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. 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.

To coincide with the 60th anniversary of the Anglo-French treaty that marked Concorde’s inception, former Concorde Chief Pilot, Mike Bannister will publish a personal account of the most distinctive, iconic and awe-inspiring flying machine in history. 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")In charge of BA’s Concorde ‘farewell’ programme, Mike captained its final commercial flight from JFK to Heathrow (on 24 October 2003), in front of an audience of millions – shortly before he, too, retired as Concorde’s chief pilot and general manager of the airline’s short- and medium-haul operations. After a career on the move, he finally had a chance to sit still, which proved more tempting than perhaps expected: ‘My wife and I looked at relocating to Australia, Canada, South Africa… but we ended up simply moving from one side of Staines to the other. We love the river, the proximity of Heathrow and London – and we’d made great friends here over the years.’

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’.

How I learned to fly again

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. With nearly a quarter of a century’s experience flying the world’s only successful supersonic airliner, there’s no one better qualified to tell her story. 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. 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.

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.

The Concorde Pilots

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

The author describes how because it was supersonic there were many things to flying Concorde that were quite different to conventional airliners. It must have been incredible to fly at sixty thousand feet and see the curvature of the earth.The decision to award the contract for the control systems to Boulton Paul was itself also mired in controversy. 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. At the same time, the French government was working on a similar project – it later emerged the British plans had been leaked to the French – and in 1962 it was agreed that the two countries would collaborate as a joint venture. The idea of supersonic travel was first mooted in the early 1950s by Arnold Hall of the Royal Aircraft Establishment, and a committee to further the project held its first meeting in 1954. image(15711421, type="article-full", alt="British Airways Concorde made just under 50,000 flights and flew more than 2.5m passengers supersonically")