As Concorde sat at the end of the Heathrow runway there was a fevered anticipation among the passengers within the cabin as we waited for take off. Then, with a roar from the four powerful Rolls-Royce engines and, a split second later, a powerful thrust (which felt like a kick in the chest!), we were rolling. Seconds later, we were at 250mph with Concorde’s nose pointing skywards into the blue yonder.

As Concorde was always perceived out of most people’s price range, only to be affordable to the wealthy and celebrities crossing the Atlantic from London to New York, simply stepping aboard such a celebrated aircraft was thrilling enough for a wide eyed, excitable, fourteen year old, plane fanatic. However, not only was I lucky enough to step aboard, I was going to experience the plane flight!

I remember seeing British Airways adverts brandishing slogans like ‘When time is money it has to be Concorde’ tempting you to part with thousands of pounds to fly in style. For me and more importantly my mum, this was a pipe dream.  Or so I thought, until my mother spotted a newspaper advert headlining ‘Celebrate in Supersonic Style with Concorde, Champagne flights £369’. Obviously this was still a great sum of money in 1986, yet following an inheritance she thought: what the heck!

So it was then a few months later, we found ourselves at a lavish Champagne reception in the Concorde Lounge at Terminal 1, Heathrow before our flight. Having had my first experience of bubbly for the first time we were ushered out onto the tarmac, for a walk around the perimeter of the plane. An opportunity for photos up close of this magnificent machine.

See, I haven't changed much!

Inside the plane we were shown to our seats by the beaming flight attendant. I was struck how small the cabin was, with seats two by two the length of the narrow fuselage. I can remember as clear as day sinking into my soft grey leather seat next to my mum with my dad across the aisle.  I was stepping into a world a scruffy fourteen year old boy should play no part in, yet, seemingly enjoying the red carpet treatment.

All strapped in, the exhilarating of take off was enough to shoot my mum’s handbag - which had been placed under her seat - several rows behind. In the air, we climbed high into the heavens, nearing the edge of space where the sky turns a very dark blue. It was here we broke the sound barrier at Mach 1 (761.2 mph) and pushed on to Concorde’s party trick, breaking Mach 2 (1,340 mph) somewhere over the Scilly Isles. A star turn that received a well deserved round of applause throughout the cabin.

The Champagne continued to flow during the flight, although I’d had my quota of sips and my dad begrudgingly proclaimed to the stewardess ‘No more thanks, I’ve got to drive home!’. I also had my first taste of Caviar; a delicacy to this day that does nothing for me.

Back in the day you could visit the flightdeck

Before returning to Heathrow we took part in the Old Warden air show making two passes down the runway to the delight of the thousands of spectators. The second a low high speed pass before climbing rapidly back up to cruising altitude. An hour and a half later, we were back where we had started.  However, the hundred passengers onboard knew we had all shared a special moment, no matter how fleeting.

Following the fatal Air France crash on 25 July 2000, and with passenger numbers dwindling and mounting maintenance costs, sadly on 26 November 2003 Concorde flew for the last time, ending her glorious 27 year reign as the Queen of the skies and confining her to a unique place in aviation history. A part of history that I have been lucky enough to have shared.

Although Concorde has been out of service for twelve years, you are still able to look onboard a Concorde at the Brooklands and Duxford museums.

Si Salter

What we are reading: We know people who love to travel love to read about travel.

Simon is reading For Fukui’s Sake: Two years in rural Japan by Sam Baldwin – A classic tale of someone seeking adventure from mundane life.  Sam embarks on quest to teach English in a small, rural Japanese town.  His guidebook describes Fukui as a place where there’s ‘little reason to linger’, yet Sam meets many characters and reasons to stay.

Gavin is still reading At Home by Bill Bryson: If you think that your mind is always in overdrive, spare a thought for Bill Bryson, who can’t seem to switch off no matter where he is! If you enjoy an element of history and travel in your reading material, ‘At Home’ would be a worthy purchase. It is a book written along the same lines as ‘A Short History of Nearly Everything’, but it also has many similarities with his travel books, written in his usual witty style, just set at home. ‘At Home’ succeeds in answering many questions, some of which you wanted to know and others, you probably had never given any thought!

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