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Space

Flying in a spaceplane is like a magic carpet ride

Virgin Galactic's chief pilot David Mackay on how he's gearing up to take tourists to the edge of space – and why recent tragedies won't stop him

By Sean O'Neill

29 April 2015

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“Holding on to this thing and controlling it is a wonderful ride”

Chris Crisman

What inspired you to take to the skies?
When I was 6 my family moved to a remote village in the north of Scotland. Almost daily we’d see jet aircraft flying fast and low. It looked incredibly exciting. Then the Apollo moon missions were shown by the BBC and that captured my imagination. I found out those astronauts were ex-military test pilots and so I came up with this scheme to join the Royal Air Force, become a test…

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