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

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He and Concorde are a key reason why I have pursued and achieved my dream of flying commercial large swept wing jets at the age of 26. His character shows through his book, one which to me embodies what I believe to be the perfect pilot; assured, fair and passionate about what he does but humble enough to admit his mistakes. The plane’s image was dented in 2000 when an Air France Paris to New York service crashed, killing all 100 passengers and nine crew members, but it was another tragedy that really did for Concorde. 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. 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.

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. He released a book “Concorde” in 2022 in which he writes about his flying experiences especially his flying career on Concorde. If you’re an aviation enthusiast, I’d recommend you read this book. The author creates a compelling narrative. This is really three books in one. It’s Mike’s autobiography, starting from the seven year old child gazing up at aeroplanes and deciding he wanted to be a pilot. It’s the story of Concorde and its history in BA, including the politics and economics as well as technical details about the aeroplane and what it took to fly it.Two prototypes were produced, the British one making its maiden flight from Filton aerodrome near Bristol to RAF Fairford on April 9, 1969.

image(15711422, type="article-full", alt="Mike and Fernando Alonso at BA's Engineering Base at Heathrow. 'He was there with his Benetton F1 car and I with my Concorde,' says Mike. 'We were doing a PR shoot comparing the fastest aircraft with the fastest car. Concorde has a higher top speed (up to 250mph on the ground) and could, initially, out accelerate the F1 car. It was taken on September 5, 2003 as part of the celebrations running up to Concorde's retirement the following month. 'We chatted for hours. There were so many similarities, but one very big difference: he spends his professional career trying to operate at 100 per cent of his capacity and I spend mine trying to never operate at 100 per cent – always keeping something in reserve for the "what ifs".'") 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. 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 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.

The big BA art crawl: London lounges

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 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. image(15711417, type="article-full", alt="Concorde had a take-off speed of 220 knots (250mph) and a cruising speed of 1350mph – more than twice the speed of sound") 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. 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.’

If you want the sexy engineering, the aerodynamics and the detailed nuts-and-bolts of the aircraft (the “gee-whizz” stuff as Bannister calls it), and design history of the aircraft; this isn’t your book. Sure, it does whet the appetite in a way that appeals to those of us who identify as aerosexuals, but it’s subtle and very well done, considering this book isn’t written just for us. It’s written to be enjoyed by the lay-person, just as much as the pilot or engineer, and I think Bannister has balanced that well in this book. Bannister graduated from the Ashton School, Dunstable, and the College of Air Training Hamble, having been awarded a Royal Air Force Flying Scholarship in 1966. [4] Career edit 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.When Concorde’s retirement was announced it was Mike who masterminded the celebrations, flying the last ever Concorde scheduled flight in October 2003. When, after that terrible crash, the cause had to be established, Mike was a member of the British team that was part of the investigation. And when the French-led investigation led to unsafe criminal convictions, Mike was the expert witness whose evidence help see them overturned, while at the same time as restoring the reputation of his beloved aeroplane. image(15711421, type="article-full", alt="British Airways Concorde made just under 50,000 flights and flew more than 2.5m passengers supersonically") In 1959, a study contract was awarded to Hawker Siddeley and Bristol Aeroplane Company for preliminary designs. Mike Bannister has spent more time flying at supersonic speeds than anyone else in history, spending longer on the other side of the sound barrier than most of the world’s air forces put together. When Concorde led the Red Arrows down the Mall for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee in 2002, Mike was at the controls. When Concorde returned to the skies after the tragic crash that nearly ended her career, it was Mike in the pilot’s seat for the first flight.