When the British prototype Concorde took off from RAF Fairford on April 9, 1969, at the controls was Captain Brian Trubshaw. Here is the full and fascinating story of Brian Trubshaw's life as an experimental test pilot, written from his own unique viewpoint on the flight deck and covering a period of tremendous upheaval in the British aircraft industry.

When British Airways and Air France announced that Concorde was to be retired from service in October 2003, it signaled the end of nearly three decades of supersonic passenger flights. Concorde had flown for years without a major incident, but in July 2000 an Air France Concorde crashed near Paris, killing all 109 people on board and four on the ground. By the time the modified aircraft went back into service in November 2001, both BA and Air France faced mounting problems that eventually spelled the end for Concorde. The former British chief test pilot, Brian Trubshaw reveals the inside story of this world-famous supersonic passenger jet. Illustrated with 200 photographs and illustrations, this updated edition covers the Paris crash, Concorde's brief return to service, and its decommissioning in 2004.