Comment / The centre piece at the Aviation Viewing Park is no doubt British Airways Concorde G-BOAC which sits on her very own runway 06. Myself and 'AC were last acquainted at Birmingham airport in October 2003 when Concorde toured the UK, just before the retirement of the fleet.

Comment / Concorde's infamous delta wing, with RJX100 G-IRJX sitting in her shadow.

Comment / The cancellation of the Avro RJX program in November 2001 was a major blow to the British aviation industry, from which you could say it has never recovered. RJX100 G-IRJX was the program's second prototype, flying for the first time on 23rd September 2001. The flight from Woodford lasted 3 hours and 10 minutes during which she reached 26,000ft and 250kts.

Comment / G-IRJX looks on as a EuroManx Dash 8 departs runway 24R overhead.

Comment / Contrary to popular belief, the prototype for the Avro RJX program was not G-IRJX - it was actually an RJX85, registered G-ORJX, which took to the air for the first time on 28th April 2001. Nor was G-IRJX the last British airliner built. A second RJX100 went on to join the ill-fated test program on 9th January 2002, registered G-6-391, although the very last airliner to roll off the Woodford production line was actually RJ85 G-CMBH (now OH-SAP) which flew the type's 'last' first flight on 26th April 2002.

Comment / After landing for the very last time at Manchester on 27th October 2001, the forward fuselage of Monarch's sole DC-10, G-DMCA, is now on display in the Aviation Viewing Park serving as both an exhibit and an interactive classroom.

Comment / Etihad Airways' A330-200 A6-EYF arrives just over the threshold for Manchester's runway 06R on the daily service from the United Arab Emirates capital, Abu Dhabi.

Comment / Qatar Airways now fly into Manchester daily with a mixture of A330 series -200s and -300s. A7-ACD was an early delivery back in March 2003, with their A330 fleet now totalling 28 frames.

Comment / I'm not sure they come much more elegant than this?

Comment / Feel the speed!

Comment / Gliding in over runway 06R with a fair amount of height still to lose!

Comment / OE-HBB completes a short hop from the Isle of Man.