Books by Christopher Orlebar

From her first commercial flight in 1976, and throughout 27 years of service, Concorde was hailed as a technological wonder. The only passenger airliner capable of maintaining speeds in excess of Mach 2 for more than two hours at a time, she became one of the most iconic aircraft ever built. Drawing on a wealth of research as well as his own first-hand experience, former Concorde pilot Christopher Orlebar explores the rich history that forged an aviation legend, and examines the many challenges faced by her designers in their pursuit of supersonic commercial passenger travel. Featuring stunning photography of Concorde, from design and development to her retirement in 2003, this book tells the story of one of the greatest engineering and technological feats of modern history.

When commercial air services were launched in 1976, Concorde was hailed as one of the wonders of the technological world. Lavishly illustrated throughout, this edition documents the early difficulties encountered on the way to commercial success as well as examining the tragic event at Gonesse in 2000.