The thread is now so huge I haven't read too much of it. If not mentioned already, I would highly recpmmend Tom Wolfe's "The Right Stuff" - much better than the film (which was still good).
I also enjoyed "Croydon to Concorde" by AE Gillman - memoirs of a pilot who's post war civil career started with Railway Air Services and DH89 Rapides and ended with BA as a Concorde captain.