March 2
[ 2007-03-05 08:15 ]
 |
| The maiden flight lasted
just 27 minutes |
| 1969: Concorde flies for the first
time |
England have
The supersonic airliner, Concorde, has made a "faultless" maiden
flight.
The Anglo-French plane took off from Toulouse and was in the air for
just 27 minutes before the pilot made the decision to land.
The first pilot, Andre Turcat, said on his return to the airport:
"Finally the big bird flies, and I can say now that it flies pretty well."
The test flight reached 10,000ft (3,000m), but Concorde's speed never
rose above 300mph (480kph). The plane will eventually fly at a speed of
1,300mph (2,080kph).
Mr Turcat, his co-pilot and two engineers taxied to the end of the
runway at about 1530GMT. Strong winds meant the test flight was in doubt
for much of the day.
Two previous test flights had to be abandoned because of poor weather
conditions.
Concorde sped down the runway and there was a spontaneous burst of applause from watching
reporters and cameramen as the wheels lifted off the ground.
The noise from the four Olympus 593 engines, built jointly by the
Bristol division of Rolls Royce and the French Snecma organisation,
drowned out any noise from the crowd.
Less than half-an-hour later, the aircraft was brought back down to
earth using a braking parachute and reverse thrust.
The crew emerged at the top of the steps, led by Mr Turcat, who gave
the thumbs up signal with each hand.
The first British test pilot, Brian Trubshaw, who watched today's
flight from the news stand, said, "I was terribly impressed by the way the
whole flight was conducted. It was most professional and I would like to
congratulate Andre on the way he handled this performance."
The British government has so far invested ?55m in the project. It is
hoped Concorde will begin flying commercially in 1973, when it will cut
the flying time between London and New York from seven hours 40 minutes to
three hours 25 minutes. |
|
|
|
 |
| Ian Smith remained an MP
until 1987 |
|
1970: Ian Smith declares Rhodesia a
republic | Artificially 1969:
The The Prime
Minister of Rhodesia, Ian Smith, has declared his country a republic,
cutting its last link with the British Crown.
The new Rhodesian Republic, came into being at 2301BST yesterday,
unrecognised by the rest of the world and barely noticed by Rhodesians
themselves.
Mr Smith signed a proclamation officially dissolving the current
parliament and introducing a new Republican Constitution.
The ceremony took place at Government House, until last year the
official residence of Sir Humphrey Gibbs and his predecessors as governor
and representative of the British Crown.
The creation of the republic breaks an 80-year-old link with the
British monarchy - but has been widely anticipated since Mr Smith
unilaterally declared the country independent of Britain four years ago.
Since then, Rhodesia has left the Commonwealth and been subject to
tough international sanctions.
Mr Smith said: "Today is not such a tremendous day for us Rhodesians.
Our Independence Day is the great day.
"Rhodesia did not want to seize independence from Britain. It was
forced upon us."
The real question now is whether a Rhodesian republic will gain any
international recognition.
The chairman of Mr Smith's Rhodesian Front party, Ralph Nielson, said:
"We have cut our ties as to whether or not a republic is going to make all
that difference, I sincerely believe it will, particularly in the eyes of
the rest of the world.
"I believe various things are going to flow, improved trade and without
a doubt, in time, diplomatic recognition."
The British Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, has already made clear his
Labour government will not recognise the new regime in Rhodesia.
The United States has also indicated it will not recognise Smith's
republic "under any circumstances". |
|
| Vocabulary:
|
| |
|
spontaneous: produced without being planted or without
human
labor（自發(fā)的；自然產(chǎn)生的）
|
|
