THE OFFICIAL CONCORDE BOOK

Now in its sixth edition, The Concorde Story is a complete history of Concorde, seen through the eyes of former Concorde pilot Christopher Orlebar. Fully updtaed with details of Concorde's decommissioning in 2004, a new evaluation of the events that led to the withdrawal of Concorde from service, the tradgedy at Gonesse in July 2000 and the findings of the official accident report. 

When commercial services began in 1976, Concorde quickly established herself as one of the wonders of the modern technical world. Flying at speeds in excess of Mach 2, she was the only commercial airliner ever developed that could maintain twice the speed of sound for periods of over two hours. Christopher Orlebar’s Concorde story begins with a survey of the earliest prototypes for supersonic transport aircraft, including Russia's Tupolev Tu 144 'Concordski', one of the leading rivals of the Anglo-French Alliance. Documenting the technical difficulties of breaking the sound barrier and early opposition to the development of supersonic flight, this book traces Concorde's path to commercial succcess.

Drawing on his own experience, the author reveals what it was like to be a Concorde pilot, and gives us a unique pilot's-eye-view of a typical transatlantic flight, including details of the training involved and life on the flight deck. It is from the privileged perspective of a former pilot that Christopher Orlebar describes Concorde's 'Grand Finale' and final flight to Filton, reflecting on the history and achievement of Concorde and those who worked with her. 

The Concorde Story is illustrated throughout with colour and black and white photographs, illustrations and charts, many reproduced from the archives of British Airways, Air France and Airbus. Together with Christopher Orlebar's authoritative text, these illustrations bring The Concorde Story to life for Concorde fans everywhere.