40 years ago today

On 9 April 1969 the first UK built Concorde took its first short flight, from Filton near Bristol, to Fairford in Gloucestershire. Concorde was science fiction made fact, for the first time the non-military could fly at supersonic speeds. The Air France Concorde crash prematurely ended Concorde's flying life and the world took a technological step backwards.


To celebrate Concorde, here's some video:



Concorde Prototype Flight from 1969 over Farnborough.



The French prototype's first flight on 2 March 1969, complete with rousing music.



Concorde taking off

Another airline failure and a takeover

I hear that the Icelandic-owned Sterling Airways has cancelled all of its flights, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded at London Gatwick and thousands stranded across Europe.

Meanwhile the German airline Lufthansa is to take over the UK carrier BMI. This will give Lufthansa the second-largest number of flights into and out of London's Heathrow, the highest number belonging to British Airways.

Third Heathrow airport runway consultation "fixed" - shock horror

I am not staggered to learn that The Sunday Times are today reporting that "THE airports operator BAA colluded with government officials to “fix” the evidence in favour of a new third runway at Heathrow... Documents seen by The Sunday Times reveal that BAA executives prevented the use of data in the consultation document which showed that the expansion would cause unlawful levels of pollution and extra noise. Instead, they gave civil servants amended data that showed the anticipated 230,000 extra flights a year at Heathrow would have a minimal impact on noise and pollution levels. A leaked report shows the government’s own watchdog, the Environment Agency, has now criticised the Department for Transport (DfT) consultation document into the third runway as flawed and incomplete."


I have never understood the obsession with expanding Heathrow Airport. Heathrow flights either land or take-off over London, thus exposing millions of people to noise and risk. Why not expand Stanstead Airport or even better build the much mooted Thames Estuary Airport? This option would provide an International Airport with planes stacking over the unpopulated North Sea rather than London, Hertfordshire and Berkshire. As the proposal says "All aircraft operational noise contours (to 57 LAeq contours) fall within the estuary water area. MARINAIR eliminates the noise pollution problem inherent in all other new runway options being considered by Government. No people and no dwellings will be adversely affected. Airport operations will be visible at a distance of five kilometres from the cliffs at Minster. Pollution caused by air traffic will be better absorbed and dispersed by tidal waters. It cannot be emphasised enough that MARINAIR, of all the development options, virtually eliminates the noise penalty, which is such a scourge for vast areas around existing airports and under their flight paths."

Anyone would think there were vested interests at work in keeping the expansion at Heathrow.