I've just started reading
Genesis of the Jet, by John Golley again - for the
third time.
I'm sure you know it's about Sir Frank Whittle and the birth of the jet engine. In the introduction there is an account of a Concorde flight to Washington, that carried Sir Frank at the age of about 76. It concludes;
'After they landed at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, Captain Monty Burton addressed his passengers;
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Washington on this fine afternoon. We have covered the 3900 miles from London to Washington in 3 hours 37 minutes, giving us an average speed of well over 1000 miles per hour. The maximum speed we achieved was 1340 miles per hour and our maximum height was 60,000ft, eleven
miles above the surface of the Earth.
Today we have the great hour of carrying Sir Frank Whittle who invented the jet engine which made all this possible." There was a great round of applause and a bit of cheering, which was most unusual from Concorde passengers. When Monty Burton left the aircraft, an American passenger came up to him and said; "You know Captain, you've really put the icing on the cake for me. To travel on Concorde as a fellow passenger with Sir Frank Whittle is something I can relate to my grandchildren!"
Great book by the way.
Roger.