The maiden flight lasted just 27 minutes

England have

The supersonic airliner, Concorde, has made a "faultless" maiden flight.

The Anglo-French plane took off from Toulouse and was in the air for just 27 minutes before the pilot made the decision to land.

The first pilot, Andre Turcat, said on his return to the airport: "Finally the big bird flies, and I can say now that it flies pretty well."

The test flight reached 10,000ft (3,000m), but Concorde's speed never rose above 300mph (480kph). The plane will eventually fly at a speed of 1,300mph (2,080kph).

Mr Turcat, his co-pilot and two engineers taxied to the end of the runway at about 1530GMT. Strong winds meant the test flight was in doubt for much of the day.

Two previous test flights had to be abandoned because of poor weather conditions.

Concorde sped down the runway and there was aspontaneousburst of applause from watching reporters and cameramen as the wheels lifted off the ground.

The noise from the four Olympus 593 engines, built jointly by the Bristol division of Rolls Royce and the French Snecma organisation, drowned out any noise from the crowd.

Less than half-an-hour later, the aircraft was brought back down to earth using a braking parachute and reverse thrust.

The crew emerged at the top of the steps, led by Mr Turcat, who gave the thumbs up signal with each hand.

The first British test pilot, Brian Trubshaw, who watched today's flight from the news stand, said, "I was terribly impressed by the way the whole flight was conducted. It was most professional and I would like to congratulate Andre on the way he handled this performance."

The British government has so far invested ?55m in the project. It is hoped Concorde will begin flying commercially in 1973, when it will cut the flying time between London and New York from seven hours 40 minutes to three hours 25 minutes.

Ian Smith remained an MP until 1987

The new Rhodesian Republic, came into being at 2301BST yesterday, unrecognised by the rest of the world and barely noticed by Rhodesians themselves.

Mr Smith signed a proclamation officially dissolving the current parliament and introducing a new Republican Constitution.

The ceremony took place at Government House, until last year the official residence of Sir Humphrey Gibbs and his predecessors as governor and representative of the British Crown.

The creation of the republic breaks an 80-year-old link with the British monarchy - but has been widely anticipated since Mr Smith unilaterally declared the country independent of Britain four years ago.

Since then, Rhodesia has left the Commonwealth and been subject to tough international sanctions.

Mr Smith said: "Today is not such a tremendous day for us Rhodesians. Our Independence Day is the great day.

"Rhodesia did not want to seize independence from Britain. It was forced upon us."

The real question now is whether a Rhodesian republic will gain any international recognition.

The chairman of Mr Smith's Rhodesian Front party, Ralph Nielson, said: "We have cut our ties as to whether or not a republic is going to make all that difference, I sincerely believe it will, particularly in the eyes of the rest of the world.

"I believe various things are going to flow, improved trade and without a doubt, in time, diplomatic recognition."

The British Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, has already made clear his Labour government will not recognise the new regime in Rhodesia.

The United States has also indicated it will not recognise Smith's republic "under any circumstances".

spontaneous: produced without being planted or without human labor（自發的；自然產生的）