Aviation Archive Registration Acknowledgements
BAC 100: 2010. Join in the Celebrations of 100 Years of Aviation in the West of England. Aviation image sequence: Photograph of the Bristol Flying School at Larkhill by T L Fuller © J T Fuller. Mercury engine installation diagram, courtesy of BAC/Rolls-Royce. Selection of old postcards from the collection of Jackie Sims. Photograph of A380 over Clifton Suspension Bridge courtesy of Airbus SAS 2006. Computer generated image of A350 XWB courtesy of Airbus. Artist's impressions of main exhibition by Simon Gurr. Sir George White (Airbus).
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1970s

The 1970s saw the successful completion of the Concorde project as the supersonic aircraft entered service with British Airways and Air France.

It was a decade that was characterised in the UK by periods of industrial unrest remembered by many for the three-day week which was introduced to conserve electricity during the miners' work to rule. Power generally became a major issue with the oil crisis of 1973. In the US, two defining moments of the decade were the withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam and the resignation of President Nixon over the Watergate scandal. Musical trends of the 70s included glam rock, disco, reggae, funk and punk.
1971
US Marine Corps AV-8A Harrier enters service. Rapier ground-to-air missile system enters service.
4 February 1971
Rolls-Royce goes into receivership before being nationalised as Rolls-Royce (1971) Ltd.
September 1971
RB199 has its first run.
28 October 1971
Launch of Prospero.
11 December 1971
Launch of Ariel 4.
Other UK and world events this year:
Apollo 14 and 15 moon landings.
4 August 1974
RB199 first flight in Tornado.
Other UK and world events this year:
Don Cameron's 'Gerald Heineken', the world's largest hot air balloon, makes maiden flight at Bristol.
21 January 1976
Concorde enters service.
Other UK and world events this year:
Salyut space station launched.
29 April 1977
British Aircraft Corporation nationalised to become part of British Aerospace with effect from 1978.
Other UK and world events this year:
Trial of Freddie Laker's Skytrain service to New York.
1978
Sea Harrier powered by Pegasus enters service with Royal Navy.
August 1978
British Airways carries the 100,000th Concorde passenger.
Other UK and world events this year:
UK government announces acquisition of 20 per cent interest in the Airbus Industrie's A310.
1979
Concorde 216 completed (the last Filton Concorde). SeaWolf ship-borne anti-aircraft and anti-missile system introduced into the Royal Navy.

Other UK and world events this year:
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
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Rapier trials (Filton Library).
Rapier trials (Filton Library).

RB199 being assembled (Rolls-Royce plc).
RB199 being assembled (Rolls-Royce plc).

Type 221 (Airbus).
RB199-powered Tornado (Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust).

Harrier on HMS Invincible (Rolls-Royce plc).
Harrier on HMS Invincible (Rolls-Royce plc).

Computer programmer using scale-model to test positioning of corvette's radio antennas.
Computer programmer using scale-model to test positioning of corvette's radio antennas.
Concorde 216
Step aboard Concorde 216 at Concorde at Filton.
Aviation Archive
Search the Aviation Archive for images of West of England aircraft in the 1970s.

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