These photographs are of Test Pilots,Engineers,and various research and production aircraft flown on test flights mostly from the late 1940's through to the present day.
Most of these have been kindly signed by those depicted
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
W/Cdr Michael R. Ingle-Finch DFC AFC 19xx-2002
Michael Roscoe Ingle-Finch commenced his operational RAF career flying Hurricanes during and after the Battle of Britain. He then joined 56 Squadron based at Duxford and was amongst the first squadron pilots to fly a Typhoon when the first operational Typhoons came into service on that significant day, 11th September 1941. In September 1942, by now promoted to Flight Commander, Ingle-Finch achieved another first - 56 Squadrons first air victory in a Typhoon when he shot down a Junkers Ju88 off the east coast. Having been involved with Typhoons since they became operational, Ingle-Finch went on to fly them throughout their operational life. On 31st December 1943, he was promoted to command 175 Squadron during the decisive campaign in Normandy. In that same year he was awarded the DFC. His distinguished wartime service in the RAF culminated in promotion to Wing Commander Flying of 124 Wing.
Joined the RAF in 1922,initial training with 5FTS. On gaining his wings joined No2 Sqn as a pilot. Transferred to No11 Sqn in 1923. He became a QFI with No2 FTS in 1926. Posted to No 23Sqn as a Flight Commander in 1929 and then to No 6 Sqn at the same rank. During 1933 he commanded the Cairo-Rhodesia Flight. In 1935 became a test pilot in the Experimental section at the RAE,during his time there, he was involved in high altitude experiments and on 28th September 1936 he set a new World Altitude Record of 49,967 feet in the Bristol 138A (Serial K4879). In 1938 he attended RAF Staff College and during the war and the course of his remaining career was posted to various Staff positions. His last appointment was SASO/Deputy Head of the Air Staff,British Joint Services Mission,Washington D.C. He retired from the RAF in 1954 with the rank of AIr Commodore.
Born Samuel Homer Mason, Jr. in Los Angeles, December 15, 1917, Sammy began what was to become a distinguished flying career at the age of 16. Following his marriage to Wanda Lee Hintz in 1941, he settled in Tulare, California to fly for the Rankin Flying Academy to train pilots in Stearman biplanes for WWII.
After the war, Sammy selected a Stearman for the air show circuit. With its distinctive international orange and white checkerboard wings, “Checkers” and Sammy, along with friends Rex Wells, Ray Goudy and others, formed the Hollywood Hawks and made aerobatic history in the postwar ’40s, incorporating a number of aviation “firsts” into his act, most notably a Jet Assisted Take Off (JATO) bottle mounted under the fuselage. Sammy and Checkers were profiled in the April 18, 1949 issue of Life magazine.
In 1950, with a growing family, Sammy went to work for Lockheed Aircraft as an engineering test pilot under his close friend, Tony LeVier. During his 27-year career with Lockheed, Sammy again made history: In 1967 he became the first pilot to demonstrate a full complement of aerobatics in a helicopter, performing at the Paris Air Show in the compound version of the Lockheed 286 rigid-rotor helicopter.
Sammy retired to Santa Paula Airport where he instructed pilots in aerobatics and increased proficiency, among them actor Steve McQueen, who became a close friend. He earned a degree as a Doctor of Philosophy in Aviation Science and in 1987 he became an Honorary Fellow in the prestigious Society of Experimental Test Pilots
Jack 'Suitcase' Simpson was born in Philadelphia and raided in Pittsburgh,Pa. After high school he served in the U.S.Army Air Corps during WWII. After receiving a BS in Aeronautics from St Louis University in 1951, he won his wings as a fighter pilot in the USAF,flying the F-86 Sabre in the Korean War. After the war he was a test pilot in Southern Japan. Upon returning to the USA,Jack served the office of the USAF Plant Representative at North Aerican Aviation as a project test pilot in the development of the F-100,the world's first supersonic fighter. Upon discharge he was hired by Lockheed as an experimental test pilot in the devekopment of the F-104,designed as a MACH 2 fighter.
Benjamin S. Kelsey was born in Waterbury, Conn., in 1906, and attended public schools there. At the age of 15 he completed a flying course with the Curtiss Flying Service at Garden City, N.Y. He graduated from Msachusetts Institute of Technology with a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering in June 1928, and then conducted research work and instructed in the aeronautics department there.
Prior to being commissioned a second lieutenant in the Air Corps on May 2, 1929, General Kelsey had participated in extensive private and commercial flying and had obtained his transport pilot license. First assigned at Mitchel Field, N.Y., he was associated with the Guggenheim Fog Flying Laboratory. The following year he graduated from Primary and Advanced Flying Schools, and in 1931 he obtained his master of science degree in aeronautical engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Assigned with the 20th Pursuit Group at Mather Field, Calif., and later at Barksdale Field, La., he served in various tactical unit duties.
Transferred to the Materiel Command at Wright Field, Ohio, in 1934, General Kelsey was fighter project officer in the Engineering Section, and in addition participated in various phases of blind landing and instrument flying development. He was first to fly the Bell twin-Allison XFM-1 Airacuda prototype on September 1, 1937, the P-39 Airacobra and the Lockheed XP-38.
From May to July 1940 he served as assistant military attache for air at London, England, and then returned to Wright Field as chief of the Pursuit Branch in the Production Engineering Section. In the spring of 1942 he was attached to the Eighth Fighter Command at Dow Field, Maine, to assist in preparing for Trans-Atlantic ferry flights, and the following July he flew in the first ferry flight of fighters across the North Atlantic to England. Returning to the States in September 1942, he resumed his former position as chief of the Pursuit Branch, and the following July he was named chief of the Flight Research Branch, Flight Test Division.
Going to England in November 1943, General Kelsey was deputy chief of staff of the Ninth Fighter Command, and the following February he was appointed chief of the Operation Engineering Section of the Eighth Air Force Headquarters there. In February 1945 he was assigned to the Materiel Division at Air Corps Headquarters.
Reassigned to the Materiel Command at Wright Field that July, General Kelsey was chief of the All-Weather Operations Section. From December 1946 to January 1948 he served successively as assistant deputy commanding general for personnel; deputy commanding general for personnel, and chief of personnel and administration there.
Returning to Air Force Headquarters in February 1948, General Kelsey was chief of the Control Group in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Materiel. Entering the National War College in August 1948, he graduated the following June and remained there as an instructor. In June 1952 he was appointed Deputy Director of Research and Development in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Development at Air Force Headquarters.
General Kelsey reverted to his permanent rank of colonel Dec. 30, 1955 and retired from active duty the following day.
His decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with two oak leaf clusters; French Croix de Guerre; and Belgian Croix de Guerre. He is rated a command pilot. In 1944 he received the Octave Chanute Award from the Institute of Aeronautical Sciences for contributions to high speed flight testing.
Dietmar Sengespeik was born 25/07/1937 in Tost/Oberschlesien in a part of Germany which now belongs to Poland. My father was managing director of the local brewery. In 1938 the family moved to Cologne, where they were evacuated during the war to East-Germany to escape the bombing raids. In 1945 they returned to Cologne, where Dietmar attended the primary and high school. In 1957 he finished the German 'Gynasium' with the final certificate of 'Abitur'.
Immedeately thereafter he was called to National Service and decided to enrole to the German Airforce as a fighter pilot. After having passed the basic military training he attended the flight training schools at Landsberg and Fürstenfeldbruck, where he was instructed on the Harward Mk IV ( Prop ) and the T-33 ( Jet ). From 1960 to 1964 he was based at Leck AB, 72th fighter wing.The combat aircraft were the F-86 Sabre, the most versatile conventional jet aircraft that he ever flew. He recalls the experience with the greatest of pleasure. One of the highlights for Dietmar during that time was his participation in the second Flying Tiger Meeting at Woodbridge AFB, UK, in August 1962, which apparently created big excitement in the British newspapers at that time.
He also flew the Fiat G-91 and on the Lockheed F-104.In 1964 he left the GAF with the rank of a major and studiedgeneral engineering at the university of Aachen and graduated as 'Diplom-Ingenieur' in 1969.
The combination of his flying experiance and an university degree of engineering gave him the opportunity of employment as a testpilot with the German company VFW in Bremen, which at that time had a merger with the Dutch company of Fokker. VFW's own project, the VFW-614, which was the first passenger jet aircraft developed
in Germany after the war, was not yet ready for the maiden flight, so he was transferred to Fokker at Amsterdam, where he lived for three years. There he met among others the Chief test pilot Jas Moll, who he recalls as an extraordinary pilot. At Schipol he flew the Fokker Friendship F-27 and the Fellowship F-28 during factory test flights, worldwide ferry flights and airline assistance especially in West Africa.
After his return to VFW in Bremen he was involved in the evaluation and certification flight test programs, which finally led to the civil certification of the VFW-614 project by the German LBA, the American FAA, the British CAA and the French DGAC. Many ferry flights, customer training and assistance as well as demonstration tours as far as West Africa and Iran followed. As project pilot for the engine development he spent a lot of time at Bristol, UK, where the M-45H engine had been developed and was built at the Rolls-Royce factory. He recalls that Chief test pilot Harry Pollit and his deputy John Lewis, whom he met there, to have been exquisite pilots assisting and bringing forward the VFW-614 program.
To his very big disappointment the VFW-614 project was given up at the end of 1977 due to lack of commercial success. The delivered aircraft to Cimber Air, TAT and Air Alsace were sold back and destroyed. Only a few aircraft remained in service with the German experimental institution ( DLR at Braunschweig ) and the German
governmental executive wing ( FBS at cologne ). Dietmar trained all their pilots.
Its Dietmars's opinion that the VFW-614 was the most versatile civil passenger jet aircraft that he ever flew, comparable to the F-86 Sabre(aircraft made for pilots) but was 25 years too early on the market.
In 1977 another highlight of Dietmar's career was when he won the competition together with Dr.Mehrbold,
Dr.Furrer and Dr.Messerschmidt to be the first German astronauts in the skylab. All three of whom flew into space,but sadly, there was no slot left for Dietmar thereafter.
After the disaster with the VFW-614 program, he moved to Airbus Industries at Toulouse where he trained on the Airbus A-300 and flew for one year for Iran Air in Teheran on domestic routes. When the revolution expelled the Shah of Persia he had to leave the country as well. A few shorter sorties on the A-300 followed during the years later. He returned to Germany to Lemwerder close to Bremen, where the Transall C-160 program of the German Airforce was based. As project pilot he flew all the factory test flights after repair and overhaul of the military transport aircraft. As he also held a licence for the Hansa HFB-320, which had been developed at Hamburg,he did the necessary test flights as well. Besides that business he acted as airfield commander and tower controller.
In 1981/1982 he participated for one year in the transmigration program of the Indonesian government,when he flew thousands of native settlers from the overcrowded island of Java to their new farmland in the jungle of the other islands. He also performed Flight crew training for the Indonesian follow-up pilots afterwards.
In 1996 the Lemwerder factory had to close down, the Transall C-160 project was shifted to Manching close to Munich, so he headed to Southern Germany,where he worked for another four years.In summer 2000 he had trained his successor pilots and left the company due to his age.
In the meantime the three VFW-614 aircraft with the governmental excecutive wing were put out of service and sold to a Swedish investor. This gentleman tried to integrate these aircrafts with his assistance into civil operation as passenger- and freighter- ( nightmail ) airplanes. The big problem was their military certification, which had to be transferred into a civil one, which induced a lot of quarrel with the civil authorities.This was solved finally, and they got American and Danish registrations, but the former producers, VFW and Rolls-Royce, were not very enthusiastic about the revival of that program, so they encountered a lack of support. As financial problems arose this pleasant project had to be given up. Nevertheless Dietmar could log about 150 hours on that rare type during training-, demonstration- and ferry-missions. The remaining aircraft are distributed to different museums, one is based
as a practise-demonstrator at a technical school in Cardiff, UK.
Altogether Dietmar could log about 10,000 hours most of which were made during test flights. He had neither accidents nor bail-outs and survived all incidents without injuries.
Donald P. Germeraad served in the US Navy during WW2, flying aircraft in the Pacific theatre. He was awarded thirteen Navy combat and service medals. He was a Commanding Officer of Naval Reserve Jet and Transport Squadrons. Post war he joined Convair in 1946 and was with them,General Dynamics and Astronautics for 20years. He was project pilot and flew the maiden flights of the Convair XP5Y,R3Y,240 Turboliner,Cv880 and CV990. Latterly, he was involved with deep sea submersibles and ground effect machines.
Robert L. Matye joined US Army Air Corps 1942. He was part of the 1st jet fighter group in USAF
Flying the YP-59 and XP80 .
He joined Lockheed as a production test pilot in 1948 and became an engineering test pilot in 1949,joining the “Skunk Works”.
He was a U-2 project pilot, being the 2nd person to fly the aircraft. He performed the majority of the altitude expansion tests, during his 3rd flight he suffered engine failure and pressurization loss.
He became the F-104 Starfighter’s Chief pilot, developing the F-104A/B/C variants. In July 2005 he was awarded the CIA Seal Medallion for U-2 testing
Jimmy Matthews joined the RAF in 1940 at 19 and served with 125 (Newfoundland) Sqn and later served with 100 Group, 85 and 157 Squadrons as a Mosquito Nightfighter pilot.He was credited with 11kills and he also destroyed 10 V-1 flying bombs. In 1944 he was awarded the DFC for his anti-flying bomb operations and in the same year a Bar to it for his night-fighter work over France. In 1945 he won the D.S.O and left the RAF in May 1946.
He joined Fairey Aviation the same year as a test pilot and in 1950 was appointed to manage trials with air to air guided weapons, Firing 'Fireflash' missiles from converted Meteors and Hunter.He took over the later phase of testing in the Fairey Delta FD-2 and following the westland take-over converted to helicopters flying Scout and Wasp.He retired from test flying in 1963.He died in Australia.
Gen. Irving L. Branch, Fred Voorhies and Val Prahl
Fred Voorhies was born on December Fred 1, 1928 inLafayette, Louisiana.He attended SouthwesternTraining School, CathedralHigh School and graduated from the University of Louisiana with a degree in mechanical engineering where his father, Fred Sr. was in the first graduating class.
In December 1952, Fred joined the United States Airforce as an aviation cadet, based at Bryan AFB, Texas. He received his wings and commission on March 16, 1953 at Malden AFB, Missouri and went to tactical schools at Shaw AFB, South Carolina and Valdosta AFB, Georgia. In the summer of 1953, he left for Korea and was based at K-14 inKimpo, South Korea, with the 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing. Fred flew reconnaissance missions in an F-84 Thunder Jet with the Polka Dots Squadron. After one year in Korea, he returned to Williams AFB, Arizona and was a Flight Test Maintenance Officer with the 3525th Pilot Training Wing, where he tested the T-26 Turret and the T-33 Shooting Star until he retired in March 1956. He was awarded the Korean Service, National Defense Service and the United Nations Service medals.
In May 1956, Fred went to work for General Dynamics Aircraft Corporation in Ft. Worth, Texas as an Engineering Test Pilot. He did flight conversion testing on the F-80 Shooting Star at Perrin AFB, Texas, Chase Flights in the F-104 Star Fighter, testing nuclear weapon pod drops from the B-58 Hustler at WhiteSandsMissileRange from the Alamagordo AFB, New Mexico. He also tested the TFX prototype which became the F-111 Aardvark of which he was the Chief Engineer test pilot and was based at Edwards AFB, California for four years. He was also in the 136th Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Squadron of the Texas Air National Guard in Dallas, Texas. He left the Guard on April 12, 1959, with the Rank of Captain.
Fred was a member of the Caterpillar Club for having to bail out of an F-104 Star Fighter and was an Associate Fellow in the Society of Experimental Test Pilots.
Test Pilots G.C. Tate, Dick Johnson and O.D Lively after a test flight
B-58 Test Pilots Left to Right A.S Witchell, G.C. Tate, and C.T. Jones
Flight Test Crew E.E. Guthrie, G.C. Tate and Norm Stanberg perform an escape test from the B-58.
Grover Tate was a flight engineer and then navigator and spent almost his entire career flying in various flight test programs for some big name aircraft. The airframes he flew in operations and in test programs for include the B-26, B-58, B-36, and F-111.
Colonel Robert L. "Silver Fox" Stephens distinguished himself in flight test, flying nearly all of the jet fighter aircraft from the F-80 Shooting Star to the F-106 Delta Dart. He graduated from the Air Materiel Command Experimental Test Pilot School at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in 1949.
Called the "Silver Fox" because of his prematurely gray hair, he was the first military pilot to fly the YF-12A, the Air Force's secret titanium-skinned interceptor, and the SR-71 advanced reconaissance aircraft. From 1963 to 1968, he served as test director of the SR-71 and YF-12A test force.
On May 1, 1965, at Edwards Air Force Base, Stephens established four world speed and altitude records in the YF-12A. He averaged 2,070 miles per hour over a 17-kilometer straight away course, then held 80,257 feet to establish a world record for sustained horizontal flight. Those records stood until 1977, when they were surpassed by the SR-71. He was Chief of Fighter Operations at Edwards Air Force Base from 1952 to 1955. He flight-tested the YF-100A, YF-102, XF-104, X-5, X-1B, Navy F2H3, F4D, the F-94 series, F-86, F-89D, F-89H, and YF-101.
A member of the International Order of Characters, Stephens was a Fellow and past president of the society of Experimental Test Pilots. He was a P-47 fighter pilot during World War II and has been honored with the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross, Legion of Merit, Thompson Trophy, MacKay Trophy, Flying Tiger Trophy, Federation Aeronautique Internationale Gold Medal, Henri De La Vaulx Medal, Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement and Aerospace Walk of Honor.
Roman Petrovich Taskayev was born in the town of Khilok of Chita Region. From 1971 he served in the military.In 1975 he graduated from Kharkov high military aviation school and served in Air Force front-line units (till 1981). Graduated from Test-pilot school in 1983.
Between 1983-1998 he worked as test-pilot at A.I.Mikoyan EDB. He tested more than 40 aircraft types. He worked on the development of the following prototypes MiG-29, MiG-31 and MiG-AT. For the first time in Russian Aviation history, Roman made a transit flight over North Pole on MiG-31 with in-flight refuelling. During 1998 he joined A.S.Yakovlev EDB as a test pilot. He has set one world aviation record and has been awarded the Order of Labor Red Banner and Order of Courage medals.
Jack Morton Henderson was born on 4 November 1931 and spent four years in dairy farming and banking in New Zealand. He joined the RAF in 1950 and was posted for pilot training and intensive study to Cranwell in 1951-1953, where he earned the Queen's Medal and four other awards. He completed the RAF flying instructors' course in 1954 with special distinction then served as staff instructor in 1954-56, instructing on jets and pistons, including ground instruction and training instructors.
Henderson graduated from the ETPS in 1959, gaining the Edwards Award for outstanding performance, and joined the RAE Aero Flight where he made the first flight of HP.115 on 17 August 1961.
Besides his intensive flying on the HP.115, Henderson played an instrumental role in the success of the Hawker P.1127, which evolved into the Harrier. In November 1961 he evaluated the P.1127 on behalf of Aero Flight, the Royal Aircraft Establishment, in a series of six flights and was the first service pilot to fly the type.
Henderson, who was OC of RAE Aero Flight, also commanded units formulating and flight-testing novel concepts, such as the jet VSTOL, delta wings, slender wings, and electronic flight controls. He flew on the Short SC.1, AVRO 707A and C, Hunting H.126, Short SB.5.
Henderson also tested and advised on American, German, Canadian and French research aircraft, such as the Bell X-14, Dornier Do.31 test rig, EWR VJ101 and Ryan VZ-3.
Henderson was also involved in establishing new flight test techniques and flew 160 types and Mks of aircraft. He served as RAF Project Manager for the Anglo-French Jaguar aircraft programme and planned and controlled flying display and all supporting arrangements for the 1968 and 1970 SBAC "Farnborough International" Airshows.
Sadly, Henderson had suffered long periods of illness and was retired as a Wing Commander on medical grounds in the late 1960s.His illness grew increasingly worse and he passed away on 20 September 1990. He was married to Joan Henderson and had a son and a daughter and was holder of OBE, Air Force Cross (AFC) and Bar.
Lou Hartwig was the test pilot that made all the flight tests on the Bell 533 progect with Walter Sonneborne as the Fligh Test engineer (he became a vp in engeneering) and Lou became chief pilot and manager of all flight operations.The aircraft is on display at Fort Eustes, Norfolk Va. Lou Hartwig was hired as a test pilotfor Bell on15th February 1955. The first production Bell 61 rolled out in early 55 and he was involved early in the program.The 2per rev vibs from the two rotors was very high so alot of time was spent trying to reduce it.
Frank Duke is a former Marine Corps jet fighter and helicopter pilot, he spent 31 years as a Boeing test pilot, and was the 1st Boeing rotary wing pilot to be selected to attend the U.S. Navy Test Pilot School. He retired as director of flight test of Boeing Rotary Wing Division. He made 4 first of type flights, the Boeing Model 347 winged and un-winged,the Model YUH-61 and Model 360.
Peter Maksimovich Ostapenko was born in Prokhladny town of Kabardino-Balkariya. He served in the Army from 1947. In 1951 he graduated from Armavir high military aviation pilot school. After graduation appointed there as pilot-instructor (till 1957). In 1958 graduated from Test-pilot school and in 1967 graduated from MAI.
Between 1958 -1983 he worked as test-pilot and since 1983 as leading engineer at A.I.Mikoyan EDB. Tested sixty four aircraft types. Tested MiG-21U(E-6U), MiG-25P(E-155P) fighters,MiG-21PD(23-31) and MiG-23PD (23-01) prototypes from their first flights. He took part in testing MiG-19, MiG-21,E-152A, E-152, MiG-23, MiG-27, MiG-29 and MiG-31 aircraft. Set eight world records (one of them is absolute).
State Premium of USSR (1981). Awarded with Lenin Order, Order of Red Banner, Order of Labor Red Banner, Order of Red Star, medals. Awarded with Medal de Lavo (FAI) (1963).
Aviard Fastovets was born in Kovrov town of Vladimir Region. Graduated from Air Force special school (Ivanovo town). Since 1954 served in Army. In 1955 graduated from Military aviation school of pilot elementary training (Aktiubinsk town), and in 1957 graduated from Kachinskoye military aviation pilot school. Was given a position of pilot-instructor in the school (till 1965). In 1967 graduated from Test-pilot School.
In 1967-1987 worked as test-pilot and in 1987-1991 as leading engineer at A.I.Mikoyan EDB. Took part in flight testing MiG-21, MiG-23, MiG-25, MiG-27, MiG-29, MiG-29K and MiG-31 aircraft. Awarded with Lenin Order, Order of October Revolution, Honor Mark Order, medals.
Valery Eugenyevich Menitsky was born in Moscow. Served in Army since 1961. In 1965 graduated from Tambov high military aviation school. Appointed there as pilot-instructor (till 1968). In 1969 graduated from Test-pilot school.
In 1969-1992 worked as test-pilot at A.I.Mikoyan EDB. Conducted testing and development of newest aircraft models. He tested and flew on 65 aircraft types MiG-23, MiG-25, MiG-29, MiG-31 included. He made the first flights and tested MiG-27 and MiG-29 M planes.
Awarded with Lenin premium, Lenin and Honor Mark Orders, medals.
Boris Antonovich Orlov was born in the town of Kansk, Krasnoyarsk Area. In 1952 he graduated from Novosibirsk aviation technical school, and in 1955 graduated from Central united flying-technical school of Voluntary Society of Assistance to Army, Aviation and Fleet (VCAAAF) in Saransk town. He worked as a pilot-instructor, navigator, flight section commander at Novosibirsk Aeroclub till 1963. He took part in the second world championship on aerobatic flying as a member of USSR combined team in Hungary (1962). Graduated form Test-pilot school in 1965 and MAI in 1970.
Between 1965-1987 he worked as test-pilot and in 1987 became a leading engineer of A.I.Mikoyan EDB. B.A. Orlov successfully conducted a number of important tests of supersonic jet aeroplanes MiG-21, MiG-23, MiG-25, MiG-27, MiG-29 and MiG-31 included.
Set one world aviation record.
Awarded with Orders of Lenin, October Revolution, Honor Mark, Labor Red Banner, medals.
Born in Moscow. From 1954 he served in the Army,graduating from Armavir military aviation pilot school in 1956. He served in Air Force front-line units. Between 1963-1965 he worked as a test-pilot of Tbilissi aviation plant.
In 1965 he joined A.I.Mikoyan EDB as a test pilot and took part in testing MiG-21, MiG-23 and MiG-25 airplanes. Made the maiden flight of and tested the MiG-23U.
Set two world aviation records (one of them absolute). He was killed in crash of during a test flight of a MiG-23 aircraft. He was awarded the Medal of de Lavo (FAI) (1967).
Victor Vasilyevich Ryndin graduated from the Chernigov military aviation pilot school in 1965 and the graduated from Test-pilot school in 1971 and MAI in 1975.
Between 1971-1989 he worked as a test-pilot at A.I.Mikoyan EDB. He took part in testing MiG-23, MiG-25, MiG-27, MiG-29, MiG-31 aircraft and their versions. He tested aviation armament systems, navigational systems, electronic equipment. He tested over 70 aircraft types.
Awarded with Order of Labor Red Banner, Order of October Revolution, Honor Mark Order, medals.
One of the leading test pilots of his era, Aleksandr Fedotov was a Major General in the Russian Airforce, he graduated from Flight School Stalingrad in 1950. He was a pilot in the airforce from 1950 to 1957,graduating from the Aravmir School for Military Pilots in 1952 and worked then as an instructor pilot.
In 1958 he graduated from testpilot school and worked for the OKB Mikoyan. In 1965 he worked for the Moscow Aviation Institute (MAI). Between 1961 and 1977 he achieved 18 world records, including three absolute records on E-166 and MiG-25-jets. He held since August 31, 1977 the world altitude record for planes that take off under their own power (123,524 feet).
Between 1976 and 1978 he was involved in the EPOS "Spiral"-Program. In 1977 he performed the maiden flight of the MiG-29. He died in a crash of a MiG-31 (together with V. S. Zaytsev) in 1984.
He became a Hero of the Soviet Union in 1966 and in 1969 a Meritious test pilot of the Soviet Union.
James Fitzgerald was a US Army Air Force test pilot who had joined the X-1 program, and was 2nd person to fly supersonic after Chuck Yeager.Fitzgerald had been an accomplished fighter pilot during World War II before he was shot down and held in a German prisoner of war camp until liberated in 1945. Though denied the opportunity to continue flying combat in the Pacific, Fitzgerald was later selected to become an Air Force test pilot. He completed seven flights aboard the X-1 including four at supersonic speeds. Fitzgerald first surpassed Mach 1 during the 71st flight of the program on 24 February 1948. He reached a top speed of Mach 1.1 before a fire forced him to shut off the engine and jettison the propellants. Fitzgerald continued flying the X-1 over the next few months until he was tragically killed in September 1948 following a landing accident aboard a T-33.
Herbert (Herb) Hoover was born on May 18, 1912, in Knoxville, Tennessee. He spent the next 22 years in Knoxville and graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1934 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.
After graduation from the University of Tennessee, he was accepted by the Army Air Corps and trained at Randolph and Kelly Fields. He was then assigned to a tactical group at Mitchell Field. Because his position in the Army, as a Lieutenant, was temporary, he took the U.S. Civil Service exam in the spring of 1937, hoping to get a job with the Dept. of Agriculture. However, before anything with the Dept. of Agriculture materialized, he accepted a job with American Airlines and had even gone as far as being measured for his pilot's uniform when General Frank of Mitchell Field pulled some strings that resulted in Herb being offered a piloting job with the Standard Oil Company in South America. When he accepted the job with Standard Oil, he said he didn't want to become what he called a "taxi driver," serving at the beck and call of corporate officials who wished to be flown from place to place. Instead, upon arriving in Venezuela, he was put to work as an aero "truck driver," which involved hauling equipment, personnel, and hospital patients from camp to camp. Although there wasn't much difference between "taxi driver" and "truck driver" he had the opportunity to do more important aerial photography mapping of unexplored territory in the interior of Venezuela.
After three and a half years in South America, Herb yearned to return to the United States, which he did in December 1940 when he accepted a job as an experimental test pilot with the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in Hampton, Virginia. Because of his experience flying through bad weather, he volunteered to test fly the XC-35 through thunderstorms. He became one of the first pilots to fly through thunderstorms deliberately on bad-weather flying research. He already had the reputation as a cool pilot in tight situations; once, during an instrumentation calibration flight in a NACA SB2C Helldiver, the plane's cockpit canopy hood came loose in flight smashing Hoover across the forehead inflicting a deep cut that bled profusely. Though stunned by the blow and blinded by blood flowing into his eyes, Hoover instinctively retained control of the dive bomber, cleared his eyes, and despite his injuries, brought the plane back to Langley for an emergency landing.
On another occasion, while he was firing a rocket-propelled model from a P-51 Mustang in a Mach 0.7 dive, the model disintegrated, showering the Mustang with wreckage. The wreckage punctured the plane's coolant tank, but again Hoover brought the plane in for a successful forced landing.
Soon, he was put in charge of all flight operations and then became chief test pilot for the NACA at the Langley Memorial Laboratory, in Hampton, Virginia. He flew more than a hundred different types of airplanes.
When the Air Force-NACA transonic flight research program began at the Muroc Flight Test Unit, California, Herb initiated the NACA flight operations of the Bell XS-1 (tail #6063) research airplane under Bell engineer, Robert Frost's careful tutelage in August 1947 and made his first NACA glide-familiarization flight on October 21, 1947, for stall check, (one week after Capt. Chuck Yeager became the first pilot to exceed the speed of sound in the AF XS-1, Tail # 6062). On Hoover's flight, the little rocket plane touched down hard on its nose wheel, and the landing strut collapsed. Repairs and subsequent maintenance work kept the XS-1 grounded until December 16, 1947, when Hoover made the first rocket flight ever performed by a NACA pilot, attaining Mach 0.71. He flew another checkout flight the next day reaching Mach 0.84. In January 1948, NACA pilots (Hoover and Howard Lilly) completed seven subsonic flights in their XS-1 and by the end of the month Hoover had reached Mach 0.925. On March 4, 1948, Hoover attained Mach 0.943 at 40,000 feet. Then, six days later, on March 10, 1948, Hoover dropped from the B-29 on a stability and loads investigation, fired three of the four rocket chambers and began to climb, leveling out at 42,000 feet. The NACA XS-1 rapidly accelerated to Mach 0.93 and Hoover fired the fourth chamber. Under full thrust, the rocket research aircraft shot to Mach l.065, approximately 703 mph. Herbert Hoover had become the first civilian pilot to exceed the speed of sound. After engine burnout, he coasted to the dry lake. Despite emergency efforts, Hoover found he could not extend the nose landing gear. He held off on the nose as long as possible, and even though the plane skidded to a stop on the underside of the nose, the damage was slight. On NACA powered flight 11, Herb became not only the first civilian, but the second person to exceed the speed of sound.
He received the Octave Chanute Award in 1948 for "contributions to the application of flight test procedures to basic research in aerodynamics, and the development of methods for scientific study of transonic flight." In 1949, he was awarded the Air Medal "for meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight on March 10, 1948," when he first broke the sound barrier.
Herb flew the XS-1 in its exploratory tests in the transonic and supersonic range and was the flight instructor who trained other NACA pilots (Lilly, Bob Champine, and John Griffith) in the flying qualities of the XS-1 while flying back and forth from Langley to Muroc and maintaining his job as chief of the Langley research pilots.
Hoover lost his life on August 14, 1952, when the B-45 jet bomber he was flying on a mission to test various research instruments tore apart in mid-air and crashed near Barrowsville, Virginia. According to the accident report that was declassified 30-years later, Herb was almost certainly killed instantly when, after ejecting, his body collided in the air with portions of the crumbling plane. The ripcord of his parachute was not pulled. The co-pilot, John A. Harper, escaped with minor injuries.
Joe Cannon a native of Niagara Fall,NY was widely known throughout the American aerospace industry for his activities in flight research and marketing for Bell Aerosystems. He joined Bell in 1942 as a test pilot after civilian flight training at Niagara University and service with the RCAF as a flight instructor. During his 22 years service with Bell, Joe Cannon had flown more than 50 types of aircraft,including the Bell X-1 Rocket research airplane. In addition to his service as a test pilot, he held several upervisory positions at Bell, including manager of flight operations at the B-29 plant in Marietta,Ga from 1943-1945,chief of flight test for the company from 1953 until 1957 and manager of aerospae marketing from 1960 until his appointment as manager of the expanded air-cushion vehicles marketing group.
The Sukhoi SU-47 Berkut made its maiden flight at Zhukovsky on September 25th, 1997, in the hands of Sukhoi's test pilot Igor Votintsev. Igor Viktorovich Votintsev
Billy Odneal was born on November15th1925, in Los Angeles, California. He moved to Great Falls, where he graduated from Great FallsHigh School. After serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II, he returned to complete a degree in applied science from Montana State College. While at MontanaState, he was co-captain of the 1946 fighting Bobcat championship football team, which in 1993 was inducted into the MSU Hall of Fame. He graduated from Montana State College on June 1, 1950, and was inducted into the U.S. Army as a 2nd Lieutenant, receiving the William Galt Memorial Medal.
His distinguished military career included service in three wars, World War II, Korea and Vietnam, where he served as the commanding officer of the 159th Assault Helicopter battalion, a part of the 101st Airborne Division. Billy's numerous citations and decorations included the Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross with bronze cluster, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters and the Army Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters. Billy was a lifetime member of the U.S. Army Aviation Test Board and holds the world speed record in a UH-ID Huey helicopter. As a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP) a highlight of his career came in 1978, when he was a guest speaker at their annual convention in Brussels, Belgium. Billy retired in 1979.
Capt L.P Stuart-Smith joined the RAF in 1940,and flew in Middle East and UK,finising the war in the Pathfinders on Mosquitos. He was recalled to the RAF in 1951,and flew Meteors. He attended the ETPS in 1954,and was a test pilot at Boscombe Down in 1955. He joined Aviation Traders Ltd in 1956 as Chief Test Pilot. He made the maiden flight of the Aviation Traders Accountant and has flown over 55 types.
W/Cdr Chistopher D Beaumont joined the RAF in 1934 and was in Bomber Command until 1937. He wasa flying instructor at the DH School at White Waltham. During the war he was a fighter pilot followed by staff duties. He was seconded to,succesively,Vickers ,Hawkers and Westlands as a test pilot. In 1946 he joined the de Havilland Engine Co as Chief Test Pilot,retiring from there in 1954.
Following several years as test pilot with the Aerodynamics Research Flight at RAE Bedford supporting early flight research on a multitude of aircraft types including SC1, P1127, Kestrel, Avro 707, FD2, Vulcan and the HP115 and BAC 221 slender delta Concorde research aircraft, Clive Rustin was appointed CO of Avionics Research Flight and later OC Flying at RAE Farnborough. As CO of the Fighter & Training Test Squadron at the A&AEE at Boscombe Down he was responsible for the Service Clearance programs & release to service for all fast jet & training aircraft for the RAF, Royal Navy & the Army including: Harrier, Jaguar, Tornado, Phantom, Buccaneer and Hawk plus basic evaluations of other aircraft such as the Saab Viggen.
He has flown over 160 aircraft types, including his post RAF involvement in airships and participation on the display circuit in a variety of old warbirds such as the, Venom, Vampire, Hunter & Spitfire.
L-R Gert Endler (Inspector), Siegfried Hoffmann(Test Pilot) , Roland Woehrl ( P2 flight line mechenic) and Adam Teleki (FTE)
First Flight of MBB BK117
Tiger PT3 (PAH2 / HAC prototype) flown by Andrew Warner and Adam Teleki FTE
HGH Programme ( High Speed Helicopter programme) using a modified Bo105 to explore the limitations of the hinge-less rotor Bo 105 S1 D-HABV shows Siegfried Hoffmann, an airfield guard and Adam Teleki after landing at Hinjohosa-del-Duque in southern Spain, direct from Ottobrunn near Munich. This established a new distance record for Class Id rotorcraft, which still stands today.
Adam Teleki
Wilfried von Engelhardt studied in England between 1950-1952. He was a helicopter Mechanic in Paris (1954) and Holland (1955-1956). He became a pilot in 1955 and joined MBB and became Chief Test Pilot from 1962-1973. He took the Test Pilot course at EPNER in 1966. He made the maiden flight of the Bolkow Bo105. After he ceased test flying he became sales Director and then Director of the Helicopter Training Center at MBB.
Andrew Warner (left) and Etienne Herrenschmidt during the first display of the Tiger at the Paris Airshow 1st Flight of the Eurocopter Tiger 27th April 1991
1st Flight of the Eurocopter EC120 June 1995
1st Flight of the Calbri April 1992
Mort Brown was born in 1908 and even before his early years of grade school, Mort had dreamed of being a pilot. While attending school, Mort could be seen walking to school with an aviation magazine tucked under his arm, begging to be read in a spare moment. In 1927, Brown enlisted in the U.S. Marines for the sole purpose of becoming a pilot. However the Marines had other plans for Mort, so he became a seafaring Marine, stationed in Nicaragua to prevent a political coup in the Banana Republic. Following his honorable discharge in 1931, Mort enrolled at Eddie Martin's School of Aviation in Santa Anna, California, a commercial aviation school. Mort obtained his transport pilot's license in 1933 after completing ground and flight training. He found employment as a flight instructor and utility pilot in San Diego, and later in Denver during the depression. Mort soon met Dwane Wallace, President of Cessna through Ray Wilson's Flying School, which had been established as a Cessna dealership and distributor. Brown was hired as Sales Manager for Cessna in 1938 for the production of the C-38 Airmaster, after its certification. With the development of the Cessna T-50, first twin engine aircraft, Mort was assigned to Chief Pilot of Production Flight Test, which began a long career in aviation. During Mort's nearly 35 years with Cessna, he was responsible for the production flight testing of all production models of Cessna airplanes ranging from the Airmaster, T-50 (civil and military), through the post-war series 120, 140, 150, 170, 172, 177, 180, 182, 185, 188 Agwagon, 190, 195, 205, 206, 207, 210, some early 310's (including the U3A military version), 336, 337, L-19 Bird Dog military, OE-2, and many other civil and military aircraft designed and built by Cessna.
James R. Martinez, Cdr. USNR (Ret.) was born in Ashland, Pa. He was a former naval and civilian pilot and a graduate of the United StatesNavalAcademy with a bachelor of science degree in engineering. James attended naval flight training in Pensacola, Fla and was designated a naval aviator in July 1961. In October 1965, James graduated from the United States Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Md.
Following his discharge from the United States Navy in 1968, he went to work as a pilot with Pan American World Airways for a one-year period. From 1970 to 1987, James was employed at Fairchild Industries in Hagerstown, Md. During his tenure at Fairchild, he served as chief test pilot and director of flight operations. He made the maiden flight of the Fairchild T-46 on the 15th October 1985.
James returned to work for Pan American World Airways in 1987. In 1991, he went to work with Delta Airlines, flying as lead check airman, retiring from the company in 2004.
During his extensive career in flight testing, he flew many varieties of aircraft ranging from rotary wing to supersonic fighters. He amassed more than 20,000 flight hours during his aviation career.
Len Fox is a former US Navy test pilot who has developed a reputation as test pilot for various kit aircraft, including Lancair and Vans. With his keen interest in aerobatics and aerodynamics, he experimented with modifications to his aircraft, which later formed the basis for his completely new design, next generation, aerobatic aircraft, the Chanute.
In October 1999 he made the maiden flight of the Viperjet.
Eduardo Alves Menini Graduated from the BrazilianAirForceAcademy in 1981 as a military pilot, Cpt. Menini served in Brazilian AF fighter squadrons as fighter pilot from 1981 to 1987. In 1988, he graduated from the Brazilian AF Test Pilot School as a Flight Test Pilot.
He worked as flight test pilot for the Brazilian Certification Authority from 1989 to 1993, where he was involved with the certification of several airplanes including MD-11, Fokker-50 MkII, A-310, and Learjet 60. Instructor and Chief of the Brazilian AF TestPilotSchool from 1993 to 1996. Chief of the Brazilian CTA Flight Test Division from 1997 to 1999, he was involved, as test pilot, in test programs concerning weapons compatibility on the Brazilian AF Mirage IIIE. Cpt. Menini Joined Embraer in 2000 to work as a test pilot for the Embraer 170 Program, becoming involved with the man-machine interface design for the Embraer 170/190 cockpit. He was the Project Test Pilot for the Embraer 190 and Embraer Phenom.
Cap. Menini has accumulated more than 4000 flight hours in several airplanes from gliders to large transport and supersonic fighters.
Robert Brush flew with the Army Air Corps in the 30’s; DC-2’s with TWA, then joined Douglas Aircraft in 1939. He became Chief Engineering Pilot in 1944 and was promoted to Director of Flight Operations in 1949. He tested the A-20, DC-3, DC-5, A-26, XB-42, C-74, DC-4, DC-6 and DC-7. He made the first flights on the DC-6, L015 and XB-42. He retired in 1975.
Gerry Smallridge joined Westland as a Mechanical Engineering Apprentice in 1947. On completing National Service in the Royal Air Force, he returned to Westland in 1953 to join the newly formed Flight Test Department. By this time the company was totally dedicated to helicopter design and development. He was involved in the flight test programmes of the whole range of Westland products including: Jet Lift Meteor, Wyvern, Dragonfly, Widgeon, Whirlwind, Westminster, Wessex, Scout, Wasp, Sioux, Sea King and Lynx. Appointed Chief Flight Test Engineer in 1961, Gerry Smallridge played a major part in formulating the way in which helicopters were flight tested, and was also responsible for the integration of the Flight Test Departments when Fairey, Bristol and Saunders Roe became part of Westland, a difficult process, which he handled with sensitivity and leadership. In 1971 he was awarded the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air, and was appointed Sea King project manager in 1977.
Iain Young,Chief test pilot Marshall Aerospace First flight of the TP400 Powwer plant on the Lockheed C-130K Test bed, flown by Iain Young and Mark Robinson. The TP400 power-plant developed for the A400M by EuroProp International (EPI) took to the air for the first time on 17th December 2008 on the Lockheed C-130K flight test-bed. The TP400 is installed on the inner left engine mount of the C-130K which is otherwise powered by three of the usually four Allison T56 turbopropellers. The aircraft took off at 10h44 local time from Cambridge airfield (UK) where Marshall Aerospace, which is conducting the flight test-bed trials, is based, and touched down at 11 h59 local time. The flight lasted one hour and 15 minutes.
Iain Young graduated with a degree in electronics in 1968 and joined the Royal Air Force in 1972. He trained as a test pilot in 1981 at the Empire Test Pilots’ School,Boscombe Down where he subsequently served as Principal Tutor. He retired from the RAF in 1989 to join Pilatus Britten-Norman (PBN), manufacturers of the Islander series of aircraft, as Head of Flight Operations. Following a period as an Inspector of Air Accidents with the UK Air Accident Investigation Branch, he joined Marshall Aerospace as a test pilot and was appointed Chief Test Pilot in August 1999. He holds full civil and military test flying approvals but also has a keen interest in Light Aviation and is a Flight Instructorand Examiner. Iain is Managing Director of Marshall Executive Aviation, former Chair of the Royal Aeronautical Society Flight Test Group committee, Chair of the Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC) Flight Operations Committee, and member of the Farnborough International Airshow Flying Control Committee.
Basil Henry Arkell served with the R.A.F. Coastal Command during World War 2 and later with 529 Rota Squadron. After the war he attained the World Speed Record for Rotary Winged Aircraft while working with Fairey Aviation as a test pilot. On 28 June 1948, flown by test pilot Basil Arkell, the Gyrodyne made two flights in each direction over a 3km course at White Waltham, achieving 200km/h, enough to secure the record.
Identical twins Bruce and Douglas Warren were born in Nanton in 1922. Joining the Royal Canadian Air Force at age 18, they completed their elementary flying training at No5 EFTS at HighRiver. During their training they often flew over their hometown of Nanton. As part of No. 165 Squadron they flew Spitfire fighters on three sorties in support of the Canadian Army at Dieppe, sharing in the destruction of a DO217 bomber.
During 1944, the twins served as Spitfire pilots with No. 66 Squadron where Bruce was "A" Flight Commander and Douglas was "B" Flight Commander. They both had the nickname "Duke" and were known a "Duke Mk I" and "Duke Mk II." Having identical twins as flight commanders on the same squadron was a unique situation. The majority of the pilots could not tell the twins apart but this was no problem as they assumed whoever was giving them orders knew which flight they were commanding. In March, 1945 the identical twins were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross by King George VI.
Following the war, Bruce Warren continued his career with the RCAF. He was an ETPS graduate and was granted 2 years leave from the RCAF to join AVRO Canada to assist in the flight test program of the CF-100. He flew the No2 prototype 18102 but was killed in the crash of that prototype in 1951 when the aircraft suffered an oxygen system malfunction. The CF-100 was the only Canadian designed and manufactured fighter aircraft to see operational use.
He had flown over 2,200 hours on 28 aircraft types.
Harry Phillips was Lieutenant Commander of 845Sqn Fleet Air Arm. He joined Saunders Roe in 1958 as a Helicopter Test Pilot, after the Westland move (1962) he continued with Saunders-Roe division testing Hovercraft and retired in 1971.
Colin Hague joined the Royal Navy in 1962 as helicopter pilot. After completion of his training, he was posted to 845 Commando Sqn flying the Wessex 1 during the Borneo confrontation. Between 1965-67 he flew with 826 A/S Squadron flying the Wessex 1 from HMS Hermes, completeing a Middle and Far East Tour. Between 1968-1973, he served as a Wasp Pilot,Flight Commander on HMS Yarmouth. In 1972 he attended the ETPS. After course completion he became a test pilot at Boscombe Down. He performed initial trials on the Gazelle,Lynx and Seaking. He carried out the first Lynx deck landings and icing trials in Canada. He was awarded the Qeens Commendation for Valuable Services in the Air. He was the Senior Pilot of the first Lynx Squadron, 700L.
He joined Westland Helicopters as a test pilot in 1979 where he carried out development and production test flying on Gazelle,Lynx,Seaking and Westland WG30. In 1987 along with Chief Test Pilot Trevor Egginton, he made the maiden flight of the EH101 PP1. He was appointed Deputy Chief Test Pilot in 1986 and in 1988 became the Chief Test Pilot. He served in the position for the next 15 years, overseeing the development of the EH101 Merlin including first flights of all prototypes, and introduction into service. He carried out the first deck landing trials. In 2003 he was awarded an OBE for his services to Aviation.
Ken Reed served with Imperial Airways before joining the Fleet Air Arm in 1941. Two years later he took a Helicopter Flying Course in the USA and in 1944 a helicopter maintenance test pilots course. He formed No1 Royal Navy Helicopter Flight in 1945 and 2 years later formed and commanded N0705 Sqn. In 1949 he joined Westland Aircraft as Senior Helicopter Test Pilot and in 1951 flew the first British Helicopter Passenger Service between London and Birmingham. In 1952 he joined Saunders-Roe as Senior Helicopter Test Pilot and was appointed Chief Helicopter test Pilot in 1958. He was involved with the SARO SKeeter and P.531. He became the first Helicopter Pilot to be awarded a GAPAN Master Air Pilot (Test Pilot) certificate.
DeHaven was born Jan. 13, 1922, in San Diego. He graduated from North Hollywood High School and attended Washington and Lee University in Virginia until he joined the Army Air Forces in early 1942.
In 1943 he was assigned to the 7th Fighter Squadron of the 49th Fighter Group stationed at Dobodura, New Guinea. According to the Seattle-based American Fighter Aces Assn., on Dec. 10, 1943, DeHaven shot down 10 Japanese aircraft in offensives over Buna, Lae, Markham Valley, Hollandia and Biak islands and officially became an ace, the term used in military aviation circles to designate a pilot who destroys or disables several enemy planes during combat.
During seven days beginning in late October 1944, DeHaven downed four more enemy planes in the Philippines, bringing his total tally to 14.
He received several medals, including the Silver Star with one Oak Leaf Cluster, which was awarded after he saved a fellow pilot whose plane was surrounded by Japanese fighters.
After the war, the handsome aviator was spotted by a talent agent and signed a contract with Columbia Pictures. He made minor appearances in three movies before giving up on acting. He met Howard Hughes, who offered DeHaven a job as his personal pilot and as a test pilot for his aircraft company. DeHaven later rose to director of the flight test division. He retired in the 1980s.
Gordon Gray joined the US Navy in 1942. He was a graduate of NATC TPT Class 13 in 1955. The same year he set a 500km closed course speed record flying the A-4D Skyhawk.
He was involved in the flight testing of S2F,A-4D,F-4D,F-3H,F7U and A3D. After his test tour at NATC he returned to fleet service as an F-8 Crusader pilot. He retired from the USN with the rank of Captain.
Jerry Gentry logged 4,500 flight hours in more than 50 different fighter, trainer, bomber and research planes.
Serving as Chief USAF pilot of the joint USAF/NASA Lifting Body Research Program, he flew the first flight of the X-24A, the second of the HL-10, and he was selected to pilot the first rocket-powered flight of both. Gentry was the Project Pilot for the F-4E performance, stability and control and spin tests. He also tested the M2-F2, F-4C/D, F-104, F-111 and F-5.
Gentry served for five years as the Tactical Air Command fighter pilot before becoming a test pilot and flew more than 200 combat missions in Southeast Aria. Later he held the positions of Director of Operations of the F-15 and F-4E Tactical Fighter Wings, Commander of Red Flag and Commander of the first operational F-16 Tactical Fighter Wing.
Gentry represented the USAF Headquarters as the F-16 Program Element Monitor, Deputy Director for General Purpose Forces, Directorate of Operational Requirements and as Deputy Chief of Staff for Research, Development and Acquisition. He also served as the principal U.S. representative to the NATO Air Forces Armament Group.
A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, who holds an M.S. in Aerospace Management from the University of Southern California, Gentry has received the Silver Star, two Legion of Merits, two Distinguished Flying Crosses and 14 Air Medals.
Boeing XB-29
Boeing 307 Stratoliner
This cachet was flown by and signed by Eddie Allen in the Boeing 307 NX19902 Clipper Rainbow, on the first pressurized flight on June 20, 1939.
Edmund T. "Eddie" Allen, a pioneer of modern flight test and arguably one of the greatest test pilots ever, flew for nearly every major aircraft manufacturer and took some of the most famous planes of all time up for their first flights. His flying and engineering skills were so well-regarded that some insurance companies would insure test flights only if Allen was at the controls.
Allen was born in Chicago on Jan. 4, 1896, and attended the University of Illinois. As a Lieutenant in the Signal Corps during World War I, he served as a pilot instructor and was also assigned to flight testing at McCook Field in Ohio. After the war, he attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and in the summers was chief test pilot for the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics at Langley Field in Virginia.
In 1925, he became an air mail pilot for Boeing Air Transport and also served as a test pilot for the various aircraft manufacturers that made up United Aircraft and Transport Corporation.
In 1934, Allen went to the fledgling North American Aviation and took its first airplane, the NA-16 trainer, on its first flight. As a freelance pilot, Allen contributed to flight testing of the Douglas DC-1 and was the first to fly the Curtiss C-46 Commando, the Boeing XB-15, XB-29, 307 Stratoliner, 314 Clipper and the Lockheed C-69 Constellation.
In April 1939, Boeing gave him a permanent position as the head of the company's Research Division, and direct charge of all flight testing and of aerodynamics and wind tunnel research. Even this permanent position at Boeing did not stop the Army Air Force from borrowing Eddie Allen for the first flight of the Lockheed Constellation.
Allen was not the image of the daredevil test pilot that Hollywood promoted. In contrast, he was very slender, and some described him as frail. He considered himself an engineer as well as a pilot and insisted that the test pilot should be involved in the development of new aircraft and not just in flying them. Allen developed a systematic approach to flight testing and set standards that are the basis for modern flight testing. He also formed a dedicated flight-test and aeronautical research organization at Boeing and insisted that the company develop its own high-speed wind tunnel--an idea that was directly responsible for Boeing being in position to take the leadership in the development of large swept-wing jets.
As the United States became involved in World War II, Boeing was awarded a contract to build the most technologically advanced airplane of the war: the B-29 Superfortress. Of course, Allen was the test pilot.
On Sept. 21, 1942, Allen took the first XB-29 on its initial flight and continued as the program's chief pilot until Feb. 18, 1943. On that date, during approach to Boeing Field, an engine fire led to the crash of the XB-29, which claimed the life of Allen and 10 other crew members.
Allen is remembered not only as an unmatched pilot but also as an outstanding scientist. Losing him was devastating not only to the people of Boeing but to the aviation world. Time magazine wrote: "Eddie Allen, who had no peer in his combination of piloting virtuosity and engineering skill...probably no other man in aviation could be so hardly spared."
Eddie Allen's contributions were recognized with some of aviation's greatest awards, including the very first Chanute award in 1939. In 1942, he was selected to present the prestigious Wright Brothers lecture.
He was posthumously awarded the Daniel Guggenheim award, and The Boeing Company dedicated its high-speed wind tunnel and aeronautical research laboratories to him.
Marshall Headle was born March 21, 1893 at Winthrop, MA. He attended the Massachusetts Agricultural College and graduated with a B.S. in 1913. He served in WWI, learning to fly at Tours, France in 1917 and served as a flight instructor until 1919. His resume tersely cites “misc. flying” between 1920 and 1924 (although the Blue Book of Aviation, 1932 cites him as serving with the U.S. Embassy in Paris, France between 1919 and 1922), and “U.S. Marines” from 1924 to 1929.
Beginning in 1929 he resigned from the Marines and flew for the Lockheed Aircraft Company, succeeding Wiley Post as test pilot. He became Chief Pilot in Charge of Flight Operations in 1930 and served in that capacity throughout the decade.
He made several first flights including the Lockheed YP-38 on the 17th September 1940.
As of mid-1941 he had accumulated 7,200 flight hours and had flown over 300aircraft types. He died May 4, 1945 of a heart attack at Burbank,California.
Frank Murphy was a leading test pilot with Hawker Aircraft, after which he moved on to management, ending his career as an Executive Director at Hawker Siddeley Aviation.
Alan Smith was an ATC Cadet in 1950, joining the RAF thereafter, he flew Meteor NFX1's with 68 Sqn in Germany. He was employed by BAC as a Training Captain (Latterly Chief Training Captain), and flew on quite a few test flights as co-pilot on the BAC 1-11. In so far as Concorde was concerned, it was unfortunate for the training captains that although they got to fly on some test flights, and also received training towards their pilot-in-command licences, there was not enough flight time available for them to complete a course.As British Airways was the only British operator, the first two airline courses were trained by some of the test pilots.(This was particularly hard on Alan Smith and Paddy Cormican who did a tremendous job in writing the simulator and flight programmes, but did not have the satisfaction of qualifying as Pilot-in-command, and taking part in the flying training). In all he has flown 75 types/Mks of aircraft including DC-3,Concorde,BAC 1-11
Floyd Carlson was born in 1917 and died on 9th April 1984. He was a self taught helicopter pilot and the 3rd person in the U.S. granted helicopter rating by the C.A.A. In 1944 he made the first indoor flight in the USA , the second in the world. He was chief pilot and director of flight operations at Bell Helicopter until 1971, when he became special projects engineer.
Jack Zimmerman was the chief test pilot on the Cessna helicopter during it's life span from 1952 to 1963.
Jack Zimmerman grew up in Chicago during the depression and attended the University of Illinois, Champagne, studying engineering and physical education just before WW2. He dropped out of college to enlist in the Army Air Corps; his older brother Carl had joined the Air Corps and Jack's twin brother, Jerry, had joined the Navy. He graduated from flight school in 1943 as a brand new Second Lieutenant, Air Corps, United States Army.
Jack became one of the Army's first helicopter pilots. The Army convened its first class at Freeman Field, Indiana to teach experienced pilots how to fly the new helicopter. Jack was sent off to basic helicopter training.
Following training, Jack was assigned to the Aircraft Repair Unit Floating (ARU-F) out of Mobile, Alabama. The concept of the ARU-F was to create a floating repair facility for Army Air Corps aircraft and use the helicopter as a logistic arm flying parts from ship to shore. The US Army and not the US Navy developed the initial use of helicopters at sea. Some of the Liberty freighters had the small postage stamp landing field near the bow of the ship. Censors deleted all mention of this tiny landing platform during the war due to security reasons. It was believed that the kamikaze pilots might single out the ARU-F's if they knew of the ships mission. The unit went aboard a Liberty Ship, the S.S. Major General Olds, which was manned by merchant marine sailors, commanded by an Army Colonel and had a full machine shop which enabled it to maintain and manufacture aircraft parts at sea or in port.
A typical flight operation could be to deliver a part for B-29s at TinianIsland and Jack flew a photographic mission on Tinian to record the Enola Gay although he didn't know the purpose at the time.
After WW2, Jack worked as a helicopter pilot doing commercial work in various locations including Alaska, prior to becoming a test pilot for Seibel Helicopter and then Cessna. In 1963, Jack went to work as a test pilot for Hughes Helicopters where he retired in 1982 after test work on the new AH-64 Apache. 39 years of test flying, 1943 to 1982
Jack Zimmer.man set many FAI records in the YOH-6A helicopter in 1966 including time-to-climb, distance over a closed course and altitude, several of which are still valid
Malcolm Christison Muir was born at Church Crookham, Hampshire, on September 9 1929, the son of a former pilot in the Royal Flying Corps. He was evacuated to Canada in March 1940 but returned to London in 1943 to be educated at St Paul ’s, where he excelled at sport. In October 1948 he was called up for National Service with the RAF and trained as a pilot, graduating with an above-average assessment; he also won the flying trophy.
On his release two years later Muir attended ImperialCollege , London , where he read Aeronautical Engineering. He joined the University Air Squadron and was commissioned as a flying officer, flying Spitfires and Vampire fighters. On graduation in July 1953 he started at de Havilland as a production test pilot. He also joined No 610 ( County of Chester ) Squadron of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, and flew Meteor fighters at weekends.
Initially he tested Vampire and Venom fighters at the company’s airfield near Chester . Whilst testing a Venom in October 1954, he was flying in cloud when the aircraft had an electrical fault, causing the flight instruments to fail. He was forced to eject.
The aircraft had been fitted with an early model of the Martin Baker ejector seat, and one that had no leg restraint system. When Muir ejected at 400mph his legs and arms flailed, causing both knees to be dislocated and a bad fracture of his upper left arm. He also suffered a serious compression fracture of the spine.
After recovering from his injuries, Muir continued testing de Havilland’s fighters and he also delivered Vampires and Venoms to Egypt and Iraq . In January 1956 he transferred to the engines division at Hatfield, where he carried out many test flights on the new generation of jet engines, including the Ghost and Gyron. At the Farnborough Air Show he demonstrated the Gyron Junior engine and the Spectre rocket engine embodied in Canberra aircraft.
In May 1958 he was seconded to Rolls-Royce to test the powerful Conway engine, mounted on an Ashton jet, and the Vulcan bomber. Six months later he joined the company as a development test pilot, becoming deputy chief test pilot in 1964.
During his time with Rolls-Royce, when he operated from Hucknall near Nottingham , Muir flew many engine test-bed aircraft, in addition to the latest fighters. Muir also flew helicopters equipped with Rolls-Royce engines, and whilst experimenting with landings on uneven ground the Wessex helicopter he was piloting had an engine failure and crashed. He suffered serious injuries to his upper spine and chest.
After returning to flying, Muir tested the Lightning, the Buccaneer (equipped with the Rolls-Royce Spey engine) and the Victor bomber. But in 1967, with 84 different types of aircraft in his log book, he was forced to retire from flying due to the injuries he had suffered during his ejection and helicopter crash.
Muir spent the next 12 years in Rolls-Royce’s marketing department. He was the sales manager ( USA ) for the Derby Engine before retiring in 1987 he was chief engineer in the flight operations department of Rolls-Royce.
Roy Bradley served in the Fleet Air Arm from 1941-1946 flying with 1933 Sqn. After the war he became Chief Pilot at Helliwells until joining Westlands a a test pilot in 1950. Had flown over 68 types.
Mike Fuller started his flying career with the Fleet Air Arm in 1963,specialising in anti-submarine warfare. He qualified as a flying instructor at the Central Flying School and was Captain of the winning team in the 1967 International Search and Rescue competition for the Henry Dunant Trophy. He left the service the same year to join Westland as a test pilot. He was project pilot for the military and civil versions of the Gazelle, and was involved with the overseas icing trials of the Wessex Mk.5. Mike was involved with the development of the Lynx from the experimental stages in 1971 to being project pilot (development and aircrew training) for all overseas contracts which included Netherlands,France,Germany,Norway,Brasil,Korea and South Africa. He was project pilot on the EH101 Merlin for icing trials in Canada and Denmark developing the heated rotor blade system. He was awarded the R.P. Alston medal for services to test flying by the Royal Aeronautical Society in 1985.
Derrick A.S Colvin served with the RAF between 1940-1946 with 64 and 249 Sqn's, commanding 249 Sqn. On leaving the RAF he joined Scottish Aviation as an airline pilot. He first flew a helicopter in 1948 and joined Westlands in 1949. He was involved test flying the S-55
Don Farquharson joined the Royal Navy in 1942,trained in the USA and flew Barracudas. After the war he flew the Firefly and in 1947 graduated from the Central Flying School as an instructor. He converted to helicopters in 1949 and was involved with the introduction of the Dragonfly into the Royal Navy. After loan service with the Royal Australian Navy,during which he was awarded the OBE for rescueoperations in New South Wales flood disaster,he returned to the UK for further service until 1957 when he left the Navy. He continued his flying career with Westland in 1960. He has over 6,000 flying hours,4200 of them on helicopters. He was project pilot on the Sea King/Commando.
Ron R Crayton
L to R: Pilots: Mike Ginn, Ron Crayton, FTEs: Mike Ball, Bob Brookes
Lt Cdr R.R.Crayton.R.N was born August 26th 1922. He was educated at TorquayPreparatoryGrammar School and TorquayGrammar School for Boys between 1933-40 leaving with a Cambridge School Certificate. He joined the Royal Navy in 1940 and was put on the R.N.R. In 1941 he joined HMS Daedalus at Lee on Solent and in November that year undertook 33 pilots course at HMS St Vincent. In 1942 he did his initial flying training at Grosse Isle USA and USN Pensacola Florida. On completion he was posted to HMS Anchusa Flower Class Corvette Atlantic Convoy and then 780 Sqn at HMS Daedalus on a Swordfish Conversion course. During 1943 he served with the following Squadrons: 756,755 and 766 Sqn's at RNAS Worthy Down performing TAG training. In 1944 he was with 768 Sqn at RNAS Inskip on a Night Attack Course then 836Sqn MAC Ships Atlantic Convoys flying the Swordfish.
In 1945 he was with 734,700 and 762 Sqn. H went to RNAS Worthy Down for a Maintenance Test Pilots Course and then to the Test Flight Section HMS Blackcap.
He performed detachment test flying at RAF Edzell, RAF Kemble and RNAS Dale. After the war he attended RAF Great Rissington Central Flying School Instructors Course in 1947 then to RAF Syerston Instructing. In 1950 he was posted to 767 Sqn HMS Heron where he took DLCO’S and Flight Deck Officers Course.
HMS Vengeance. Bats Officer 15th CAG HMS Indomitable Bats Officer 1st CAG CO MFV. Engine Crank Shaft Explosion, engine room fire. Whilst transporting indomitable personnel. Ordered abandon ship. During 1952 he was with 705 Sqn Instructing and in 1953 was with 705 Sqn. During the Dutch Floods he rescued 80+ people. Then to 848 Sqn RAF Kuala LumpurMalaya performing Troop Lifting and Casevac.
In 1956 he became the Senior Pilot of 845Sqn, the1st Dunking Sonar Sqn. He was called into action during the Suez crisis with the1st Marine Assault, where he was badly shot up.
After Suez, he went to MOS Aberporth to perform Radar Trials and in 1958 he went to 701Sqn HMS Daedalus, the Trials Unit. He also went to the Sikorsky Plant in Connecticut, USA performing the 1St Night auto system assessment.
He resigned his Commission in R.N. to join Westland Helicopters as a Senior Test Pilot. As a test pilot with Westland he carried out development work on all marks of S55, Wessex and Seaking. His main projects were the development of auto pilot and stabiliser systems and the development of “1N SYSTEM.” IPN starter system, general engine development and production Test Flying.
He gave Air day demonstrations and flew at the Paris and Farnborough displays. After retirement from flying, he ran the family business until final retirement in 1988.
David Gibbings joined Royal Air Force in May 1949 as an Engineering Apprentice, and subsequently trained as Navigator. In 1955 he joined Fairey Aviation as a Flight Test Navigator engaged in the testing of Air to Air guided weapons.
In 1959 David transferred to the Aircraft Division at Hayes/White Waltham, as a Propulsion Development Engineer, working at the Test bed facility for Rotodyne tip-jets, duties also included flying in Rotodyne as Flight Engineer.Upon conclusion of the Rotodyne programme in 1962 (Fairey now having been acquired by Westland), he was transferred to the Flight Test Department working on Scout and Wasp helicopters and Gannet AEW aircraft.
David subsequently moved to the Flight Test Department at Yeovil in 1964 continuing to work on helicopter and fixed-wing projects. Appointed Project Flight Test Engineer for Lynx project in 1967 and subsequently flew with the prototype on first flight.
Appointed Helicopter Icing Trials Manager in 1977. Appointed Deputy Chief Flight Test Engineer in 1980, and Chief Flight Test Engineer in 1989.
David retired from Westland in 1993.
In 1993, David was awarded The 'Kelly Johnson' Award for Outstanding achievement in the field of Flight Test engineering by the Society of Flight Test Engineers, the first time this prestigious award had been awarded outside the US.
David has continued to work as a Consultant and Aviation Artist since retirement
John W. “Hank” Lankford was born in 1922 at Lynchburg, Virginia. He was a Navy pilot in the Pacific during WWII and was awarded 3 Distinguished Flying Crosses. He graduated from GeorgiaTechUniversity , then was recalled to active duty during the Korean war. In 1954 he joined what was then Chance Vought Aircraft, a predecessor to LTV, in Dallas , Texas as a production pilot flying the F7U-3, 3M and 3P aircraft, the F8U-1, 1P and 2 aircraft. As a civilian, he graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, then served from 1956 to 1960 as an experimental test pilot for Vought. He moved to the Washington area in 1972 as Director of Systems Division of Washington operations. He directed the company’s marketing efforts until retiring in 1983, In retirement, he was President of JWL Associates, an aerospace consulting firm. John passed away in 1990.
Col Stanley Milward Umstead was a native of Fleming Co., KY and entered the service in 1917 graduating from the first Air Corps officer training course; once called the dean of all Army pilots flying 350 different types of experimental planes, from jennies to the first trainer for jets. He was test pilot for the first B19 world's largest military aircraft in the early 1940s. He retired in 1951 and lived on a farm near Dayton, OH.
The first flight of the XB-19 took place from Clover Field in Santa Monica on June 27, 1941 with a crew of seven captained by Major Stanley M. Umstead. On its first flight, it was flown to March Field and turned over to the Army for evaluation. Such was the degree of popular enthusiasm aroused by the XB-19 "Super-Bomber" that President Franklin Roosevelt himself telegraphed congratulations to Donald Douglas for this achievement.
This original piece of mail was on board as the B-19 made its first flight from Santa Monica to March Field on June 27, 1941.
On 26th February 1955, during the production test flight of an F-100A Super Sabre, George F. Smith ejected at over Mach 1 at 35,000ft in vertical dive when stability was lost due to the controls jammed. He survived this fear, despite being quite badly injured. He later returned to flying.
John Moore’s career in aerospace spanned thirty-two years, from WWII fighter pilot to manager of Apollo checkout operations for Rockwell at Kennedy Space Center
He was born in 1923 and joined the US Navy as an aviation cadet during WWII. He flew his first combat missions during the Korean war. As a fighter pilot he served two tours of combat and was severely injured during the first. He eventually landed in the Navy flight test program at PaxRiver and graduated in class IV in 1953.
Assigned to Flight Test, NATC John flew initial carrier suitability tests on four Navy airplanes, including Grumman F-11F. He was project pilot for the Navy’s flexible check landing program at NATC. As engineering test pilot and Chief, Flight Test Projects, Rockwell, Columbus , Ohio , he flew aero and structural test programs on FJ-3, FJ-4, FJ-4B and T2-J aircraft. He was active for 5 years in the development of Navy A3J-1 and RA5C Mach 2 attack and reconnaissance airplanes. John participated in aero, stability and control, electronic and armament development and demo programs on A3J, and RA5C. He performed aero and structural demos on T2B jet trainer, and was Project Pilot on rocket boost FJ-4.
He left active Navy service to enter the employ of North American Aviation as a test pilot in 1957. After many years of experimental flight, he joined North American’s Apollo program and was present for the disastrous fire that killed three astronauts in 1957. At Cape Kennedy , he was Manager Apollo checkout ops, Rockwell, from the establishment of the test team through and launch of nine Apollo spacecraft. He left North American in 1970 and went into business, then ran for and was elected Mayor of cocoa Beach, FL in 1975. He died in 2002.
Daniel Darnell joined the Army Air Corps in 1942 and flew P-38’s in North Africa and Italy.
He was awarded the Silver Star, DFC and Croix de Guerre. After the war he attended Test pilots school at Wright-Patterson in 1948 and was assigned to the fighter test section. In 1950 he joined North American Aviation and was involved in testing the F-86, F-100, B-45, AJ-1 and AJ-2. He joined Northrop in the 1960’s, flying various models of the F-5 and also the T-38, retiring in 1986. He died in 1998.
Ray Tenhoff joined the Army Air Corps in WWII and Ferried fighters & cargo aircraft, he also flew cargo missions in India. Post war he gained a BS Aero Engineering degree in 1949, graduated from USAF Test pilot school in 1951 and from USN Test pilot school in 1953.
He joined Northrop Aircraft in 1949 as an experimental test pilot,flying the F-89 and C-125 and then the CAA in 1958, then joined Convair later the same year. He died in 1960 in a B-58 Hustler accident at the age of 38. He was also the first SETP President between 1956/57.
Joseph W. Ozier was born in Hollis, Okla., in 1924 and began his aviation career as a fighter pilot in the Pacific Theater of World War II. He graduated from Northrop Aero Institute in 1950 and joined Lockheed in 1951 as a productiontest pilot. In 1954 he became an engineering test pilot and was a test pilot for the F-104 Starfighter, the first operational supersonic fighter, manufactured by Lockheed.He flew more hours testing the Starfighter than any other pilot and was considered the fastest pilot in the world when he was tragically killed in 1957 during a landing accident of the YF-104 at Palmdale. He was aged 33
'Jack' Walton joined US Marine Corps in 1944 and served in Pacific theater. He gained a BS Aero Engineering at KansasUniversity 1948 and therafter joined the Douglas Aircraft Company as a design engineer between 1948-1950. He g raduated from US Navy TPS at Patuxent River, Maryland in 1953. He joined Chance Vought as an experimental test pilot in 1952,flying the Cutlass and Crusader. He died of a heart attack in 1973 at the age of 51
F-111B made its first flight at Calverton on May 18, flown by Ralph "Dixie" Donnell and Ernie von der Heyden.
Ernie von der Heyden joined the US Navy in 1941 and flew carrier-based fighters in the Pacific Theatre during WWII. After the war he gained a BS in Aero Eng in 1949. He joined Grumman Aircraft in the same year initially as an engineer and in 1951 became an engineering test pilot flying the F-9F, F-11F and A-2F Intruder. He made the maiden flights of the WF-2, Shuttle Training Aircraft and was co-pilot on the first flight of the F-111B.
Ralph H. Donnell was from Greensboro, NC (thus his nickname Dixie),. He earned a degree in Aeronautical Engineering from NC State, and was hired by Grumman as an engineer. During WW2 he flew P-51 Mustangs, crashing into debris from a Luftwaffe fighter that he had just shot down over Munich. His wing was severed and he bailed out, only to be captured and interned in Stalag Luft 3 for the remainder of the war. Following his discharge, Dixie was rehired by Grumman, but as a Test Pilot. He made the first flight of the Grumman YAO-1AF Mohawk on 14 April 1959 and the first flight of the F-111B flight on the 18th May 1965 alongside Ernie Von Der Heyden
Hugh McLennan Kendall flew with the Fleet Air Arm during WW2, and was involved in air-racing prior to and after the war. He was the Chief Test Pilot for Handley Page (Reading), and as such flight tested many types. He flew the maiden flight of the mamba powered H.P Marathon 2. He was the designer and test pilot for the Somers-Kendall SK-1, Britain's first ever light jet. The maiden flight was made by Hugh Kendall on 8th October 1955. After he ended his test flying career, he joined Shell-Mex and B.P Ltd as technical liasion with the aircraft industry and airlines.
Darrell Cornell was Chief Test Pilot and Manager of Flight Operations at Northrop's Aircraft Division. A former Air Force pilot, Cornell joined Northrop in 1962 and moved to the Aircraft Division's flight test unit at Edwards Air Force Base in 1965. He was appointed Chief Test Pilot in 1980. He was killed on October 1-th 1984 at SuwonAB, while performing a demonstration flight for the ROKAF. The F-20 (N4416T) he was piloting stalled after a series of climbing rolls performed with flaps and gear extended. Cornell was not able to recover the aircraft from the uncontrolled stall. Cornell was also the lead test pilot for the RF-5E Tigereye, a reconnaissance version of the low cost F-5E fighter aircraft. He was an astronaut candidate with NASA in 1963, although he was not selected to join Group 3.
Chris Clarkson with George Errington (left) after flying the prototype Airspeed Ambassador
Chris Clarkson ready to test another Canadian built Mosquito
Christopher Clarkson was educated at LancingCollege in Sussex and had a long career in aviation. He joined the Royal Air Force in 1924 as an instructor at its CentralFlyingSchool, returned to civilian life as a test pilot and won trophies for aerobatics and cross-Channel air races.
In World War II, he rejoined the CentralFlyingSchool but the R.A.F. sent him to the United States to test the warplanes being sent to Britain on Lend-Lease. He became chief of the test branch of the British Air Commission in this country in 1943, rose to the rank of group captain and received the Air Force Cross.
After the war he served as civil-aviation attache in the British Embassy in Washington until 1952. That year he became United States representative of Vickers-Armstrong Ltd., then one of Britain's leading aircaft and arms manufacturers. That led to his position in 1961 as head of British Aircraft Corporation U.S.A., now British Aerospace. He retired four years later.
Harold,"Curley" Custer, son of the inventor Willard Custer. Curley was trained as a pilot by the army in WWII, and did much of the test flights for the Custer Channelwing Corporation. Curley has more time in channelwings than any other man on earth, and the stories to go with the experience. He spent much of his life trying to demonstrate the abilities of the channelwing, and is still an avid supporter.
On 14th July 1971 before an audience of 2,000 people the first prototype G-001 (D-BABA) took off for its maiden flight in Lemwerder flown by Leif Neilsen
Born in Paris in 1922, Max Fischl developed an interest in aeronautics at a young age, a field in which he would devote his entire career to. He did however start his career in the Merchant Navy,learning the secrets of telegraphy.
During WW2 he escaped to Britain and then to Canada, becoming a military pilot in the schools of the RAFin 1945. He obtained a diploma in Flight Testing from EPNER in 1952.
After greaduation from EPNER,he joined Hurel Dubois and then onto SNCASO,which beame Aerospatiale. He flew several legendary aircraft there. Trident,Vautour and the Caravelle. He was appointed Senior Test Pilot at Airbus Industrie and made the maiden flight of the Airbus A300B on 30th October 1972.
During his career,he flew more than 10,000 hours, 6,500 of which were as a test pilot.
Auguste Morel joined the Aéronavale as a student pilot in Great Britain in 1945.
His career began at the delivery and convoy section of the Aéronavale, which he left in January 1952 for the SNECMA engine manufacturer. He got his test pilot licence at the end of a training course at the CEV (Centre des Essais en Vol) in 1953.
His job at SNECMA was to test fly the company engines, and in doing so he flew a large number of different test-bed aircraft (from Meteor to Armagnac , including Dassault fighters). He made the first trial flight of a vectored thrust device conceived by the engineer Jean Bertin, first installed on a Vampire in 1952. At Melun-Villaroche, he specialised in VTO and was at the controls of the “Atar Volant” C 400 P2, on May 14, 1957 for its first flight, successfully demonstrating it at the LE Bourget Salon in 1957. He began testing the “Coléoptère” (SNECMA C 450) on 8th May 8 1959, but on the ninth flight on July 25th 1959 (the aircraft had by then flown about 20 flight hours but hadn’t yet made the transition to horizontal flight) just before attempting transition he lost control. He managed to eject fifteen meters from the ground, but was badly injured. The accident put en end to his test flying career
Test pilot, Patrick Experton worked for Dassault Aviation between 1978 until his retirement in 2002.A graduate of the French Airforce Academy Class of 1962, Patrick Experton was first assigned to the EC Roussillon flying the Mirage IIIE Mirage then to the EC Alsace in Dijon, also flying the Mirage III. He was then transferred to the CEV (Centre D'essais en Vol) in Istres, and then to the USAF Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB, becoming the first French pilot to fly the F 15A Eagle.
He returned to France to the Istres AB with the CEV where he conducted spin trials for the Mirage F-1C.He then commanded the EC3/30 Lorraine Squadron between 1976 to 1978 at Reims Airbase, the first unit equipped with the airplane.
He was employed as a test pilot with Dassault aviation in1978 where he was involved with the development of the Alpha Jet trainer, variants of the Mirage F1 including the CR reconnaissance version. He made the first flights of the Mirage 50 (May 1979) and the Mirage IIING ( December 1982).
From 1980 onwards, he was closely involved with the development of the Mirage 2000 Fly-by-wire.His most significant contribution to the program was his critical role criticizes in the development of the Mirage 2000-5 variant. In the mid 1990’s, he changed to the business jet side of Dassault, being involved in several test programs including the Falcon 900 and Falcon 900EX.Throughout his career, and in retirement, Patrick Experton has maintained strong links with the flight United States test flying community and with the Society of Experimental test Pilots (SETP) in particular.
Hawker Test Pilots:(L-R) David Lockspeiser,Hugh Merewether,Bill Bedford and Frank Bullen
