Remembering Concorde, and all the wonder above us

I do not think I have ever met a child who is not fascinated with flying. When an airplane passes overhead and my own children look up at the sky, I can remember how I was also captivated as a boy at the wonder of flight.

My children are too young to ever have known Concorde, the British-French supersonic airliner that had its last majestic flight 15 years ago today. But I remember it vividly. More than a super-fast vehicle for carrying passengers over the Atlantic (in only 3.5 hours), it was a symbol of vision, ambition and possibility. It represented optimism, national pride for Britain and France, and a technological achievement that somehow felt within reach to many, regardless of whether they would ever fly that aluminum cigar tube in the sky.

For me, Concorde represents an example of a belief I hold dear: Great things are achieved by looking up.