Skies Over Swindon 

Final flyover: Four Hercules take off and land at RAF Lyneham for the last time on 01 July 2011

Gone but not forgotten: Concorde 002 taking off from nearby RAF Fairford in 1970, where the plane was based throughout its series of test flights

First landing: Concorde 002 approaches the runway at RAF Fairford during its maiden flight on 9 April 1969 see youtube video below

Engineering heritage: a model of Concorde still stands near the entrance of South Marston Industrial Estate, where parts for the plane where developed by Vickers in the 1960s and 70s

• With a maximum altitude of over 63,000ft (19km), Concordes are the only passenger airlines able to fly above storms.
  
• Because of the friction of the air at Mach 2, a Concorde's nose heats to 130 degrees C (266 F) and the aircraft can stretch by up to 24cm (9.44in).
  
• Concordes departing and arriving at Heathrow have special priorities over other aircraft. It is common for the planes to jump the queue of others awaiting take-off and they always use west-facing runways so that they do not waste time turning on to the correct heading after take-off. When returning, Concordes are usually not required to follow conventional routes and procedures governing descents.
  
• A Concorde made the fastest crossing of the Atlantic from New York to London, completing the journey in 2 hours, 54 minutes and 45 seconds.
  
• Concordes have a capacity of just 100 passengers and 1,300 lbs (0.59 tonnes) of cargo.
  
• Concordes usually fly twice a day from Heathrow to New York - departing late morning and early evening. The usual scheduled travelling time (3 hours and 40 mins) allows passengers to arrive in New York at an earlier local time than they left London. In comparison, the usual travelling time from London to New York by Boeing 747 is 7 hours and 30 minutes.
  
• Concordes follow conventional traffic lanes until they reach RAF Lyneham and then divert to the 'acceleration point', south of Swansea. From Lyneham onwards they have their own special track, called 'Sierra Mike' westbound and 'Sierra November' eastbound.
  
• Take-off on Concordes takes about 24 seconds and the aircraft are travelling at around 250mph (400kph) when they become airborne.
  
• A Concorde set the record for the fastest flight around the globe (New York-New York) on August 16, 1995. Chartered by Donald L Pevsner, an American lawyer "in love with Concorde", it completed the trip in 31 hours and 27 minutes.
  
• Over 4,000,000 passengers have travelled by Concorde.

Once a familiar friend: a Hercules from RAF Lyneham flies over Swindon

Fat Alberts have a maximum cruising speed of 374mph (602kph).

RAF Lyneham uses 12 million gallons of aviation fuel a year.

Fat Alberts have a range of 2,356 miles (3,791km) with a maximum payload and have a ceiling of 42,900ft (13km).

An average of 38 sorties are flown from RAF Lyneham in a typical day.

Fat Alberts carry around 150,000 passengers a year.

RAF Lyneham once had over 3,000 service and civilian personnel.