Editor : James (Jim) Taylor 
2335 Paliswood Road SW, 
Calgary, AB
james-taylor@wave.home.com

President : David Allen 
2159 W 47th Avenue,
Vancouver BC
Canada V6M 2M6
Fax : 1-604-263-3141
dallen@axionet.com

Mr David Salovey 
Founder 
P.O. Box 464
New-York, N.Y. 10014-0464
USA

One of the achievements of Anglo- French cooperation in the latter part of the twentieth century was the design and joint construction of the " Concorde" supersonic jet liner. This plane was put into commercial service with both Air France and British Airways in 1969 and gave efficient, reliable and fast service for three decades, the most used route being the Transatlantic routes. As time went by and fuel costs increased it became less and less feasible to operate; the small passenger capacity, environmental concerns and the huge amount of fuel consumed exacerbated by a disastrous crash in Paris, which led to a lack of confidence in the plane" safety by the travelling public, eventually made it impossible to operate in an economical way. In the year 2002 a decision was made by both countries to cease operating the planes. It was agreed that the remaining planes would be placed in aviation museums in France and Britain.

 

St. Pierre and Miquelon did not have the airport facilities to welcome these planes but philatelically the territory took full advantage of the possibilities of promoting this outstanding technical achievement. It issued two attractive stamps that featured the plane. The first was issued as part of a series issued by all French overseas territories on the occasion of the first flight in 1969. In 1976 just before the islands ceased to issue their own stamps for a 10 year period, a beautiful airmail 10 franc stamp was issued, depicting the plane crashing through the sound barrier. This commemorated the flight from Paris to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. There was yet another occasion when the plane was featured, but this time on a commemorative cover. Presidential visits to the islands are important events. In May 1987 President Francois Mitterand made an official visit to Canada and to the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon. What better way of promoting your country"s technical achievements than by flying " Concorde". The voyage duration was made in numerous steps over the period May 25 to May 29, 1987. The plane flew from Paris to Ottawa, then to Quebec City and Montreal, afterwards from Montreal to Regina, Toronto and Moncton. There it stayed for a day whilst the local Air St. Pierre flew the President to St. Pierre. The visit was of a short duration, the next day the President resumed his return to Paris from Moncton, a journey time of 2 hours and 10 minutes.

Cover with the stamp commemorating the Presidential visit cancelled on the first day of issue at St. Pierre, carried on the Paris to Ottawa leg of the journey as indicated by the specially designed label.   

First Day Cover for the 1976 Concorde " Paris to Rio flight.