Concorde By Tony

On Friday 24th October 2003 the last fight of Concorde by British Airways as a fare paying passenger aircraft took place.

If you have flown on Concorde or have seen it in flight, you can understand what a great loss this will be to the nation. The aircraft, first airborne in 1969, was and is still out in front in design and technical innovation. With fly by wire and digital systems, it was way ahead of anything flying at that time.

It was a bit expensive. The development costs (£1.4 Billion) were over 10 times the estimates… Flying at mach 2, or, to us mortals, 1300 M.P.H. at 50,000+ feet, the pilots report it's so easy to handle. With Auto Pilot off you can control it with just two fingers!

By 1972 orders for the aircraft were looking good, with 16 airlines having options to buy 74 Concordes. Then came the objections regarding noise and the sonic boom, as the plane went through the sound barrier. Some countries objected to the aircraft over-flying their airspace. The USA delayed making a decision on allowing Concorde to land for 2 years. All this put the program on the back foot. Now, from an unexpected build of 70 aircraft we finished with 16 completed after the unjustified bad publicity.

The Americans were interested in the concept of Concorde and set about designing and producing a competitor. After spending $400 Million and building a wooden mock-up, the Yanks cancelled the project and now allowed Concorde to fly into J.F.K airport.

The noise factor as an objection now looked a bit silly as the noise level of Concorde was less than the new Boeing 747 aircraft. The Concorde phrase now doing the rounds was 'from white elephant to golden eagle'. After 3 decades of outstanding service and carrying over 2 million passengers, the Concorde is withdrawn from passenger flying. The fatal crash of a French Concorde in 2000 resulted in all aircraft being strengthened around the fuel tanks and fitted with burst resistant tyres. After 12 months it was ready for service. continued below

Concorde continued By Tony

A rehearsal with 100 of its own staff flew out over the Atlantic and back. Incidentally, this flight took place on September 11th, at the same time as the tragic terror of the twin towers was unfolding in New York.

Rising running costs have forced British Airways to retire this wonderful aircraft. The love affair with and pride for this aircraft will last forever. Many souvenirs from its birth and for many years will be produced and revered by lucky owners.

Long live the memory of Concorde. Next Concorde Stamps page All the best, Tony.

Aircraft and Airshows - The Magic of Concorde By Mike

People in London never tired of it. Men and women always stopped working and children stopped playing. They used to look up and point "Concorde!" they marvelled. They didn't ever Read more...

Aircraft and Airshows - The Yorkshire Air Ambulance by Tony

The Yorkshire Air Ambulance The Yorkshire Air Ambulance has now been in the service of the people of Yorkshire since October 2000 and has already completed 3000 life-saving missions. These men and women, aircrews and ground crew together with a host of volunteers, deserve recognition for their dedication to you.    Read more...

Aircraft and Airshows - The Yorkshire Airshow - Elvington 2003 By Tony

What a pleasure to be here for 2 days (24th - 25th August)! We were fully entertained with a diverse mix of aircraft. Both days of the flying program opened with the superb Red Arrows. Unfortunately, on the first day they had to abort their display for safety reasons when three light aircraft strayed in to the six mile display zone. Without doubt there must be an investigation into this misdemeanour and culprits brought to book. Read more...

Driving - Jo's DRIVING LESSONS
	Here I was living alone with my 3 children, my husband having just left us to cope alone. My eldest daughter, only just 18, was keen to learn to drive and I didn't want to spend a fortune on driving lessons, at least not until she could learn as much as she could from me. Read more...

Music Reviews - The Landau's - Sweet But True (single/ DAGALOST Records) By Steve Rudd
	Hull's something of a hotbed for cool indie-rock bands, and The Landau's - along with Still Life - are one of the freshest bands forging ahead within such a musical genre. An exclusively laddish quartet, this is the young band's first major release, and has been recorded at the city's famous Fairview Studios. The production qualities are fantastic, Read more...

Coming Up - FREE TICKETS - Addiction at the Silhouette Club, Hull - Saturday 14th February 2004
	2 of Hulls independent promoters Martin Knight from Club Cantastic and Dean Shakespeare of the infamous Under the Influence have teamed together to bring a new monthly night to the indie dancing kids. ADDICTION will take place the first Saturday of every month at the Silhouette night club in Hull. The night will see guest DJ's bring a mix of dirty rock 'n' roll and indie anthems in the main room whilst .. Read more...

Articles - Hull, Hell And Incidents, Deliver Us. By Patrick Henry

	My arrival in Scarborough at the age of zero happened only months after my folks moved here from the Hull area, so that their voices and views impressed me stronger than those in my birthplace. Mother said Hullers look down or up to nobody, but Scarborians look always over their shoulder jealous of anyone having more than deserved, or more than grabbed by themselves. Read more...

Music Reviews - Pave - Linnet and Lark 05 February 2004 by Nick Quantrill
	2004 hasn't been the greatest years so far. It kicked off more than adequately in the Old Town Square of Prague but went rapidly down hill from there. Returning home I battled unsuccessfully against tonsillitis for a couple of weeks before slipping on the ice and breaking two fingers! Almost recovered, I decided to unleash myself upon Hull once again. The return of 'The Sesh' at Linnet and Lark seemed as good any place... Read more...

Music Reviews - Komplikated at theTurnpike Thursday 5th Feb By Scarrie
	This was the first time I'd seen the Hull 5 piece in action but I'd heard good things and I wasn't disappointed. The band certainly aren't lacking in talent, Leah (lead vocals) has a stunning voice complemented by some fine guitar work. The indie/pop rock songs quickly have you tapping your hands, feet (or whatever bodily instrument you choose) and singing along. Read more...