|
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent book on Post War UK Civil Avation, 6 May 2001
By A Customer
For anyone wanting to know the inside story of post war civil aviation in the UK, Peter Duffey's Comets and Concordes is a unique insight from someone lucky enough to have been through it all.Starting off as a trainee Pilot in the RAF during the second world war Peter found his way, as many did at the time, to the fledgling world of civil aviation flying converted military aircraft. Through his work in the British Overseas Aircraft Corporation, today known as British Airways, Peter gives us a first hand account of life at the start of the jet age with the ill-fated Comet 1. He flew the Comet1 on many worldwide routes before it was grounded after the deaths of his colleagues and passengers when some of the aircraft in the fleet started to break apart in mid-air due to the little know effects of metal fatigue. After a break in the jet flying Peter eventually moved on to Captain the highly successful Comet 4, an airliner that was in direct competition to the Boeing 707 on the Atlantic routes from Europe to he Americas. Through his work and experience Captain Duffey is promoted to training Captain for the Comet 4 and then the 707 which eventually opens the door to flying in the left hand seat of the worlds most prestigious aircraft: Concorde. British Airways had elected to introduce Concorde into its fleet and Peter was one of a nucleus group of eight captains given the task of training to fly the aircraft as well as training up all the initial Concorde line pilots, before ending a his career right at the top of his profession flying what even today is regarded as a milestone in civil aviation. Few others shared the author's experiences during this exciting time in the aviation world, making his commentary on the events even more unique and interesting. Comets and Concordes is one of those book you just don't want to end, and tells us, from the inside, a story technical and human achievement in a world of aviation moving so quickly you just don't want to get off...or put the book down!!!
|
With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is). 
Amazon Home
