11-30-2007, 09:04 PM
There was also a very good NOVA on PBS which gets rerun from time to time on the race between the Soviets and the Europeans to develop the Tu-144 and Concorde. Lots of espionage going on in both directions. Apparently the crash of the Tu-144 at the Paris Airshow was the result of a near-collision between the Soviet SST and a French Air Force Mirage that was, um, observing. It was an overcast day so the Soviet pilots didn't see the Mirage until it was very close. They had to do a violent pitch down maneuver to avoid the Mirage which ended up overstressing their airplane, which came apart.
What's left of the American SST program can be seen at the Hiller Aviation Museum in California. It's part of the mockup of the Boeing 2707-200 which is the scaled-down (!) version of their proposal.
What's left of the American SST program can be seen at the Hiller Aviation Museum in California. It's part of the mockup of the Boeing 2707-200 which is the scaled-down (!) version of their proposal.