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Why Planes Don't Fly Faster

Why Planes Don't Fly Faster on HackerTube: recommended by 3 Hacker News commenters across 3 separate months, 2018–2022.

Wendover Productions explains why modern airliners fly no faster than they did decades ago, covering the economics of speed and fuel efficiency, and why supersonic travel faded.

Why Hacker News recommends it

Recommended as a clear economic explanation of aviation tradeoffs, relevant to Concorde and supersonic startup threads.

people recommended it
3
separate months
3
strong recommendations
1
discussed on HN
2018–2022
“airplanes used to fly much faster in the 1960s than they do today.”
— ckocagil, Jul 2018, in “Is killing the boom the key to supersonic air travel?”

What HN commenters said

4 Hacker News comments link this video. Each one links back to its thread.

sillysaurus3Jan 2018Strongly recommends

If anyone finds the operation of airlines a fascinating topic, you might like Wendover Productions: [link] How airlines price flights [link] The little plane war [link] Why planes don't fly faster ▶ this video The economics of Airline Class [link] How airlines schedule flights [link] I just recently found the channel. So much good stuff. (My unrelated favorite is [link] How the US government will survive doomsday.)

in “As of today, no US passenger airlines operate the Boeing 747” · View on HN

yarapavanApr 2019Recommends

Selected Twitter responses: - Why Planes Don't Fly Faster, ▶ this video - Akira Kurosawa - Composing Movement, [link] - Richard Hamming: "Learning to Learn", [link] - Rise and fall of Third Reich, [link] - The men who built America, [link] -History of the World, [link]

in “Ask HN: What are the most educational,interesting or insightful vids on YouTube?” · View on HN

ckocagilJul 2018Recommends

This reminds me of a Wendover video I've seen. The author discovers that airplanes used to fly much faster in the 1960s than they do today. So our flight times have actually gone up! He then explains the reasons behind it. ▶ this video

in “Is killing the boom the key to supersonic air travel?” · View on HN

andrubyAug 2022Cites it

I’m not sure that it would even be larger now than before. Subsonic flight has become much more efficient, cheaper and when paying for higher class, more comfortable. This is one of the reasons often mentioned for the economic demise of the concorde. The audience willing to pay $6000 on a concorde ticket, could now spend $4000 on first class subsonic with a seat that fully reclines into a bed. They can fly a little longer at night but sleep the whole journey. Wendover did a good economic analysis of the concorde: ▶ this video

in “American Airlines agrees to purchase Boom Supersonic Overture aircraft” · View on HN

Topics & tags

Aviation & aerospace engineeringBusiness & economics (other)airlinersfuel efficiencyconcordesupersonicwendover