The Concorde story . Part-One.

Four Nations.

Only four nations used two types of supersonic civil aircraft, Britain, France and Singapore used Concorde and the former Soviet Union the Tupolev Tu-144. The Russian version was faster and a better aircraft, but all this came a heavey cost to design and the testing programme.

Meanwhile the joint British-French aircraft was more versitile and had a very long service with three long-haul airlines. Concorde was the aircraft of the rich, filmstars and the real jet-set. Both types of supersonic aicraft were the fist of their kind, and despite pleas by Virgin airlines boss Sir Richard Branson, it does not seem that they will be returning in a newer form just yet.

As a boy I remember seeing all three of them during my summer holidays, make their final approaches to London Heathrow International airport. In recent weeks I seem to have the same dream of seeing the BA Concorde against a blue sky. 

These aicraft were grounded since the trajic crash in Paris France. Russia had retired theirs much earlier, due to cracks and financial constraints.

'Virgin Space Vehicle'

Richard Branson is a man who is making his mark on history and why not. It is his dream to see space flight in near earth orbit as a reality for everyone. Branson has also been the man who wants to re-vitalize the Concorde and supersonic travel. 

The continued development of the inner orbit vehicle will be the first of a generation, this century anyway of more designs and perhaps one day even the defunct Space shuttle too will allow commercial travel into space. Current space stations such as the ISS could be developed into a type pleasure station, or perhaps flights to a moon base or something further afield.

These are the first steps to the future of space travel. What will be the answers to all this in one hundred years from now?

Santas Sled.

Humans have followed Santa over the years and developed the sled for moving across ice, from dogs to reindeer. Meanwhile since the development of the petrol engine the sled is now motorized. The use of the sled is a daily means of transport mostly for the Eskimo and Evenki peoples living in the northern regions of Canada, Alaska, Russia, Norway, Greenland, and Iceland. But there are many aircraft and helicopters that have been adapted to take skis or sleds to work in this environment. 

I wonder were the legends of Santa with his sled come from, perhaps from a Lapp style people, who pull their houses by reindeer on sleds in N-Russia. Santa's sled is much different from anything that we could invent, his sled has to move, fly at hypersonic speeds to deliver presents to an estimated two billion children world-wide in 24 hours. I think if you do get to see him this Christmas, you must really be very privileged. ''HAPPY CHRISTMAS.''