The Concorde Story

by Christopher Orlebar

This fully revised edition of The Concorde Story, published to coincide with the anniversary of the aircraft's first landing at Heathrow, is a complete history of Concorde. When commercial air services were launched in 1976, Concorde was hailed as one of the wonders of the technological world.

Lavishly illustrated throughout, this new edition documents the early difficulties encountered on the way to commercial success as well as examining the tragic event at Gonesse in 2000. With a new section on the after-story of the airplane and a look at what the future holds for supersonic aircraft, this is the definitive book for all Concorde fans.

Genres: Aviation, History, Transport

248 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1986

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short but comprehensive history of one of the most remarkable aircraft in history covers most aspects of its conception, technologies, politics, and service. Developing an aircraft to fly at Mach 2 for prolonged distances and with passengers in shirt sleeves rather than for short supersonic dashes with crews in protective clothing and gear was and still is daunting. Concorde was the only one of the two SSTs built that was successful... and then only defined as such if the incredible research and development costs and production were written off. Written by a Concorde pilot, this work is interesting and informative and frankly is biased in favor of the aircraft (but not terribly so). Written over 30 years ago when Concordes (only 16 were put in service) were at their peak, reading the author's observations and conclusions long after the airplanes were sent to museums provides an interesting perspective. Although not perfect, this book will provide the reader with a good understanding of the tremendous complexities and complications of attempting to build and operate a supersonic airliner.

[Simon Semelin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Coffee table book if you’re a bit nerdy. Knew 0% of of the history but now I feel I know the history and the reason why we don’t have this amazing plane. Probably need to balance it with a book not being written by a pilot though that didn’t want anything other than having the plane still flying.

Somehow I feel quite sad about the fact that we still haven’t been able to bring such a flight back, but now everyone seems to be doing rockets so maybe some day soon we’ll have super sonic travel again.

[Irl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great combination of coffee table book images, technical insight and chatty writing make this an enjoyable read for any Concorde enthusiast. I especially appreciated that the rival planes in the US and USSR are also included.

[Nnikkoss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Αλλο ένα κομμάτι αεροπορικής ιστορίας. Μοναδικό, πρωτοποριακό, ό,τι άλλο και να πει κανείς θα είναι λίγο για το Concorde. Εναν θρύλο των αιθέρων, με αμφιλεγόμενη διαδρομή και άδοξο τέλος. Μνήμες άλλης εποχής...