Concorde: The thrilling account of history’s most extraordinary airliner

Product Information

While the British company vastly undercut its French rival Dassault during the tendering process, the French continued to press for the more expensive Dassault estimate, prompting a 12-month stand-off. Mr Holmes, who worked in the testing department at the works, recalls how some of the innovations which made the project possible were being pioneered as early as the 1940s. British Airways admitted that had it not been for the post 9/11 drop in passenger numbers, Concorde would have another 25 years’ life left in it. It was strongly rumoured that the reason for the French truculence was down to the fact that de Gaulle himself had promised the contract to Marcel Dassault, the head of the company.

image(15711424, type="article-full", alt="Mike and Captain Edgard Chillaud together on the ramp at New York's JFK Airport on November 7, 2001. Edgard had flown an Air France Concorde in from Paris and Mike a BA one from London. 'It was a simultaneous arrival to celebrate Concorde's "Return To Service" after the 2000 Air France Concorde accident,' says Mike.") Through the high times, and the low times of this sensational and unique flying machine, this book is a welcome opportunity for me to pay a deserving tribute to the truly remarkable aircraft that shaped my life – the life of that seven-year-old boy.’ There’s simply nobody else in the world better able to bring to life the incredible story of an aeroplane that meant so much to so many people.’ In charge of BA’s Concorde ‘farewell’ programme, Mike captained its final commercial flight from JFK to Heathrow (on 24 October 2003), in front of an audience of millions – shortly before he, too, retired as Concorde’s chief pilot and general manager of the airline’s short- and medium-haul operations. After a career on the move, he finally had a chance to sit still, which proved more tempting than perhaps expected: ‘My wife and I looked at relocating to Australia, Canada, South Africa… but we ended up simply moving from one side of Staines to the other. We love the river, the proximity of Heathrow and London – and we’d made great friends here over the years.’ The book is both Mike’s journey and the story of Concorde. In detail he describes the latter’s change in fortunes from loss-making behemoth to profitable national icon. An interesting area was discussion of the 1980s BA revamp under Lord King. Concorde thereafter gained a new lease of life, notably branching out into the lucrative charter market.

The Concorde Pilots

For all the books written on Concorde, it is surprising that until now there has been none written by Mr Concorde himself, Mike Bannister. As someone who spent 22 years on the aircraft, rising from First Officer to Chief Pilot his perspective adds a new viewpoint to the existing material.

The author dreamed of being a pilot as a child and first flew the VC10 when he joined BOAC, a predecessor. The VC10, Britain’s answer to the Boeing 707, with its four engines at the rear was another elegant aircraft. There are thrilling descriptions of the author's flight training for the VC10 on the west coast of Ireland when they flew towards land and straight at the cliffs rising from just above the stormy seas and raising the nose at the last moment to clear the cliff tops. Today, Mike ploughs his energy into various charitable concerns, including the PCC of the Parish of Staines, the governing board of two local schools, and Brooklands Museum Trust, where he serves as vice chairman. The book can be divided into three parts, Learning to Fly, Concorde and the End of Concorde. While the first part wasn't what I was reading for, it was instrumental in laying a foundation for the reader who may be a lay-person in aviation. This is important for the reader to understand just how much of a technical achievement Concorde was, especially in the age it came from as well as the political achievement it represented for Britain, France and their respective Airlines. You see, Concorde’s chief pilot may have settled in Surrey, but there’ll always be a piece of his heart up high above the clouds, speeding through the stratosphere faster than a bullet. If you’re an aviation enthusiast, I’d recommend you read this book. The author creates a compelling narrative.Neil Armstrong observed it was an amazing technological achievement, and that whilst flying to the moon had lasted only a few years, Concorde was in service for nearly 30 years.

Alongside its famous LHR–JFK route, British Airways’ seven-strong Concorde fleet also flew between Heathrow and the likes of Washington DC, Bahrain and Barbados – but Mike also remembers the ‘fantastic’ one-off routes commissioned by private companies and wealthy individuals. image(15711420, type="article-full", alt="Concorde passengers could zip from London to New York in just under three-and-a-half hours as opposed to about eight hours on a subsonic flight") Controls were by hand in the early days of aircraft, but as the planes got faster and heavier, the use of mechanical controls was going out of favour, and Boulton Paul was responsible for the early days of power controls and ‘fly-by-wire’. Concorde became a reality because of the visions and dreams of the people who built it,' he explains. ‘So if I can do anything to help and inspire the next generation, I will. And I just know that supersonic flight will be a reality again in the future.’I never got to fly in Concorde but have been in ones on the ground and watched it landing and taking off from Heathrow, with its distinctive drooped nose at such times to allow pilots to see the runway. The mechanisms that operated the moving surfaces at these speeds were located in the hottest spots, meaning the hydraulic oils and rubber seals had to be adapted to withstand intense heat without failure. At the same time, the French government was working on a similar project – it later emerged the British plans had been leaked to the French – and in 1962 it was agreed that the two countries would collaborate as a joint venture.

The decision to award the contract for the control systems to Boulton Paul was itself also mired in controversy.

The Avios Balance Booster: explained

With nearly a quarter of a century’s experience flying the world’s only successful supersonic airliner, there’s no one better qualified to tell her story. I was very young when the Concorde crash of 2001 happened and didn't understand much of the news reports but as a kid who loved the plane was very sad learning of this news. Reading this provided much insight into what happened and why Concorde was grounded soon after.