East Fortune, home to the Museum of Flight, belongs to another age with its widely-spaced hangers dating from the 1940s set against the backdrop of the landing field. From here, in the Great War, aircraft defended Edinburgh and the Forth from attack by Zeppelins. In 1919, the airship R34 left here on its record-breaking return trip to New York. On reaching its destination, an aviator parachuted out to guide it in, the first man to arrive in America by air. During World War II, the airfield’s planes again provided a protective shield against attack.

East Fortune is now home to an impressive collection of over 50 aircraft. In March 2005, the Concord Experience opening doubled visitor numbers. A 10-year development programme will make East Fortune one of the great transport museums.

Parked outside Hanger 1 are the De Havilland Comet passenger plane and the delta wing Avro Vulcan Bomber, an aircraft outstanding for its sheer size, grace, and power. One observer commented ‘If you can imagine an aircraft the size of an airliner thrown around the sky like a Spitfire, you have some idea of what a was like.’ The Comet, first flying in 1949, is the world's first jet powered passenger airliner. Unfortunately, there were several crashed because of metal fatigue.

Hanger 1 contains celebrated fighter aircraft such as the Spitfire, Harrier Jump Jet, and The Messerschmitt Me-163, among others.

The Supermarine Spitfire, one of the greatest military aircraft of all-time, first flew in 1936. The RAF's first all-metal fighter, its exploits in World War II are legendary. Spitfires served in every combat area, performing as fighters, fighter-bombers, survey aircraft, and carrier-based fighters. In the Battle of Britain, it gained the respect of the Luftwaffe and with the Hawker Hurricane, saved Britain from invasion. By 1947, some 40 different variants of the Spitfire had flown. A beautiful aircraft, it took propeller-driven aircraft design to its perfectione and came within .92 of breaking the sound barrier.

Now, imagine an aircraft that combines the best features of a helicopter with those of a fighter jet, a craft capable in any war theatre. From such imaginings comes reality, even though the earliest design of such a craft resembled a humble flying bedstead. Eventually, through the dream came the Harrier Jump Jet, the world’s first vertical take off and landing jet fighter. In battle, it proved its worth and is leading to a new generation of aircraft. Like the Spitfire, the pilot almost wears this plane as a garment as a glance in both cockpits will show.

An example of a brilliant but flawed design is the stumpy Messerschmitt Me-163, which entered service for Germany in 1944. The world's only rocket powered interceptor, the unique Me-163 was the fastest aircraft of WWII. Its high-speed proved a hindrance in combat and they were vulnerable, as they had to glide in to land. Jet-powered planes rather than rocket-powered proved to be the way ahead.

The Museum of Flight, at East Fortune, is the Scottish National Aviation Museum, and home to the Concorde Experience, housed in Hangar 4. Displays give an insight into Concorde's development and commercial history, but it is the dramatically lit Concorde itself, which commands attention. Purchasing a Concorde Boarding Pass gives access to its remarkably long and narrow interior. An audio guide gives a full commentary on all aspects of the plane.

For 27 years, Concorde, looking more like a space shuttle than a jetliner, rocketed celebrities and tycoons across the Atlantic faster than many fighter jets (double the speed of sound) and at an altitude so high that if you look up, you see the darkness of space, and if you look down, you can see the curvature of the earth. It did all this in comfort. It compressed time and space in a way that suggested anything was possible. It lifted air travel to high art, making New York and London almost neighbours being only three hours apart.

It was first class all the way: special Concorde lounges at the airports, the best foods, including caviar, and the best wines. Six flight attendants lavished luxurious service on a maximum of 100 passengers. The reclining seats included raising the knees higher than the hips - a crucial design tactic missed by most chairs in the world.

For the three pilots the plane proved a delight to fly. "It was like riding a thoroughbred race horse or driving a Maserati," says former Concorde Captain Jock Lowe. "It was a great plane for a pilot: responsive, lot of power. It could do things only fighter planes could do."

People on the ground weren’t always so happy. There are two sonic booms heard on the ground but in the plane they felt like two gentle bumps. However, the first time the Concorde landed in Toronto, during the early '80s, "three-quarters of a million people turned out just to see the plane". People just loved to look at Concorde, it's designed perfectly, an artist's dream."

In terms of fuel use per passenger carried, one gallon of fuel on Concorde will take one passenger 16.7 miles. While The Boeing 747 is 4.8 times more fuel efficient, Concorde compares well with an SUV.

A catastrophic Concorde crash in Paris killed all aboard reducing Concorde from one of the safest planes to one of the most dangerous. Investigators traced the accident to a metal strip left on the runway. It punctured the fuel tank, starting a fire. Although modifications were made to the plane three years later, the decision was made to retire both the British and French fleets.

It will be a long time before we see the likes of those planes flying again. Some reckon they were a greater technological triumph than the landing on the moon, which occurred the same year the first Concorde prototype flew.