Fireflash

A Fireflash Airliner, more commonly referred to as a Fireflash, was a type of large and high-tech aeroplane. They were operated by the airline Air Terrainean and many of them were based at London Airport. (PROSE: Superjet Shot Down)

History
A bomb plot "marred" the first commercial flight of the Mk I Fireflash. (PROSE: Fireflash Mk II Bound for New York)

In 2065, a Fireflash took Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward, Parker and Lady Penelope's car FAB 1 back home to England from Italy after the duo defeated Mr Steelman. (COMIC: Mr. Steelman)

On 29 May 2065, (PROSE: Kaplan Assassinated!) a Fireflash ferried Lady Penelope and Parker from England to Bermuda so they could investigate the assassination of the Kaplan. (COMIC: On the Trail of the Kaplan's Killer...) In an account dating the event to January 2089, air tickets spiralled in price as the world's press fought to get on the island while ticket touts managed to get hold of reservations for the next Fireflash flight within seconds of the bullet being fired. (PROSE: Get the Gunman!)

A Fireflash carried Lady Penelope, Parker and FAB 1 from London Airport to Orly Airport in Paris so that Penelope could write an article about the rebuilding of the French capital city for TV Century 21. (COMIC: The Return of Mr. Steelman)

In search of the invisible ray torch, the Hood arrived at London Airport from Malaya via a Fireflash. After the conclusion of the whole affair, Jeff Tracy and Brains left London Airport on a Fireflash. (COMIC: The Vanishing Ray) At Jeff's request, Lady Penelope rode a Fireflash from England to an airport in Nice so that she could investigate an emergency call from Jimmy Bondson of the British Secret Service. (TV: The Man from MI.5)

After the preliminary work on Lady Penelope's film had finished in London, the entire cast and crew, including Paul Carson, travelled to Los Angeles on a Fireflash. (COMIC: Desert Drama)

On 19 August 2067, Universal Secret Service agents closed Unity City Airport while a specially chartered Fireflash touched down. (PROSE: Miami Beach Disaster) The flight had come from London Airport and related to Pete Tracker and Lens Sharpe's investigations into the Bordon Ray. (COMIC: The Premonitions)

The maiden flight of the Mk II Fireflash, from London Airport to New York, occurred in September 2069, with VIPs such as Jeff Tracy aboard. Security was tight in an attempt to avert a repetition of the Mk I's troublesome first voyage though Airport Commander Norman reported nothing wrong, stating it had left on schedule and had attained its cruising speed of Mach 7 within ten minutes of takeoff. (PROSE: Fireflash Mk II Bound for New York) However, the Fireflash was later hijacked. Thunderbird 1 and Thunderbird 2 were able to intercept the aircraft and force it down just inside the Bereznik border after following a signal from a tracking device in Jeff's luggage. Unfortunately for them, it was believed the hijacker had arranged a rendezvous at the border and so the Fireflash itself soon became "a fortress heavily defended by machine gun fire". The demands of the hijackers, who were in cahoots with the Hood, were for all four Thunderbird craft plus their designer and fifty billion dollars. If these specifications were not met it was suspected they planned to deliberately explode the atomic reactor of the Fireflash. (PROSE: Stalemate!) With the development of the Mk II, the Mk I was due to be withdrawn from service in 2070. (PROSE: Fireflash Mk II Bound for New York)