dress code or is it no jacket required? That was the longest it's taken you to hate yourself after a joke. Like you were happy with it. That was a build up of everything I've seen today.
Starting point is 01:19:19 We were laughing and then you hated it. It's not like we gave you nothing. That was good stuff. But as the sonic boom went past, they could feel it coming in the air tonight. That's for sure. It was on the Concord. Matt might remember it.
Starting point is 01:19:33 Jess, you went there. I'm not sure if you actually bothered to go back and listen to my three-hour spectacular. But it was on the Concord that he met Cher, who asked if she could join the concert. So the Queen, Phil Collins and Cher, these are the kind of people who flew on Concorde. Oh, man. I want to do a report on Cher.
Starting point is 01:19:48 The Queen, Phil Collins and Elizabeth II. The Queen bows down, milady. According to Bob van der Linden. Good name. Great name from the Smithsonian. He said, the aeroplane usually flew with lots of empty seats just because it was too expensive.
Starting point is 01:20:08 And each unsold seat was more money lost by the airline. And because the Concorde was such a hyped experience, they had to keep a spare Concorde at the airport in New York City so that if there was any mechanical problems with the lead plane, the passengers could go on the backup one. That makes sense. It was like when I hired a convertible Mustang and they said,
Starting point is 01:20:31 oh, sorry, we don't have any Mustangs, but we're going to give you a free upgrade to a Nissan Maxima. Let me talk to the manager. I might see if we can get a sunroof. Said it with a straight face. I don't think Mustangs are special in America. That's so funny.
Starting point is 01:20:50 That is great. Oh, you wanted to have this beautiful road trip in a fun car? Well, I might not be able to give you fun, but I can give you safe. And family friendly. So we don't have the concords actually out of action, but we can give you safe yeah and family friendly so we don't have uh the concord's actually out of action but we can upgrade you all to a nissan maxima we'll take a little longer but we'll make sure we've got a sunroof we will upgrade you that should be fine we'll upgrade you to a six course meal for the inconvenience imagine having to tell the queen that her flight's
Starting point is 01:21:22 delayed or something god that wouldn't feel good, would it? No. Especially if it was like weather related and you're like, I'm so sorry, I cannot control that. But can you? Can you, by any chance? Surely. My lady?
Starting point is 01:21:34 You were chosen by God, I heard. It's funny because you two love the Queen. I'd love it. It wouldn't give me any more satisfaction to be like, sorry, Liz. Yeah, a bit of a delay. Yeah, no, probably be another 20 to 40 hours. But you're a servant of ours, aren't you? Yeah.
Starting point is 01:21:51 Could you give me a cup of tea? I think you, I mean, you wouldn't expect any special treatment, would you? Because you were born into a weird family. That'd be pretty ridiculous, wouldn't it, Liz? It's too much to ask, Liz. You're not stupid, are you, Liz? Hey, Liz, you stupid? That's how you're talking to the queen.
Starting point is 01:22:15 Nah, you're right, Liz, aren't you? Nah, good on you. Do you want to do a selfie? Yeah. So, yeah, if they have the backup plane sitting there, that's not flying. That's empty. That's costing more money. So a ticket for a one-way transatlantic flight at the end of the 90s was US$6,000.
Starting point is 01:22:35 One way. One way. US$6,000 end of the 90s. Yeah, that's so expensive now for a one-way flight. Oh, yeah. But back then, I'm guessing that's like 20 grand in today's money, having an absolute stab at it. Yeah, one way.
Starting point is 01:22:51 Yeah. So it's very expensive. Yeah. That's a year's of minimum wages for a return flight. Yeah. It's not worth it. So it was costly, but what could be seen as a selling point for decades was Concorde had a sparkling safety record.
Starting point is 01:23:08 Ah, they did not crash. Similar to Qantas, according to Rain Man. Yeah. How was that movie? Flying at such an altitude, passengers rarely experience turbulence, so it was also smoother. Safe, fast, smooth.
Starting point is 01:23:23 Honestly, that sounds like the best way to fly. And do other things. Get in, get out. Safe, fast, smooth. Honestly, that sounds like the best way to fly. And do other things. Get in, get out. Safe, fast, smooth. When was the when was it, 6000? End of the 90s. Jinx. Buy me a Coke. No. I don't drink Coke.
Starting point is 01:23:41 You buy me a Coke. Buy me a Pepsi. I don't drink Pepsi. Okay. What do you want then? I'll buy you an orange juice. Thank you. This is US dollars, Matthew. Yes, Matthew. Let's have a look here. It's only about $10,200 according
Starting point is 01:24:00 to dollartimes.com. It's still expensive. I thought it would be more, but when you do think about it, for a one-way flight, that's insane. $10,000 US dollars. Yeah, that's crazy. So what's that? $14,000 Australian dollars.
Starting point is 01:24:13 So $28,000 Australian dollars for a return flight. Nah, that's nah. It's a no from you? That's a no from me. What do you reckon? Did Ian ever fly? I'm going to crunch some numbers. I don't think so. You should ask Ian ever fly? I'm going to crunch some numbers. I don't think so.
Starting point is 01:24:25 You should ask Ian. Ian, I'm sure it was on there. I mean, I could afford the cash, but I don't think I'd... Morally, I just couldn't. Environmentally? Yeah, environmentally, I couldn't. Yeah. No, and I appreciate that, yeah.
Starting point is 01:24:37 So, it was very safe for decades, and that was honestly a point of pride and a thing that people saw as an advantage. Oh, no, that has worried me. That perfect safety record came to an end on the 25th of July, 2000. This is so recent and I don't remember any of this. I vaguely remember being in the news when there was its last flight at some point. But I don't know when, but it feels like maybe 15 years ago or something. Yeah, right.
Starting point is 01:25:06 But you don't remember the 25th of July 2000? No. I mean, I was nine. There is a very famous photo and video of what I'm about to describe. There was another plane incident a year later that probably overshadowed it. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:25:19 Oh, 25th of July 2001. A year and a bit. A year and a bit. A year and a bit. A year and a bit. A year and a bit. Okay, well, be specific, Matt. Otherwise, we don't know what you're talking about. Imagine being that pedantic. Oh, actually, I didn't think that was a year.
Starting point is 01:25:37 I thought that was a little bit longer than a year. It's interesting. Oh, you count years. Quite differently to I. To I. What sort of calendar are you running over there? Probably not Gregorian by the sound of it. Yeah, you count years. Quite differently to I. To I? What sort of calendar are you running over there? Probably not Gregorian by the sound of it. Yeah, geez.
Starting point is 01:25:48 Okay. I mean, you live your life however you want to live it. I live by the Gregorian. Stuart calendar has approximately six weeks longer than a normal calendar. Interesting. There you go. You're just a good dude. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:25:58 I live my life by Greg and his teachings, calendar-wise. So, flight 4590 was a charter flight from Paris to New York City. Most of the passengers were German tourists on their way to board a Caribbean-bound cruise ship. God, they're having a good time, aren't they? Flying from Paris to New York to then get on a cruise ship. Yeah. Ah. It was a full flight with 100 passengers on board, as well as six flight staff and three crew in the cockpit,
Starting point is 01:26:25 who were flight engineer Gilles Jardineau, who was 58 and had been with Air France since 1968. Wow. He's got three decades under his belt. He's the one operating and monitoring the plane's complex systems. These days, most large modern aircraft no longer have a flight engineer as it's mostly monitored by computers. Yep.
Starting point is 01:26:45 Back then they did. There was also First Officer Jean Marco, who was 50 and had been with Air France since 1971. Wow. So they're joining young. Yeah. And they've been around for a long time. And the captain was Christian Marty,
Starting point is 01:27:00 who was 53 and had been with Air France since 1967. Captain Marty. I like that. You like this guy. This is Captain Marty speaking. Bonjour, passengers. Is he French? Bonjour.
Starting point is 01:27:17 Madame et messieurs. You are very good at that, Dave. Prepare the cockpeed for landing. It gets me every time. It's so funny. And then you know landing It gets me every time It's so funny And then you know what else gets me Every time we're on a plane Is how angry Matt gets
Starting point is 01:27:29 Every time they interrupt It comes up on his screen He's watching Cars 2 for the fourth time And it comes up No Incredibles 2 It comes up Like announcement in progress
Starting point is 01:27:41 And he just He gets so upset You're about 13 seconds into the movie Such a chilled mellow person And that just makes get so upset. Such a chilled, mellow person and that just makes him so angry and it's very funny. I just don't understand why they think it has to interrupt. And it's always like just letting you know that everything's fine.
Starting point is 01:27:56 We don't interrupt my movies to tell me that. Maybe it could be like sometimes you're in the car and you've got GPS and music going and it just sort of it comes up over the top of the music. Maybe it just does that. So, you can hear the announcement still. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:28:09 But it doesn't have to interrupt. And you can pause if you want. Yeah. Anyway, it's very funny. Sorry, you said I'd like Captain Marty. Oh, Captain Marty. He was also, so, as well as being three decades as a pilot, he was also the first person to windsurf across the Atlantic Ocean. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:28:23 What? I like Marty. Jeez. Which he achieved in... Isn't that... You're really relying on where the wind's blowing to... Yeah. He did it in 1982 after windsurfing across 37 days.
Starting point is 01:28:35 Wow. What would he do? Like, you're not just in the middle of the ocean. What would you do? Do they have a boat with him? I guess that they have a boat that he gets in and out. Would you sleep in on the wind? That doesn't make any sense.
Starting point is 01:28:43 Yeah, because you'd be so isolated without a support boat. That's incredible. Apparently he did lots of extreme stuff on the weekend. Extreme!
Starting point is 01:28:54 Windsurfing. So between them, these three men had logged over. I can't picture windsurfing without like fluoro colours and an 80s soundtrack.
Starting point is 01:29:04 And this guy's doing it in the 80s. This is peak windsurfing. He's wearing those sunglasses. Yeah. He's got a windbreaker. A strap.
Starting point is 01:29:15 Yeah. Holding the sun in his arm. He's got zinc across his nose. Yeah. Sick. Perm mullet. Love it. So between them,
Starting point is 01:29:23 these three men had logged over 36,000 hours of flying hours. Wow. They're all experts in the field. You know, 10,000 hours, all that. So they were very experienced. And to be even flying Concorde, they had to be considered elite in their fields. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:29:36 There's only 14 of these things on Earth. So if you're flying one of them, you're very experienced. Sort of a one-day ace kind of type. Yeah. What happened? Was there a one-day ace at the start of this episode? Yeah. What happened to him?
Starting point is 01:29:47 Charles Yeager. He went faster than the speed of sound. Right. Remember that guy? Sorry, this is a long one. Before that day, this particular aeroplane they were on had flown for 11,900 hours and had 4,873 take-off and landing cycles.
Starting point is 01:30:05 Pretty reliable machine. Okay. No issues. Yep. At approximately 4.43 in the afternoon, the plane began its takeoff from Charles de Gaulle Airport. Oh, I've just remembered. This is a bad story.
Starting point is 01:30:15 I know because you're going like very experienced pilots. Yeah. Plane is in good nick. Everything sounds like it's going. It's going to be absolutely fine. These planes, if you're getting on it, they've never killed anyone before. So you're going. Sweet.
Starting point is 01:30:29 This is very safe. Yeah, I'm okay. The cockpit crew did their usual checks and all looked good. So they took off down the runway. They did everything by the book perfect. Everything was normal and as it should be until a bang was felt on the plane and it began veering left. On the runway?
Starting point is 01:30:45 Yep. The crew didn't know this, but what had happened was the Concorde's front tyre had been cut. Cut? The tyre sort of exploded and a large chunk of tyre debris, which was four and a half kilos or just under 10 pounds, was sent smashing into the underside of the left wing at an estimated speed of 140 metres per second. 300 miles per hour. Whoa. So it just exploded and then smashed into the underside of the left wing at an estimated speed of 140 metres per second. 300 miles per hour. Whoa. So it just exploded and then smashed into the...
Starting point is 01:31:09 So they're already... They're flying up the runway. Yeah, going really, really quick. Shit. And the tyre exploded. Fuel tank 5 had been ruptured in the process, which sent kerosene gushing out and it was ignited, probably by electrical wiring that had been cut by the tyre.
Starting point is 01:31:28 Air traffic controller Gilles Logelin was in the Chaldegall airport watching on and he was the first to notice flames trailing from behind as it hurtled down the runway. Even at a distance, it was clear that something had gone horribly wrong. Within a split second, a massive line of flames trailed the plane. He radioed to the pilot about the fire, instructing them to abort takeoff, but by that time it was too late. The plane had just hit V1, or decision speed,
Starting point is 01:31:57 which means they were travelling too fast to abort the takeoff. They had to try and take off or they'd run out of runway and they were guaranteed to crash. So they have to now get up in the air? Get up in the air to get back down on the ground okay yeah because if you keep going you can't just go boop sorry about that no actually you'll definitely crash if that happens like so much michael said you got to get up to get down in this case yes did he say that words to live by gotta get up to get down is that yeah feels like something he would say. I know you're a fan. If you don't know it, then know what it is. That is him.
Starting point is 01:32:28 I think you're amazing. Well, thank you very much. So, decisions be. They've got to get off the ground. Yeah. They get off the ground,
Starting point is 01:32:36 but engines one and two both surged and lost all power. And then engine one slowly recovered over the next few seconds. The plane struggled to gain enough airspeed for a controlled takeoff
Starting point is 01:32:46 as it was unable to climb as the landing gear bay door had been damaged and they were unable to retract the landing gear. Okay. Which makes you much less aerodynamic. Yeah, right. The experience crew... Which is crazy, isn't it? Like one thing can't come up and it's like, oh, now we're fucked.
Starting point is 01:33:03 Yeah, now it throws the aerodynamics off completely. That's incredible. The experienced crew, who incredibly remained quite calm throughout, in fact, very calm, tried to troubleshoot the problem because they didn't know why, but the landing gear won't go up. So they're trying all different things to try and get it to go up. They radioed the tower to inform them that they were going to try and divert and land at paris
Starting point is 01:33:25 le bourget airport which is nearby but an uneven amount of thrust on either side of the aircraft caused by engine one and two not working meant the plane banked 100 degrees so it was uneven because the planes on on one wing are working but the planes on the other aren't working sorry the engines on the other wing aren't working okay so they yeah. So they're uneven in the sky. I was about to think I did not understand. There's planes on each side of the plane? I don't understand planes. I mean, do I have to dumb it down for you? The crew reduced the power on the engines three and four,
Starting point is 01:33:55 the ones that are working, in order to attempt to level out the aircraft. Yeah. Like they're the best of the best. Yeah. Yeah, the best. But they lost control due to deceleration and the aircraft stalled. They crashed into a nearby airport hotel.
Starting point is 01:34:12 Whoa. It all happened so fast. From the moment the pilot commenced takeoff to the moment the plane crashed was only two minutes. Holy shit. And between the tire explosion, which is when things went wrong, and the crash was only 48 seconds. Shit. And in that time, they're trying to troubleshoot, trying to remain calm, looking for a place to land. Unfortunately, all 109 people on board were killed. Oh, that's awful.
Starting point is 01:34:33 Along with four people on the ground. Oh my God. Was it sabotage, the cut tyre? Well, I'll talk about the investigation. Okay. But the plane's fiery takeoff and crash was captured by a now infamous video and photo, which Jess is looking at right now. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:34:51 The video was taken by a passing driver, and the photo was taken by Toshihiko Sato, a passenger in an aircraft on a nearby taxiway. So he's in a plane when he took this photo. Okay. I mean, obviously, it's much worse to be on that plane. But imagine sitting on another plane and seeing this happen and then your plane goes to take off and you're like,
Starting point is 01:35:13 actually, I think I want to stay here, please. Well, that actually just landed. Okay. But they were a bit worried because Jacques Chirac, who was the president of France, was also on board the plane watching. So they were a bit like, don't crash into the president's plane. Oh, wow. Great name, Jacques Chirac.
Starting point is 01:35:32 Jacques Chirac. So good. Jacques Chirac. That's good. You're right. That is a good name. Oh, wow. That's full on. So the photo is both incredible and terrifying and I'll post it later this week. Because basically there is like tens of meters of flames trailing the plane as it goes. It's just taken off.
Starting point is 01:35:51 Yeah, lots of black smoke. It's not looking good. Really scary shit. Yeah, it is. It looks like a rocket taking off, you know, like a spaceship. Yes, absolutely. But then you go, oh yeah, cool, because the Concorde looks like a spaceship. Yeah, for sure.
Starting point is 01:36:06 I guess that makes sense, but no, that's not good. No, something had gone incredibly wrong. So the tragedy was massive news around the world with its dramatic, fiery image. And, of course, everyone wanted to know what the hell had happened. Yeah. Concorde's previously perfect safety record had been smashed forever. I mean, can anything be safe forever? No.
Starting point is 01:36:27 But many wondered if the planes would fly again. Yeah. Oh, shit. Because it was so dramatic. Like, the plane is on fire as it takes off. What the hell has happened? Yeah, it's not good. They were all immediately grounded pending investigation
Starting point is 01:36:38 by France's Accident Investigation Bureau. It was discovered that the plane's take-off weight was calculated to be 186 tons, including 95 tons of fuel, which was one ton over the maximum takeoff weight. Wow. Which some people said is negligible. But to make the journey, the fuel tanks were chock-a-block. Fuel transfer during taxiing left number five wing tank 94% full.
Starting point is 01:37:05 And this is the tank that burst and caught fire. So it's unfortunate that the tank that was punctured at that time was the one that was absolutely full of fuel. Because remember how fuel was transferred throughout the flight? Yeah. Really unlucky. And then once that catches fire, you're fucked. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:37:22 The question on investigators' lips was what caused the tire to explode on the runway they painstakingly combed through the wreckage and made a note of every object and found one thing that couldn't be accounted for a twisted piece of metal strip 43 centimeters or 17 inches in length they just didn't know where it came from investigators were able to work out that the piece of metal didn't belong to Concord and had in fact been left on the runway and that driving over the metal had caused the tyre to rupture, sending a large piece of rubber into the fuel tank, which didn't puncture. In fact, investigators were confused because they found the fuel tank looked like it had
Starting point is 01:38:03 been blown from the inside. It was coming from the inside. Balls coming from the inside. Inside of the tank. How thick is this piece of wire that they've rolled over it? Do you know what I mean? That seems like... Did you say wire or metal? Metal.
Starting point is 01:38:21 So it's like a bit over 30 centimetres long, 43 centimetres long, a foot and a half. That's pretty big, yeah. And I've seen the piece of metal. So it's like, what is it? A bit over 30 centimetres long, 43 centimetres long, a foot and a half. That's pretty big, yeah. And I've seen the piece of metal. It looks a bit like the thickness of like a ruler or something like that. Yeah, that is big. So it just got it in the right spot. Right spot.
Starting point is 01:38:34 Wrong spot. But they were confused because the tyre looks like it exploded, hit the fuel tank, but then the fuel tank ruptured from the inside. Usually if an object hits something, it'll smash it from outside in. They were really confused. but usually if an object hits something, it'll smash it from outside in. They were really confused. Yeah, and also jet fuel can't burn, can't melt. Melt steel beams.
Starting point is 01:38:51 Steel beams. Makes you think. But after a hunch and many computer simulations, investigators found that what had happened had in fact never happened in a plane before. What? So this is the first time this occurred. The rubber of the tyre hitting the fuel tank
Starting point is 01:39:05 had caused a shockwave through the fuel within the tank that sort of bubbled around, and the stress of this movement caused the tank to burst in another spot from the inside. Whoa, wow. So it's like it gets hit in one corner. The fuel sloshes around so much that the pressure makes it break in another spot.
Starting point is 01:39:23 It just feels like a lot of bad luck. Yeah. The investigators ran multiple tests and discovered that this is only possible when the tank is 94% fuel full. Oh, get fucked. Are you serious? 94, which is what it was. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:39:36 Not 95 or 93. Yeah, it's freaking hell. Fuck off. That ratio. Because it's chock-a-block. Essentially, Matt and I are saying the same thing there You know, same intention But chose different words
Starting point is 01:39:49 That's insane And remember, like I said The Concorde moves fuel around the plane throughout the flight So it's seriously unfortunate that the tank was that full at that exact second Exact second, yeah Because it automatically moves it around So just at that precise moment for takeoff it's got to be a freak accident essentially well charlotte gall's runways are regularly cleaned
Starting point is 01:40:11 and monitored for debris so it was discovered that the bit of metal that they'd driven over had only been dropped by another plane just five minutes before the concord took off down the runway god everything it's so wild how unfortunate it is yeah Yeah. After many months of searching, investigators were able... I can't believe these. People that investigate plane crashes, one, it's horrific stuff, which I imagine that's very hard to deal with, but also they painstakingly go through exploded little bits of nuts and bolts and they somehow find out this stuff.
Starting point is 01:40:40 It's amazing. After months of searching, investigators were able to track down that piece of metal and identified that it came from continental airlines flight 55 which is a mcdonald douglas dc 1030 it's what's called a wear strip from the door of engine number three whoa it was discovered that the wear strip had been replaced at Tel Aviv in Israel during a sea check on the 11th of June 2000 and then again at Houston, Texas on 9th of July
Starting point is 01:41:12 2000, just 11 days before the crash. Ah, so it's pretty new. It was a new bit. The strip installed in Houston had been neither manufactured nor installed in accordance with the procedures as defined by the manufacturer. So what happened?
Starting point is 01:41:26 I think the engineer discovered that the bolts didn't line up on it, on the piece of metal. So he drilled new screws into it. They were able to figure out exactly who the guy was. So Concorde had taken off down the runway. It happened to drive over this wear strip, which blew the front tyre, which exploded, sending a large piece of rubber into the fuel tank. That was was so full it created a shock wave that blew a hole in the fuel tank and caused a fire that took out two of the engines that engineer in tel aviv you know you think about every little thing yeah a plane engineer does you just don't know what you know the butterfly effect
Starting point is 01:42:03 just one small thing where you're like, it doesn't quite line up. It's on there. It's secure. We're good to go. It's slightly to one side of the screw, but it's all good. That's incredible. So it literally was the perfect storm, and the investigation found that there was nothing the crew could have done
Starting point is 01:42:17 to avert complete disaster. Once they were in the air, they couldn't get the plane back down. Shit. All 12 remaining Concords were immediately grounded and retrofitted with stronger fuel tanks that were reinforced by Kevlar to try and stop this from ever happening again. Put that in your dragon jeans to go on your motorbike.
Starting point is 01:42:36 Kevlar? Kevlar. Nice. Wear Kevlar pants. Yeah. It's padded on the ass. Yeah. This is what my dad always told me.
Starting point is 01:42:43 The way they started to advertise those pants was dragging a guy along the ground behind a motorbike on his ass and at the end he gets up and walks away because he's fine. Yeah. He walks away to the hospital. Yeah, he walked to the hospital but he was okay. His ass is smooth as a baby's bottom still. There's a Kevlar in there.
Starting point is 01:43:03 But I guess the real question is why don't they just make the whole plane out of Kevlar? Good point. Why don't we make all clothes out of Kevlar? Beautiful stuff. The black box is probably made out of Kevlar. Yeah, I reckon. Do you know this?
Starting point is 01:43:17 Black boxes aren't even black. What do you mean? What colour are they? Orange. I think. Wild. That doesn't make any sense. It is true.
Starting point is 01:43:26 But why would they call it a black box then exactly why aren't they telling us i think this one goes all the way to the top alan joyce yeah it goes straight to alan joyce let's add that to our email ps what the fuck alan but he has to just figure out what we mean by that. Yeah. He'll be like, is this a black box thing? I get it every day. So one of the things that came from it was they reinforced the tanks as well as more secure electrical controls and specially developed burst-resistant tires to try and cut out all the different little steps of things that had gone wrong.
Starting point is 01:44:02 The Kongor did again fly, but it was really the beginning of the end. John Taylor was the unfortunate mechanic who replaced the wear strip that fell off the DC-10. He was given a suspended sentence for manslaughter in 2010, so many years later, but convictions were overturned by a French appeals court in November 2012, thereby clearing the airline Continental and Taylor
Starting point is 01:44:23 of criminal responsibility. Holy shit. But about 100 million euros was paid to the families of and Taylor of criminal responsibility. Holy shit. But about 100 million euros was paid to the families of the victims of the crash. I mean... 100 million. Well, there was over 100. Yeah, that's right. Sadly, all good things must come to an end
Starting point is 01:44:39 and whilst the crash wasn't the only reason Concorde ceased flying, it was certainly a nail in the coffin and accelerated its demise. The September 11 attacks just over a year later. On New York. I actually had written here the year after. I've got to be more specific otherwise. That rocked the travel industry as well as everything else on planet Earth, resulting in a massive travel slump that affected Concord's already pretty dismal profitability.
Starting point is 01:45:07 Profitability. Especially if they're losing sale. Like they lose money every time somebody doesn't book a seat. Yeah. And I think like, you know, travel went down like 40% or something. Yeah. Honestly, everything changed that day.
Starting point is 01:45:21 I agree. Day the world changed. Yeah. That's what people say. Pre 9-11 world Concorde sure Viable Yeah
Starting point is 01:45:27 Post 9-11 Nah It's over Fuck off Concorde By 2003 It was revealed It would cost British Airways alone 40 million pounds
Starting point is 01:45:35 Over the next several years Just to maintain The now ageing fleet These planes had been flying For decades at this point And to keep going Would need major upgrades So they still had the original planes from the 70s going.
Starting point is 01:45:47 Yeah, wow. And they still, they look modern still somehow. And they were still letting people smoke inside. Yeah. They all had, yeah, velvet. It was velvet top to bottom. It was shag pile carpet all the way around. Instead, British Airways decided to pull the pin for good.
Starting point is 01:46:07 Air France agreed and operated its last commercial Concorde flight from New York to Paris on May 31st, 2003. British Airways soon followed with their last commercial Concorde flight on October 24th, 2003. In 27 years of service, British Airways fleet of Concorde made 50,000 flights and carried more than two and a half million passengers. These days, they are museum pieces that you can see at various airports and museums around
Starting point is 01:46:33 the world, like the one I saw in Paris. It was the first time in history of air travel that the industry took a technological step back. Yeah, that's pretty amazing, isn't it? And in the near two decades since the idea of more SST passenger aircraft had been floated but not materialised. But let's just make the fucking Airbus faster. Well, I did look it up.
Starting point is 01:46:52 Or move Australia closer. Oh, that's a nice idea. How about that? Give us a tow. Give us a tow. Give us a tow. Maybe bring the south up a little more so we get some nice weather. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:47:03 And then we'll be a bit closer. Yeah. You know what I mean? We'll just shrink the whole world. Oh, shit. That's good. That brings everyone closer. Because all I'm thinking about is Australia,
Starting point is 01:47:15 but there's heaps of countries all over the place. Yeah. Like if you can make it, we could walk to Sydney. That would be handy. That would be nice. Yeah. Just like one step Wow now you've gone a bit too far there but then no then we shrink all of
Starting point is 01:47:30 us down by the same amount so then where there's still enough space yeah scalability but then how is it one step to Sydney because if we're all so smaller it's gonna be a lot of so we'll have to shrink shrink the world down again i don't i don't think you've thought this i reckon yes i think it's not about too much i don't think this is a good idea i'm actually backtracking on this one i'm just uh looking at the a3 obviously we'd be too big so we'd just shrink ourselves down as well oh yeah that makes sense what about you just make yourself big enough for the journey? Step over. And you shrink. Yeah. So at the airports, it's become like big shrink rays and de-shrink rays.
Starting point is 01:48:14 Well, in that case, why not just make airports like teleportation places? Because the technology is not available. Come on, Jim. That's why. That's what we think. Sorry. They haven't come up with that yet. How would you do that? I'm so stupid.
Starting point is 01:48:22 We're dealing with reality here. Okay. So the Airbus A380, which is the big one we talked about before, their cruising speed is 1185 kilometres an hour, which is just below Mach 1,
Starting point is 01:48:34 which is still a lot quicker than like a 747, but it's still only about half the speed of the Concorde. Yeah, but it's, you know, it's faster. Airbus is such a dull name. Boeing, that's fun.
Starting point is 01:48:47 Boeing. I'm going to go flying on a Boeing. I'm going to go fly on an Airbus. I'm going to go on an Airbus. It's a bus for the sky. I'll have fun because I'm going to go Boeing. Like whatever, buses suck. Buses are the worst public transport.
Starting point is 01:49:00 Put it in the sky, put it in the sea, I don't care. I don't give a shit. It's a bus. What about... It's a sea bus. What about Schneckma from France? Schneckma's good. Schneckma.
Starting point is 01:49:07 We like Schneckma. Wow. Okay, well, that's my report on the Concorde. I'm kind of sad that I never got to fly on one because they look really, really cool. But maybe you will. Maybe you'll get your chance to spend 10 grand. To spend my life savings on a two-hour flight on a plane that's not good for the environment.
Starting point is 01:49:27 And they still don't have TVs. Yeah. They're authentic. Fantastic report, Dave. I really enjoyed that. Thank you very much. I've been sitting on this one for a few weeks, so very glad to get it out there,
Starting point is 01:49:40 my little nerding out on the Concorde. Yeah, really cool. They're cool. Yeah, really cool. They're cool. They look really cool. I'll post a bunch of photos on social media this week. But yeah, do yourself a favour. Google Concorde and go, wow, that is cool. Look at those chip wings.
Starting point is 01:49:57 Well, that brings us to everyone's favourite section of the show where we thank a few of our great supporters. If you want to support this show uh helps keeping it run um without these supporters this show doesn't exist and you can do that at patreon.com slash do go on pod or do go on pod.com and you once you're there you can sign up on all sorts of levels different levels have different rewards uh you've got bonus episodes we do three per month on certain levels we've got a facebook group that everyone all supporters uh can get involved in uh which a lot of people call the
Starting point is 01:50:31 nicest corner of the internet yeah uh that you can also vote for topics like dave's topic today uh and a bunch of a bunch of other things as well including shout outs which we're going to do a little bit of now one of the levels on the sydney scheinberg level you get to give us a factor quote or a question and then i'll read them out uh for the first time as i'm doing the episode yeah i don't read them till i read them he would never you know what i mean yes so don't i just i'm just saying i'm giving myself an out for when i mispronounce a lot of things. So the first one this week comes from Aidan Coghlan. But before I say that, I should say,
Starting point is 01:51:12 this section I think actually has a little jingle. It goes something like this. Fact, quote or question. He always remembers the ding. So this first one comes from Aidan Coghlan. Fact, quote or questioners also get to give us a title or give themselves a title. Aidan's got the title of Director of Tuber Procurement
Starting point is 01:51:29 at the Harold Bishop Foundation for the Arts. Harold Bishop being an iconic... Tubist. Tubist and Neighbours character played by Ian... Fleming? Ian Fleming. Huey Hewitson Ian
Starting point is 01:51:46 I don't know his name I don't think it's Ian It's not Ian Is it not Ian? Is it Jess's family friend Ian? Yeah is it Ian? Jess's family friend Ian He only flies first class
Starting point is 01:51:55 Harold That's such a funny thing to say to a kid I know I mean if you must fly You've got to fly first class It's the only way to travel I don't think it is Ian Look and he comes over here.
Starting point is 01:52:07 Ian Smith. How could I forget such an exciting name? That sounds fake. So, Aidan has asked us a question. Okay. So, yeah, obviously there are... There's no... We had no thinking time for this.
Starting point is 01:52:24 But the question is, are there more wheels or doors in the world? Oh, this question. I time for this. But the question is, are there more wheels or doors in the world? Oh, this question. I've seen this going around the internet a little bit. Aiden writes, I can't answer my own question as is your usual preference because it seems that nobody can. But as you've probably heard,
Starting point is 01:52:40 it's divided people online lately. So I'd love to know if each of you are on team wheel or team door and why some things to consider office buildings and ships have lots of doors but no wheels offices however are usually full of chairs that each have three to four wheels i hadn't thought of that uh fridges cupboards wardrobes and the like do have doors But no wheels unless they're sliding doors Drawers usually have wheels Cars Do they?
Starting point is 01:53:10 Sometimes they do Yeah, like that sort of mechanism Like I'm looking at a sliding door on a cupboard there And it's got little wheels on it Yeah, like a dishwasher will often have wheels on the racks I reckon it's wheels. Cars tend to have four doors, five if you include the boot, and six if you include the bonnet, to four wheels.
Starting point is 01:53:33 But then trucks, bikes, and scooters flip that ratio on its head. I don't know if we'd call the bonnet a door. Yeah, where do you draw the line? I'd say that's closer to a lid. Or a hatch. Mr Bean's enemy's car has two doors but three wheels. That's true. Microwaves tend to have three wheels for every one door.
Starting point is 01:53:54 Submarines might have wheels because nothing about them makes sense anyway, so why not? Correct, Aidan, thank you. Neither Jim Morrison nor Ray Manzarek had wheels. They're from the band the doors ralph uh ralph jesus did not have wheels what's that mean is that a simpsons reference ralph ralph comma jesus did not have wheels oh sorry i think you're saying there's a guy called ralph jesus sorry and i was like is he from a band called The Wheels or something? Maybe. Finally, let's say for the sake of argument that hinges are not wheels
Starting point is 01:54:29 because that would be a cop-out. P.S. I'm sorry if this is horribly dated by the time we get around to reading it out. I'll make up for it by posting a Harlem Shake video and pouring some glass water over my head. Okay. Yeah, I reckon wheels. Yeah, I reckon wheels. Yeah, I reckon wheels. I'm team door.
Starting point is 01:54:47 Doors? I think instinctively I thought doors, but having seen a lot of TikToks and videos with places. They're showing conveyor belts that are just entirely made of wheels. And rooms, like there was this one where it was just a room with wheels all over the floor. You used to sort of slide things across some sort of industrial building. Right. All right. That convinced me. wheels all over the floor used to sort of slide things across some sort of industrial building all right all right so like one two i'm counting how many doors are in my oh no we're gonna start
Starting point is 01:55:12 the count two three four five six seven eight doors those knobs on your oven are they are they wheels what does it is another wheel no knobs not a wheel a knob is not a wheel but then there's cupboard doors you're right it's not that wheel. A knob's not a wheel. But then there's cupboard doors. You're right. There's not that many cupboards. There's a real lack of storage space in this place. Well, that's on this place. Come on.
Starting point is 01:55:30 Lots. I reckon I'm just going to say wheels. And I say that not really giving a shit. Well, I mean, I don't think anyone really gives a shit. But some people get so into it. I think that's a bit. No one's actually caring. I think people care, Matt. And that's sad. It's like the scum thing. No one's actually caring. I think people care, Matt, and that's sad.
Starting point is 01:55:45 It's like the scone thing. No one actually cares. Matt, you care. It's fun to pretend that you care a bit. Okay, I'll pretend to care. I think it's wheels. I'm actually coming around to wheels, so I just had the thought that... Yes, I've succeeded in bringing him around to wheels.
Starting point is 01:56:00 With doors, you get a door. You got a door, you got a gym. You got a door, you got a gym. How many gyms are there in the world? Sometimes people like those big muscle men move around big wheels. So maybe they've got a gym with a wheel. But what about with a, like, you know, at my house, there's doors that are 100 years old.
Starting point is 01:56:20 They've just been there for a long time. But there's no tires that you use for 100 years. Yeah. Aren't they? I've got hiccups real bad. Don't they, you know, wheels are kind of, or tyres are notoriously hard to get rid of and aren't some of them just buried out in landfill forever? Yeah, you replace wheels and tyres more than you replace doors.
Starting point is 01:56:37 Way more than a door. And the wheel was like one of the early inventions. Yeah. Which they didn't put doors on the cave, did they? Yeah, they've got tens of thousands of years on the door door or did you count like the boulder rolling in front of a cave a wheel a wheel or a door a door i mean it's like a door wheel so what do you what do you reckon i think it's wheels i reckon it's wheels i've come around to wheels i'm sad to say but a tire's wheels well tires go on wheels don't they yeah you change tires go on wheels, don't they? Yeah. You change tires a lot, but you don't change wheels.
Starting point is 01:57:06 Change the wheels. So you count tires as well. But if you think in tires like you think in cars, there's a lot of cars out there, and you change those more frequently than you change the doors of your house. I've had more cars. I've changed my cars more times
Starting point is 01:57:23 than I've changed the doors in my house. I'll say that. Say that for sure. But when you change the car, that gets crushed down and reuses other metals. I don't think those wheels exist anymore. Right. But new wheels have been made. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:57:37 So it's, I guess, the same amount of wheels then, isn't it? Makes you think, doesn't it? Bloody hell. Thank you very much, Aiden. Looking forward to that Harlem Shake video. Next one comes from Vincenzo Bonadonna. Vinny! A.K.A. Mr. Apologetic.
Starting point is 01:57:53 Oh. And why? Vincenzo has also asked a question, which is, before I ask my question, I would like to give you guys a brag and an apology. I apologize for asking y'all to change my fat quota question submission listening back to the show it seemed as if it wasn't as simple as i thought and probably caused a bit of an inconvenience won't happen again vincenzo let
Starting point is 01:58:16 me tell you it wasn't an inconvenience enough for me to remember i don't remember it at all so i don't i don't think it was any big deal at all. Not at all. Because I carry beefs with me to my braids. I don't let things go easily. If I had any beef with it, I would remember. If I'm wronged, I'll know it. I remember it. And I forgive, but I will not forget.
Starting point is 01:58:40 Never again, my friend. Vincenzo continues, my brag is actually for y'all. That sounds stupid when you say it. I really appreciate that you guys could come up with quality content and comedy every week. I don't really know how much work goes behind it. So my question is,
Starting point is 01:59:01 how long does it take each of you to prepare a report for Do Go On? Vincenzo has answered the question. Oh, fun. That's so good. Great. What's the answer? Saying, back when I was in school and I had to do reports, I was always a procrastinator and didn't get my work done until the day before it was due
Starting point is 01:59:21 and then used my ability to improv, in brackets, BS, through the oral part of the report. Yeah, you've definitely tapped into something there, at least for two-thirds of the podcast. Dave and Jess. I think it varies greatly between the three of us and then also varies individually. Like sometimes it could take me ages.
Starting point is 01:59:41 Some I've had dream runs and I've really smashed it out in like a day or in a few hours or something after you know i might watch documentaries or i read a bunch and then the actual writing doesn't take very long but generally a couple of days yeah i'd say between a couple days a couple weeks depending on the topic and how much time you have in a day like you know if you're working on it just at nights you you know, fitting it in a couple of hours here or there around other stuff, it obviously takes longer. I try to have a dedicated sort of writing day once a week.
Starting point is 02:00:12 And then, yeah, sometimes it's just like it's all I'm thinking about for ages because, I don't know, some of them, and I can think of certain ones where I'm listening to an audio book about it as I go to sleep and I'm reading and writing about it during the days and though you know those ones end up being pretty long episodes but um and then other yeah it just depends some stories just don't have that much information as well so yeah you can't makes it easier and harder and then other ones ones that have unlimited information I'll just keep writing until it's time to start doing the show.
Starting point is 02:00:46 Yeah. So I guess it depends on how early I start. Some stories are harder to figure out the structure. Sometimes you're like, where do I start here? Do I leave this important piece of information as a reveal for later? Some of them are really linear and it's easy. Yeah. Sometimes it's, hey, yeah, that's right, that's me.
Starting point is 02:01:03 You might be wondering how I got here. Yeah. Well, it all started. Yeah. So it's, hey, yeah, that's right, that's me. You might be wondering how I got here. Yeah. Well, it all started. Yeah. So, it varies a bit. Dave, what do you reckon? Yeah, totally, totally varies. I reckon, like, for example, this report took me a good two or three days.
Starting point is 02:01:18 Pardon me, because I sort of, talking about structure, I sort of treated it as two separate reports. Like, I did one, I knew I was going to finish with that big crash yeah and that's sorry these hiccups are so bad i mean we could have just paused the recording and let you get over these hiccups but i can get i can get them we've made you the same but we've made you just personally and so i would have done i did all the report on the history of concord up until the crash and then afterwards and then i went back and i just researched the crash part yeah okay yeah i went quite specific on that so yeah probably two or three days yeah that's fine but yeah sometimes you're right it's a biography there's limited info and it's very
Starting point is 02:01:53 linear so you can just put it all together bang bang bang but yeah yeah some topics uh sometimes with me specifically the longer the episode the more time I've probably spent writing it. And then I guess it's not just the research side of it as well. Obviously, we record and so far we've been recording for two hours on this episode and then we'll go away and essentially whoever's editing it listens through that entire time as well. Yeah, I'm going to edit this down to about 15 minutes.
Starting point is 02:02:19 Yeah. You kind of cut out any pauses or we need to restart a sentence or whatever or my dog barking or... Dead-end riffs. That's a couple of hours as well at the other end. Yeah. That can take a while. I think the edit takes about three times as long as the episode for me, I reckon.
Starting point is 02:02:36 So if it's a three-hour episode, it'll be like a nine-hour edit. You do slow it down, though, to listen to it. You put it down on like half speed, quarter speed. I put it on a third speed and I don't edit at all. Just listen to it slowly and go, yep, perfect. Put it out. Yep. But I think my editing takes longer
Starting point is 02:02:57 because I fumble a lot in my reports, whereas they are just as smooth as a baby's bottom. Thank you very much, Vincenzo. Next one comes from Sophie Waldron, whose title is Retired Arse Man. Retired Arse Man's funny. And Soph has offered us a brag, writing, I just resigned from my job as assistant manager of a...
Starting point is 02:03:23 Oh, Arse man. Assistant manager. Very good stuff. Very good. Of a jewelry store. I've never had the privilege of being an arse prod, but I've enjoyed my time as an arse man. The rest of my team has also quit in the past few weeks. So while this is a brag about getting a new, better paying,
Starting point is 02:03:40 and more impressive job, I also would love if you guys could help me say goodbye to the team because none of us are good with genuine emotion and instead use sarcasm to avoid things getting too real. To the 686 gals, I wanted to say working alongside each of you for the last few years has been one of the best times of my life and I'm so grateful to know each and every one of you. We may be saying goodbye to the store, but we will always be in each other's lives. That's nice.
Starting point is 02:04:13 I'm going to miss seeing your gorgeous faces every day and it will be so odd not working with people who get all my stupid jokes and references. I love you all. Thanks to that team. See you at the live shows. Hey, we did see you at the last live show. Yeah. I love you all. Thanks to that team. See you at the live shows. Hey, we did see you at the last live show. Yeah.
Starting point is 02:04:28 Front row, Santa. What a legend. I think Soph might have been the person who corrected me on how I said in the April Fool's episode, I said something like, I can't remember the word, but congratulatory.
Starting point is 02:04:45 Congratulatory. No, what is that word? I don't think that remember the word, but congratulatory. Congratutorily. No, what is that word? I don't think that was the word, but it was something along those lines. Congratulatory. Yeah, congratulatory. Congratulatory. Thank you so much. That's very nice.
Starting point is 02:04:56 Finally, from Matthew Boar, aka champion of whispering encouraging words into excellent rectangles. Okay. Matthew Boer has offered us a fact. Often I never know if it's a reference to something we've said that I can't remember, or if it's a reference to something they're about to say, or something else entirely. Anyway, Matthew writes,
Starting point is 02:05:19 Hey, Dugan, though this will probably be a couple of months behind the episode airing, I thought I could give some fast and maybe furious facts about the Fast and Furious franchise. Well, I mean, I'm pretty sure we covered everything in that podcast. As it is one of my favourites to see how it has grown over time. Here they come.
Starting point is 02:05:40 Timothy Oliphant was the original pick for Dom Toretto before he turned it down, leaving the door open for Vincent Diesel. I can't picture that. Very different movie. Very different movie. I think I'd probably prefer it. Handsome. Handsome.
Starting point is 02:05:55 I mean, Vincent's pretty handsome probably. No, he's no Timothy Oliphant. Come on. Come on. Wow. Did he do Gone in 60 Seconds instead? Yeah, maybe. Next one.
Starting point is 02:06:08 In Fast Five, the vault being pulled through the street is a combination of CGI and a chopped up truck inside an empty vault driving through the streets while cabled up. A chopped up truck inside an empty vault. Yeah. Bit of fun. That's confusing. Fast Five also introduces Eleanor, the lady cop, who is played by Chris Hemsworth's wife Elsa Pataki.
Starting point is 02:06:31 Oh, I didn't know. And is now one of her most recognised roles. Fast Six is the start of the shift to a bigger mix of car stunts and hand-to-hand action. Six introduced MMA fighter Gina Carino and Joe Taslim, while sequels have added Tony Jaa, Ronda Rousey and Jason Statham. Sequels.
Starting point is 02:06:54 Adding the WWE with The Rock and John Cena has also boosted this. Lastly, I would like to throw a name in the ring for Jason Statham theme pod. Okay. The movies that make Jason stay fun. this lastly i would like to throw a name in the ring for jason statham theme pod okay uh the movies that make jason stay fun oh my god thanks guys hope to see you on a north american tour soon hey thank you so much matthew boar the movies that make Jason stay fun. Matthew, I've got to be honest with you.
Starting point is 02:07:29 Truthfully, that's brilliant. It's not. It sucks. I just did a little. Imagine seeing it written down. My favourite still, I now pronounce you man and knife. Oh, that's what we should call the podcast. Man and knife.
Starting point is 02:07:47 Yeah, absolutely. I'm knife. I'm and. As if Dave is man. Come on. He's the and. All right, take it. Come in the title.
Starting point is 02:08:02 Is it an and or an ampersand? What do you reckon? Man. Ampersand knife. Fine, I'm. Is it an and or an ampersand? What do you reckon? Man. Ampersand? No. Fine, I'm the human ampersand. Oh, those are great. All right.
Starting point is 02:08:13 The next thing we'd like to do is shout out a few of our other great supporters. Jess, do you want me to come up with a little game based on the topic? Yes. We are going to say something interesting about them. Oh, like a fact? Yes. I don't know for this one, actually. I was hoping, I was padding, I was hoping that maybe I thought of something as we went.
Starting point is 02:08:39 Maybe some sort of barrier that they've broken. Yes. All right. Well, if I can kick us off first up. I'm not sure I can do this, but okay. I'd love to thank from the woodlands in Texas in the United States, Amy Keller, who, of course, broke the leg press barrier. Whoa.
Starting point is 02:09:02 Which people thought you'd disintegrate once if you leg press beyond a ton. Yeah. But Amy Keller did it. What did she do? Her leg muscles got a little bit bigger again. Did she do more than a ton or just a ton? Broke the ton. Whoa.
Starting point is 02:09:19 A ton plus one. Ton plus one? Yeah. One more ton? One more ton. So two tons. Two tons. That would have been an easier way to say it, yeah. Wow. She more ton? One more ton. So two tons. Two tons.
Starting point is 02:09:26 That would have been an easier way to say it, yeah. Wow. She smashed the barrier. Holy shit. Yeah. I mean, you could just add like those little plates that are like 1.25. You could have just added those and you would have beaten it. You didn't have to do two tons.
Starting point is 02:09:37 Yeah. It wouldn't be the leg press barrier. That would be the ton barrier. She broke the ton barrier. By leg pressing it. Wow. I'd also love to thank, from Sydney, in God's country, Ohio, in the United States, Laura Denny. Laura Denny. What about the coffee barrier?
Starting point is 02:09:56 Oh, my Lord. Broke the caffeine barrier. They said you shouldn't have more than 30 coffees in a day. Or you'd disintegrate. They say way less than that, actually. Well, Laura did 31 coffees in a day. Boy, you'd disintegrate. They say way less than that, actually. Well, Laura did 31 coffees in a day. Is Laura okay? In a day.
Starting point is 02:10:09 Is Laura okay? Yeah. What do you mean? She's very awake. Very productive? Got a lot done today? Absolutely buzzing. Holy, I'd be a nightmare.
Starting point is 02:10:18 And I'd be shitting my guts out. Oh, yeah, of course. Yeah. Oh, my God. I mean, records take sacrifice. That's true. And finally, I'd love to thank from Charleston in South Carolina in the United States, David Kapler.
Starting point is 02:10:36 David Kapler. That's a great name. David Kapler. Kapler's really fun. David Kapler broke the... I don't think I get this one. Broke the sight barrier. Whoa.
Starting point is 02:10:49 People are like, oh, we'll never... This happened a long, long time ago, but people used to be like, you can't travel faster than the speed of sight, which is even faster than the speed of sound. Dave, is that right? Yeah, yeah, wow. Maybe this happened in the future then.
Starting point is 02:11:06 And depending on whether it's happened yet or not. But David did it. If it's even a thing that's possible. Oh, wow. I'm sure it is. But yeah, David beat the speed of sight. And so he's moving faster than, like, before. So what can he see?
Starting point is 02:11:24 Anything? It's just black. Yeah. Just empty. Yeah, yeah. Wow. It's like hyperdrive in a space movie. Yeah, sick.
Starting point is 02:11:36 Yeah, it's just like stars flashing by. Just hitting the NOS on your spaceship. Yeah. It's like NOS, only even faster. Wow. The NOS barrier. That's crazy. David Kapler.
Starting point is 02:11:46 Dave, do you want to thank some people? David Kapler. First time he did it, he crappled his pants. He didn't get that all through school. Sorry, David. I'd like to thank from London in Great Britain. London. Louise Thorne.
Starting point is 02:12:01 Louise Thorne. What about the Goosebumps barrier? Whoa. I read every single Goosebumps Barrier? Whoa. Read every single Goosebumps back to back. They said it was too scary. Too spooky. But Louise did it. Louise, you'll be so spooked.
Starting point is 02:12:13 She hasn't slept in weeks. Whoa. From The Goosebumps. Yeah. And there's a lot of them. There's so many of them. There's so many. You read them all.
Starting point is 02:12:21 In like record time as well. Well, just speed of reading. So quite. Broke the speed of reading? Wow. Reading goosebumps? Yeah. Wow.
Starting point is 02:12:32 Are you guys fast readers? No. I'm quite quick apparently. Really? Yeah. I'm pretty average. Okay. I think I'm slow.
Starting point is 02:12:39 I do a lot of repeating. My mind wanders. Yeah. And I go, oh, I've just, i've read a chapter and i haven't taken any yeah i have no idea what happened back to the start yeah i hate that you know when you're driving and your mind drifts off yeah that's scary yeah when it's a book you're like you can't rewind 30 seconds before the crash i would like to thank from Hamburg in Germany now,
Starting point is 02:13:05 Ute Martens or Ute Martens. Oh, I like that name so much. It's a very nice name, isn't it? Hamburg. I had a great time in Hamburg. What Irish pub did you go to? Father Flanagan's. No, I remember.
Starting point is 02:13:19 Out of Guinness. The Reaper Barn was like the nightclub district. Yeah. Did you go and get a nice Italian meal or something while you were there? I remember staying in a 12-bed dorm. What was the theme? It was like an 18-bed dorm. No theme.
Starting point is 02:13:34 It was just a massive dorm. But that's where I was staying when I went and I saw scorpions. Wow. 18 in a dorm is too many, by the way. That sucks. It was a big L shape. What about Oot broke the scorpions
Starting point is 02:13:46 barrier by getting them to play Winds of Change one last time saying ooh ooh yeah baby that's so good
Starting point is 02:13:56 was it a massive venue it was a festival yeah so it was it was big huge outdoor biggest festival I've ever been to I think that was at Varken
Starting point is 02:14:04 oh cool and who else there was some massive bands there weren't there yeah massive metal bands It was a huge outdoor. Biggest festival I've ever been to, I think. That was at Varken. Oh, cool. And who else? There were some massive bands there, weren't there? Yeah, massive metal bands. Yeah. That would have been sick. It was real good.
Starting point is 02:14:14 Yeah, Motorhead were the headliners. Love it. Yeah, baby. Thanks, Oot. And I'd like to thank now from a location that is unknown to us. Moles. I can only assume it's deep within the fortress. It is David Plant. Broke the barrier it's deep within the fortress. It is David Plant.
Starting point is 02:14:28 Broke the barrier to the center of the earth. What? They said it couldn't be done. I know. It got to the earth's core. Dug his way down and then went, ha, that's crazy. Wow.
Starting point is 02:14:35 And then straight back up. Dug his way up. Yeah, dug his way up. Dug up. Dug back up. Dig up, stupid. Great work, David Plant. What's that from? Is that from something?
Starting point is 02:14:44 Simpsons. That's Simpsons. Of course it is. If you ever question where a random quote in your head is from, it's the Simpsons. May I thank some people? Yes, please. I would love to thank from Brunswick, here in Victoria,
Starting point is 02:14:56 Linley Evis. Oh, broke the piss barrier. Break the seal. Broke the piss barrier. Yeah. On a night out? On a night out, yeah. A few too many vodka cranberries and then...
Starting point is 02:15:07 In record time. I was reading about there used to be some nightclub. I can't remember where it was. Did you see this? Yes. And they had a night that was drinks were free until the first person broke the seal. Was this on a Patreon group or something maybe? Maybe it was, yeah.
Starting point is 02:15:24 And so apparently it got real brutal. People, if anyone pissed, there'd be fights starting and people would be pissing in the corners of the pub. Yeah, just to not go to the toilet. Just a real sort of dystopian. What a terrible promotion. Yeah, it's not a good idea. So, yeah.
Starting point is 02:15:43 So when Lindley did it the first time, yeah, that wasn't one of the good records that was broken. Well, still, congratulations to you, Lindley. I would also love to thank From Rifle. Fuck, that's badass. In Colorado, CO? Yeah, beautiful. I would love to thank Aaron Romero.
Starting point is 02:16:02 Aaron Romero. Aaron Romero. What about Broke the vending machine barrier? Oh. Cleaned it out. Okay. Everything. Emptied the vending machine.
Starting point is 02:16:13 Really? All the drinks. All the snacks. That barrier. Even the crappy, crappy like apricot bars that no one actually really wants. It's been there for six years. Cleaned it out. Wow.
Starting point is 02:16:24 Got everything. The protein cookie. Yeah. Nobody wanted it. Broke the wants. It's been there for six years. Cleaned it out. Wow, got everything. The protein cookie that nobody wanted. Broke the barrier. It's got three grams of protein. That's not a lot of protein. Cleaned it out. That's a lot of cookies. It's a big fucking cookie.
Starting point is 02:16:35 It's as big as my head. She was there for six hours with the coins. Oh, she paid for all of them. Oh, yeah. Okay. I don't see where the barrier is. Oh, people said it shouldn't be done. It's a bit of a faux pas.
Starting point is 02:16:49 Yeah. It's a social barrier. You were thinking she smashed the physical barrier. The glass. Yeah. No, she paid for everything, but she was at the airport and there was the only vending machine in the whole place and there was a line behind her hoping to get a snack pre-flight.
Starting point is 02:17:02 She's like, no, fuck all of you. No way. Then she says, throw it down next door. Yeah, then she sold them at a big market. Oh, my God. That's good, Erin. Genius. Well done.
Starting point is 02:17:12 That's very good. Especially it was a blizzard. All those people had no other choices. It was three days in the airport. She owned every morsel of food. Just because she had so many coins on her. Holy shit. And finally, I would love to thank
Starting point is 02:17:25 from Alston, Massachusetts, Walker Anderson. Oh, that's good. Oh, Wal Anderson. Bizarro Will Anderson. Wal. People would call Wal short for Walker.
Starting point is 02:17:41 Nah, I reckon you just call them Walker. Don't reckon. I don't think they'd get called wow. Maybe wall. Walk. Walks.
Starting point is 02:17:49 Walk. Broke the speed of smell. Whoa. Somebody farted. Yep. He knew within 0.3 milliseconds. Yes. Isn't that crazy?
Starting point is 02:18:01 Cheers. I did say he could identify. That's that crazy? Cheers. I didn't say he could identify. That's a different skill altogether. Just again. Well, had them both. Well, the nose Anderson. Dave, girls don't do that. Girls don't fart.
Starting point is 02:18:22 Gentlemen don't shit. That's silly that you blamed it on me that's what made that so funny thank you so much to walker erin linley david you lewis louise david laura and amy the last thing we like to do is welcome a few great supporters into our triptych club so to be in the club you've got to be on the shout-out level or above for three straight years. Unless, of course, Dave is organising it, which he did a few episodes back when he just brought people in willy-nilly.
Starting point is 02:18:56 Oh, come on! He did his best. Hey, look, I was absent, so fair enough. If you want to just meet me around back, I'll get you in. I think one of the people who came into the Tribute Club had signed up the day before. But anyway, for every other episode, you've got to have been signed up for three straight years.
Starting point is 02:19:15 I made up some names. On the shadow of a law above. Well done to Philip Neighbour. Congratulations. So the way we normally do this is, you know, a bit of theatre of the mind. I'm standing on the door. The club, you get a ticket. It's a lifelong pass.
Starting point is 02:19:33 Once you're in, you're in for as long as you like. Dave's the emcee. He's the hype man. He's standing on the stage welcoming you in. Everyone who's already been in there standing and cheering you on, as Dave hypes you up from the stage. He welcomes you in after I've checked you off the door. Jess is behind the bar and almost comes
Starting point is 02:19:50 up with a cocktail. What's the Concord cocktail? We've got beluga caviar. Oh yes. Blended with gin and shake it over ice. Whoa, that is a fancy cocktail. I'm not done.
Starting point is 02:20:05 Then it's got a garnish of a cherry. Oh, my gosh. That is luxurious. Yeah, that's luxury, baby. And also blended lobster. Whoa. Shaken with vodka. It's five courses in one drink.
Starting point is 02:20:18 It's honestly disgusting. And Dave, you've normally booked a band? Yes, amazingly. You're never going to believe this I have booked the band Concord Right Wow, which is a How did you get them?
Starting point is 02:20:32 I just reached out I slid into their DMs Honestly, I'm now starting to see his process He's went to Spotify and typed in Concord He didn't think fly to the Concords or Scorpions A couple of bands were going, just go with Concord. Most famous for their song Just Kiss Her. 30 million plays.
Starting point is 02:20:48 Not bad. Really? Not bad at all. All right. Well, we've got, looks like eight inductees today. Can I just say the lead singer of the band, it's a one-person project, Stephen Becker, PhD. That's good. I love that they've added that.
Starting point is 02:21:05 Dr. Stephen Becker. All right, great. Dave, are you ready? Because I'm ready to hype you. Oh, so I'm going to hype these people. Hell yeah. Let's do it. I mean, that's how we've always done it.
Starting point is 02:21:13 I don't know why this is a surprise to you this week. I guess I'll have a go. I've never done this before. All right. So first up from Suva in Fiji, it's Dave Cullen. Dave Cullen. I'm not feeling sullen. I it's Dave Cullen. Dave Cullen. I'm not feeling sullen. I've got Dave Cullen.
Starting point is 02:21:27 From Hawthorne in Melbourne, Australia, it's Ebony Atmaja. Or at Maya. I bow down to the Maya at Maya. Yes. From Kinross in Western Australia, it's Jacob Lane, our Simpsons expert Jacob Lane Let me just say, dull It's Jacob Lane
Starting point is 02:21:51 Yeah, that's good stuff Come on, mate, you can't say that's not amazing I mean, I don't know how that's a hype up Come on, keep the flow going From McKellar in Australia's Capital Territory It's Alex I don't feel like I'm in McKellar I'm in McHeaven.
Starting point is 02:22:06 Yeah, with Alex. Yay. Thank you. From Copenhagen in Denmark, it's Fabian Peterson. I don't remember how it was Copenhagen before you arrived, but I'm feeling better now, Fabian.
Starting point is 02:22:17 From Denver, Colorado in the United States, it's Scott. More like Hart. From Oakdale in, I want to say, Minnesota in the United States. It's Tim Kaiser. Kaiser. This night was Shizer without Tim Kaiser. Yeah, Tim Kaiser's here.
Starting point is 02:22:32 And finally, from Aylesbury in Great Britain, it's Maisie Doe. What Aylesbury, you? Maisie Doe wasn't here, but she's now here. Maisie Doe is an incredible name. I know. Holy shit. Maisie Doe. It sounds like a dance move.
Starting point is 02:22:46 Yeah. And Maisie Doe. Maisie Doe. Maisie name. Holy shit. Maisie Doe. It sounds like a dance move. Yeah. And Maisie Doe. Maisie, thank you so much. You are amazing. Welcome in Maisie, Tim, Scott, Fabian, Alex, Jacob, Ebony and Dave. And that brings us to the end of the episode. Jess, is there anything else we need to do before we put this baby home? Just to
Starting point is 02:23:02 remind people that they can suggest a topic at dogoonpod.com or there's a link in the show notes. You can find us on social media at dogoonpod across Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and go out there and do something nice for a stranger. Oh, okay.
Starting point is 02:23:18 What, like take them for a ride in your boat on the water? Just offer a group of jet skiers to go for a little ride. Yeah, do something nice like that. It'd be fun. That's nice. Yeah, it is nice.
Starting point is 02:23:33 All right, well, let's wrap it up, Dave. Thank you so much for listening. We'll be back next week with another episode. But until then, I'll say thank you so much and goodbye. Later. Bye. Oh, yeah, baby. Yeah, you got it. We can wait for clean water solutions.
Starting point is 02:23:52 Or we can engineer access to clean water. We can acknowledge indigenous cultures. Or we can learn from indigenous voices. We can demand more from the earth. Or we can demand more from ourselves. At York University university we work together to create positive change for a better tomorrow join us at yorku.ca slash write the future it's a night for the whole family be a part of kids night when the toronto rock take on the
Starting point is 02:24:18 colorado mammoth at a special 5 p.m start time on sat Saturday, March 9th at First Ontario Centre in Hamilton. The first 5,000 fans in attendance will get a Dan Dawson bobblehead courtesy of Backley Construction. Punch your ticket to Kids Night on Saturday, March 9th at 5 p.m. in Rock City at torontorock.com.

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