The world's first jet airliner flew the Comet for the first time barely four years after the end of World War Two, and it was British. It revolutionised commercial air travel and was the fastest airliner in the world. It inspired a post-war public with its pioneering jet engines and sleek design and starstruck celebrities and royalty flew in it. The world's airlines were queueing up to order, then triumph turned to tragedy. Packed with rare and unseen images and memorabilia, this big treasury delves into this amazing aircraft from when it was conceived by Sir Geoffrey de Havilland, its design and manufacture, introduction to service with BOAC amid cheering and flag waving to the tragic crashes, the exhaustive work done on solving the crash mysteries, and its successful reincarnation both for civil airlines and for the military. It resurrected as Comet 4 and eventually the RAF's Nimrod, the ultimate and final variant of the Comet design. The book gives the reader a flavour of the excitement of air travel in the 1950s and two exclusive DVDs include a documentary featuring archive footage in action and interviews with people who flew it. One DVD is entitled Air Accident Investigation and Escape featuring films from the archives of the Farnborough Air Sciences Trust and Frontiers of Flight which follows the work of the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough taking the story from the 1950s through to the 1980s and featuring the work done on projects from vertical take off to supersonic flight. Big glossy pages, packed with design and diagrams, archive photos and many colour images, Comet specifications and Variants. Two DVDs running time one hour.

1969 was the first flight of Concorde, a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airline developed by British Aircraft Corporation and Aérospatiale under an Anglo-French treaty. The progress and development of the prototypes influenced both the politics and the economics of the era, leading eventually to the dual nationality of the aircraft, complex construction processes, and massive overspending in the race for civil aviation supremacy. As Concorde prepared to enter service, her great potential for dominating the skies was being challenged by the new large aircraft being built by the Americans. Concorde would be much faster, but the US aircraft were cheaper to operate. Other aircraft could not come close to matching her speed, breaking the sound barrier and of course her elegance with that unmistakable pointed nose cone. As Concorde evolved, so did the market challenges. There is plenty of video footage, facts from its development and service on this colour and black and white one hour DVD.

Many consider the prolific British engineer Sir George Cayley to be one of the most important people in the history of aeronautics since it was he who designed the first actual model of an aeroplane. It was a British man Sir Frank Whittle who is credited with single-handedly inventing the turbo jet engine. From the first aircraft they produced to the impressive array of military aircraft and bombers, and the incredible productions today, the British have always played a very important role in the aeronautic industry. As early as 1912, British firm Vickers were experimenting with machine gun carrying aircraft, and it was World War One when aircraft were used on such a large scale for the first time. Skip forward to WW2 and we have produced incredible bomber planes such as the Hawker Hurricane and the Supermarine Spitfire. 1969 saw the first flight of Concorde, a turbo-jet powered supersonic passenger airline enter service. It was developed by the British Aircraft Corporation and Aérospatiale under an Anglo-French treaty. With the advances in technology we are now in the designers' golden age and witness the production of incredible engineering feats such as the Airbus A380, a double deck wide body four engine jet airliner jointly developed by European countries including the UK. From early flight and man's early dreams to spectacular technology today, this is an exciting airborne 90 minute DVD.

Among the yachts, casinos, nightclubs and hotels, death-defying racing cars rocket through the narrow streets on Monaco at an unbelievable 300km per hour. At a time where wider tracks and better adapted circuits have been purpose-built for safety reasons, Monaco appears to be a dangerous relic. Despite its difficult and unforgiving track, the Monaco Grand Prix is the highlight of the Formula One racing calendar. Stirling Moss believes it is the extra danger that makes it preferable to other circuits. With previously unseen action and archive footage, this film offers a rare insight into the world of such legends as Michael Schumacher, Mika Hakkinen, Jackie Stewart, Bernie Ecclestone and Ayrton Senna. In their words this is the only place where motor racing heroes get to experience such intimacy with their crowd and rub shoulders with royalty. The film truly has a carnival feel in this unique and beautiful waterside and vertiginous location. 50 minute colour programme.

The mountains of the Highlands and the shores of the Lowlands provides some of the most glorious railway images north of the Border. Steam railway has been part of Britain's heritage for 200 years and in that time evolved from the cutting edge of technology, through the driving force of industrial expansion, to the accepted form of transport and more recently a much-loved living part of our industrial legacy. The classic Caledonian Railway's blue livery can still be seen on the SRPS Line at Bo'ness, whilst Highland grandeur lives along the valley of the River Spey on the Strathspey Railway. Numerous iconic steam trains travel the Scottish main lines and in this programme we see them heading towards Kyle of Lochalsh, across Rannoch Moor, over the Highland mountains at places such as Slocht Summit, eastward near Aberdeen and of course over the legendary Forth Bridge. Colour film running time 48 minutes on DVD.

In the industrial heart of the country, railways performed a vital role in moving the goods to and from the manufacturing bases and carrying the workers to the great factories around the Black Country. We see mineral trains headed by powerful goods locomotives on part of the last mainline to be built, and travel alongside the great River Severn on one of the best known railways of all. Steam takes us along the railway to Shakespeare's birthplace and to the Races at Cheltenham. Branch lines have a charm of their own and are the home of many of the smaller locomotives which played such an important part in industry. The famous West Coast Main Line plays host to some of the famous express locomotives such as the Duchess of Hamilton and Princess Elizabeth. See them in gleaming, steaming colour in this 48 minute DVD.

It all began in the North of England - the great iron and steel works and the coal mines that powered railway transport. Industrial steam keeps the original pioneering spirit alive, and we go to the Tanfield Railway where the world's oldest railway bridge still stands. Small engines have big hearts, and their fine liveries extol the beauty of the steam locomotive. In the magnificent North Yorkshire Moors an historic line built by the great George Stephenson still carries millions of passengers every year, and we see locomotives working flat out up the fierce gradients. In the heart of the country, lines of the LMS and LNER all have industrial roots, and we reflect upon how things have changed even though the steam railway remains true to its origins. Gleaming locos, 48 minute colour footage on DVD.

Part of the James Bond legend as Vodka Martinis and M, since the iconic secret agent hit the silver screen in 1962 and indeed since Ian Fleming's earliest James Bond novels, the eye-catching cars have been as much stars if the 007 franchise as the actors who have played the role. This fascinating 50 minute colour programme pays homage to the incredible vehicles that have wowed generations of fans from the 4½ litre Bentley Blower of the books to the awesome 510bhp Aston Martin DBS V12 driven by Daniel Craig in Casino Royale. We count down the ten most notable Bond cars, examine the role of vehicles in the creation of the 007 legend and consider what the future holds. Experts, enthusiasts, fans and owners give their views as well as discuss the unforgettable stunts, amazing gadgets and controversial choices. There are contributions from Charlie Higson and stunt co-ordinator Steve Truglia. The cars featured also include the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish as seen in Die Another Day, BMW 750il as seen in Tomorrow Never Dies, the Citroen 2CV as seen in For Your Eyes Only, the Lotus Esprit S1 as seen in The Spy Who Loved Me, the AMC Hornet X as seen in The Man With the Golden Gun and even the Sunbeam Alpine Series II as seen in Dr No. A gleaming, powerful muscle car, high-tech, clean and sleek-lined car showroom to thrill us once again. Colour DVD.

The Royal Air Force has defended Britain's skies and those of her Allies since the early part of the 20th century, following the tradition of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service. Spawned from both the British Army and the Royal Navy, the RAF fought hard to maintain its independence after the success of WWI. This DVD combines rare and unseen footage with newly shot film and expert opinion to tell the story of those momentous interwar years of the RAF. The programme looks at how the early pilots fought in their wire, wood and canvas aircraft. It includes the aerial battles of Spitfire and Hurricane against fearsome ME109s. Experience mass bomber raids over Germany and follow the RAF through more than 50 years of the jet age from the first Meteors to the low-level Tornado attacks of the Gulf War. Stunning footage in colour and black and white for all aviation enthusiasts and military historians. 125 minute DVD.

Contents of this marvellous 2020 Pen & Sword publication include the Systeme Arnodin, Building the Widnes-Runcorn Bridge, Bridging the Usk at Newport, Crossing the Tees, Crosfield's Warrington Bridges and Rebuilding Arnodin's Rochefort Bridge. The world's first transporter bridge dominates the town of Portugalete in northern Spain and operates around the clock. It was designed by Palacio and a French engineer and the project began in 1887. The carriage from which the gondola is suspended has been changed and improved on numerous occasions since, the most recent using an articulated carriage with built-in electric motors driving its wheels. The covers over the cable anchors were to stop condensation rolling down the cables and dripping into the passenger cabin. Here are the original 1892 drawings for the 'hanging bridge' and the 1887 patent design combining vertical suspension cables with angled cable-stays. A sequence of highly detailed photographs explain everything from construction, demolition towards the end of the Spanish Civil War due to damage, the clamps on the main cables and the walkway. With the huge increase in road transport, it is surprising that little more than 21 transporter bridges were ever completed across the world, five of which were in Britain and just nine still standing in their original form. Only five are still in current use - one each in Spain and Germany, two in the UK and one in Argentina, unused since the 1960s and only recently returned to service in 2018 after restoration. The last surviving 'pont transbordeur' in France returned to service in 2019 after major works and the second of Germany's surviving transporters is currently awaiting repair after a ship collided with it. But is the transporter bridge about to undergo a surprising renaissance? Proposals exist for three new bridges in France at Nantes, Marseilles and Brest. With fact sheets, the author's own modern images, many historic photographs and postcards chronicling the construction and operation of these unusual structures. 269 very large pages, colour.