Concorde: The Inside Story

Citation

(2000), "Concorde: The Inside Story", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 72 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.2000.12772fae.002

Concorde: The Inside Story

Concorde: The Inside Story

Brian TrubshawSutton Publishing2000129pp. (hardback)ISBN 0750923938

Keywords: Publication, Concorde

Perhaps the definitive book on Concorde: The Inside Story is written by chief test pilot Brian Trubshaw, one of the UK's most famous names in aviation. Priced at £19.99, this book is a must for any reader of aviation history. A rare selection of colour and black and white images, many taken from the author's own private collection and previously unseen, makes it the best-illustrated and most important book on the aircraft yet published.

As chief test pilot for BAC in the 1960s, Brian Trubshaw was closely involved with the Anglo-French Concorde programme. He flew the world's first (and only) supersonic passenger transport aircraft on its maiden flight from Filton in 1969 and remained a key member of the Concorde flight test programme after the aircraft entered airline service in 1976. Brian has also served on the Aviation Safety Board committee for 50 years but decided to step down this year.

Brian's close association with Concorde places him in the unique position of being able to write the definitive inside story of the aircraft, from the early days of its planning in the 1950s, through design, preflight testing, the maiden flight and demonstrations, to certification and airline service. He also includes many other aspects including the crippling high development and construction costs, to sales and post-delivery modifications. Concorde's 24-year service record with British Airways and Air France is also reviewed, and the author looks at its prospects as we enter the twenty-first century, giving his personal views on the next generation of supersonic passenger transport aircrafts.

Sadly, on the day before the official publication of Brian's book, Concorde suffered its first fatal accident. This tragic event may well see the end of the Concorde era, and prove to be a brake on the development of future supersonic flight. Readers of this book, having appreciated the tremendous advances to aerospace technologies that have stemmed from supersonic flight, will hope that this is not the case.

Author Brian Trubshaw was chief test pilot of Concorde during its development phase. His autobiography was published by Sutton in 1998. He is now retired and lives in the UK, near Tetbury, Gloucestershire.

Details available from Sutton Publishing Ltd. Tel: +44 (0)1453 731114; Fax: +44 (0)1453 731117.