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.

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") 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 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. This book is in effect a partial biography of the Concorde aircraft, at least the part when it was operational. Mike Bannister was a pilot for over 20 years and started not long after Concorde came into service. By the time he finished, he had risen to a management position that allowed some flying time and was well a huge part of the investigation into the Paris accident in 2000 which grounded the aircraft for over a year.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. 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.

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. 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.Two prototypes were produced, the British one making its maiden flight from Filton aerodrome near Bristol to RAF Fairford on April 9, 1969. 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.’ 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".'") 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

Concorde entered service for scheduled flights on January 21, 1976, London to Bahrain and Paris to Rio de Janeiro (via Dakar) routes. Mike Bannister says: ‘From the age of seven, being a pilot was my Dream. When Concorde first flew that dream narrowed – I wanted to be a Concorde Pilot. The fates were with me, and my dream came true. Flying the most beautiful aircraft in the world, at twice the speed of sound, just with your fingertips as you cover 23 miles every minute, was the ultimate aviation experience for me. image(15711421, type="article-full", alt="British Airways Concorde made just under 50,000 flights and flew more than 2.5m passengers supersonically") 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.’ He released a book “Concorde” in 2022 in which he writes about his flying experiences especially his flying career on Concorde.

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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. 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. 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.

It was initially banned from the US following protests about sonic boom – a problem that placed restrictions on where it could fly throughout its life.On some occasions, Concorde was chartered for a full trip around the world, an “air cruise" holiday, with passengers staying in six-star hotels in every destination,’ he says. 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’. 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. 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.