Of all great British engineering achievements, the aeronautical ones must surely rank amongst the highest. Speed, endurance and combat ability are some of the key areas where Britain has excelled in aeroplane design.

The De Havilland Comet was the first passenger jet to cross the Atlantic and for speed and style there is nothing to rival Concorde. The only passenger jet ever to break the speed of sound and deliver a sub-three-hour trans-Atlantic crossing.

The emblematic Spitfire was the jewel in the crown of British air combat during the Second World War and the fact that there are still 50 of them flying today is testament to their reliability. Later in the war, the Gloster Meteor jet fighter took to the skies and became the precursor for decades of air travel.

In modern times, the British Harrier Jump Jet is still the only vertical take off and landing (VTOL) aircraft ever to grace the skies.