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

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Extra baggage and 60 kilos of newspapers had also been loaded without the knowledge of the crew, which meant the aircraft was a ton-and-a-half over the maximum take-off weight. Brooklands Museum depends on the generosity of its friends and supporters. If you have been captivated by our stories of motoring or aviation history, our amazing events, or our commitment to inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers, we hope you will consider making a donation. Concorde was part of my childhood. I had a poster of the aircraft on my bedroom wall along with the insignia of all the airlines who planned to buy it. I remember seeing its first flight on TV, and thinking when it was announced that its first commercial flight would be delayed until 1976 like that seemed a lifetime away - time passes so much more slowly when you’re young! So the chance to read this book by a man who flew Concorde was irresistible. I am not a plane buff. I have never been to an airshow. But I do live on planet earth, and am old enough to know Concorde. If the author is as good a pilot as he is a writer, I want him flying me. He is a better writer than a lot of actual writers, and he is WAY better at narration than most professionals. He is better than 99.9% of author narrators too.

Our venues are accessible to everyone. We want to ensure everyone across the city has access to health, fitness and entertainment facilities. One thing I do wish was perhaps having a little more insight from Bannister about the future of commercial supersonic flight and where he visions it, rather than the few lines about Boom Overture.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. Tom was an absolutely charming chap," recalls Mike. "He brought the trophy up and allowed us to take photos. When the stewardess said his lunch was ready, he left the trophy with us. The doomed Concorde had run over a piece of metal which had fallen from another aircraft on to the runway. 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.’ 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.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Confession: I’ve got a mild obsession with Concorde and have read quite a few books about her. This book really was fabulous. A potted history of the aeroplane coupled with an autobiography. I particularly liked the detailed information on the tragic Air France crash too. As an Airbus pilot myself, it’s good to know the provenance of my current aircraft. The book isn’t overly heavy on acronyms or jargon, Mike explains it all very simply to the non-flyer too. Investigators initially believed a tyre had exploded, sending metal fragments to puncture a wing-borne fuel tank which was then ignited by hot wiring. The author describes how because it was supersonic there were many things to flying Concorde that were quite different to conventional airliners. It must have been incredible to fly at sixty thousand feet and see the curvature of the earth.

Christmas Gifts

At feet you see the of the quarter of square "I'd wanted to fly from the age of seven, so to pilot Concorde was a dream come true. I can remember taking her up for the first time in training at RAF Brize Norton. With no passengers or baggage, the aircraft weighed 120 tonnes, but she could carry 65 more tonnes, so we had 65 tonnes of excess thrust available - that's a lot of power. When I came across this book I felt I had to read it. The plane was an Icon of our country and sadly missed. I used to see it fly past our house in the evenings no doubt piloted by Mike himself at times.

Mike also provides a novel glimpse at what it meant to be an airline pilot in the glory days of post-war air travel. His early counterparts are ex-bomber pilots who display exceptional handling skills, but would certainly struggle in the era of CVRs and FDM. When it was my turn to hold the silver Claret Jug, I dropped it on the control panels and put a dent in it. Whether the dent is still there, I don't know." Please note numbers on each experience are limited to a maximum of 16 people with no exceptions. All passengers require a boarding pass, incuding under 5s. Included in the Concorde Experience

Games

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. 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. 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. Part celebration, part history, part detective story and part courtroom drama, it's almost as riveting as flying in Concorde itself - almost . . . Mine involves taxying out at Heathrow and me as a young aviation obsessed 6 year old spotting Concorde off the left hand side of my aeroplane taxying out for a trip. I proceed to yell with such excitement whilst glued to the window “Concorde, look Grandma Concorde” that everyone, not just the other children on board stared and marvelled at her. My Grandparents still tell me about that day with fond smiles.