The Flight Test Book Review Thread
 

This is the thread for us to post book reviews. For anything like this, we need a few ground rules, so here they are:

(1) Books must have some relation to flight testing. However, this could be textbooks, biographies, histories, technical manuals, even appropriate works of fiction.

(2) There is no maximum length limit, but anything very short is probably unhelpful - say something meaningful.

(3) Duplicate reviews are fine, if you feel that you have something new to say.

(4) If you are the author, you must say so. If this would compromise your PPrune anonymity - create another identity to post the review.

(5) Please start each review with the title, author(s), and (if there is one) ISBN number. If you can, please also include the price and link to somewhere it can be purchased, if it's still in print, or downloaded if it's available online.

(6) If you are going to criticise books (or praise them), back it up with clear reasons, but strong criticism is no reason not to post. Reviews will however be moderated on grounds of over-shortness, illiteracy, irrelevance to flight testing or personal abuse. Those are the only reasons I hope that there should be any need to moderate.

(7) Please don't post discussion about reviews in this thread. Either post an alternative review, or create a new thread for discussion about a particular book.


Needless to say, this post will remain a sticky at the top of the page - please everybody make good use of it.

A posting on this excellent thread is overdue, so I shall begin...

I have just finished reading: Back to the Drawing Board, Aircraft Which Flew, But Never Tookoff, by: Bill Gunston. ISBN 0-7603-0316-9

I just purchased it as a used book, from the Museum of Aviation in Ottawa, but I am certain it was the only copy there, and not in their normal stock. It was suspiciously low priced at $10, worth much more!

I have very much enjoyed it, and recommend it.

It provides brief descriptions of the characteristics of about 90 types of fixed and rotor wing aircraft, from all eras and nations. There are detailed insights as the reasons why the particular aircraft was not a success in it's intended application. In many cases, the failing was design related, and revealed during initial testing. The author's description of some of the simple characteristics which were inadequate, is helpful in furthering the understanding of aircraft and cockpit design. An example of this is a reference to a particular aircraft being difficult to fly, because certain secondary cockpit controls were located on the wrong side, so crossing hands on the controls was necessary, at the least opportune phases of flight. Anyone involved in design and testing would surely appreciate this random insights.

Thanks for the thread Genghis, it's a great idea! I'll have more entries in the times to come...

Pilot DAR

I would very strongly recommend ' Test Pilots - The History of British Test Flying 1903 - 84 ' by Don Middleton, Collins Willow press, ISBN 0-00-218098-7.

The late D.Middleton was a pilot himself, and a very good author - this book is simply the best of it's type I have ever come across by a very wide margin.

It is never over-sensational, while comprehensively covering the story of how Test Flying developed, citing some quite remarkable feats and escapes ( and the inevitable tragedies ) while using them not just to entertain, but to drive home in a slightly understated way just what risks and achievements have been accomplished, both by aircrew and design & engineering staff - along with less successful projects.

The book is out of print, but fairly easily available at the usual places for quite reasonable amounts ( I have given secondhand copies to several people, who seem to agree with me ).

Perhaps an idea of my opinion of it is, if suffering a fire, it would be the first book I would grab to save, and I am constantly referring to it now I'm a museum volunteer !

' Tests of Character, Epic Flights by Legendary Test Pilots ' by the same author, Airlife, ISBN 1-85310-481-7 is very similar, and also very good, inevitably with some duplication - I'd say get both, but if only one, it has to be ' Test Pilots '.

The First Jet Pilot
 

The First Jet Pilot – the story of German test pilot Erich Warsitz, by Lutz Warsitz (his son)
Pen & Sword ISBN 978-1-84415-818-8

This book tells the extraordinary story of how the world’s first rocket and jet-propelled aircraft were built and flown, just before the second world war. Much of it is written in the first person from Erich Warsitz’s notes, backed up by interviews of Erich and other key personnel by his son. Working closely with Von Braun, Von Ohain and Dr Heinkel, Warsitz volunteered to fly the first trials of a spectacularly unstable experimental rocket motor, installed in the rear of a He 112.

Next comes the really scary part of the story: the He 176, which became the first aircraft to fly by rocket power alone in March 1939. Warsitz tells how this tiny aircraft was built around him, with a cockpit so small that he could only operate the switches on the opposite side from his arms. The seating position was semi reclined to cope with the expected G forces, and the cockpit was designed to separate if the pilot needed to abandon the aircraft. The sequence of actions required to separate the cockpit then escape from it by parachute would have required far more altitude than the aircraft ever attained in practice. The aircraft flew a number of short flights from Peenemunde, and was demonstrated to Hitler and his generals, but Udet considered the flights too dangerous and stopped the programme.

Warsitz went on to make the first flights of the He178 – the world’s first jet powered aircraft – in August 1939, just before the outbreak of war. The book briefly touches on Warsitz’s later career. After a spell of instructing, a flying accident and health problems forced him to devote his time to a family engineering business for the remainder of the war. At the end of the war he was kidnapped by the Russians. He refused to cooperate with their work on rockets and jet so suffered harsh conditions in Siberia until his release in 1950. He died in 1983.

The Wrong Stuff, by John Moore
 

The Wrong Stuff is a short read by the late Cdr John Moore, USN.

Moore begins his book telling the story of being on the carrier USS Essex with a Banshee coming in with an emergency. Moore's squadron was flying Panthers and on the straight deck, they had to taxi the airplanes clear for the Banshee to land. Moore was in the cockpit when the Banshee landed long, hot and crashed into the Panthers on the forward deck. Moore was not only burned but tossed overboard into the water 70ft below. He was fortunate. Many did not survive.

Moore writes about flying such machines as the F7U "Gutless" and how the first models were so underpowered, the final turn to the carrier was made with occasional punches of the afterburner (reheat) to maintain speed. In a later chapter Moore writes about landing a Cutlass that has the nosegear collapse. When this happens, the fuselage breaks just aft the cockpit. Moore is tossed forward and with his hands on the throttles, they are slammed into burner. When the fuselage breaks, the throttle linkage is destroyed so the Cutlass is in burner and beginning to move. Moore is able to get out of the airplane before it takes on a life of its own, catches fire and is destroyed. Everyone is sure Moore is dead... but he has once again escaped.

Moore writes about flying Hellcats, Bearcats, Tigercats and is in one of the first Navy units to get the Lockheed F-80 renamed the TO-1. He is an instructor.

He later joins North American and flies the RA-5C Vigilante, the T-2 Buckeye as well as the FJ-4 Fury. He is also around when the fire kills three astronauts in the Apollo program. Like many mid-level managers, he gets sacked in the clean sweep after the accident. Moore died in the late 1990s.

The book is a quick read and Moore's insight to the dangers of test flight, his comments on various machines and his overall view of life makes for a decent read.

published 1997 by Special Press Publishers
ISBN 1-883809-10-x

Failure is Not an Option: Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond

Eugene. F. "Gene" Kranz. (Former NASA flight director.)

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Publishing Corporation,U.S.; Reissue edition (May 2001)
• Language English
• ISBN-10: 0425179877
• ISBN-13: 978-0425179871

Thoroughly absorbing account of the life and times of those involved in the early days of the space programme as related by probably the greatest of NASA's Flight Directors.
Whilst Kranz's book doesn't have the evocative prose and drama of Tom Wolfe's "The Right Stuff" (Which I'm surprised hasn't been posted on here yet!) it does contain a wealth of technical information in an easy-to-understand format.

Reading this book certainly gives you an impression of what it must have been like to have worked on a test flying project of a completely unknown nature. They were all learning as they went along and procedures evolved at an incredible pace.

Kranz takes us through his early days of flying the F-86 and F-100, through his Flight Test days on the F-101 Voodoo project and finally onto NASA and the now legendary Moon landings that marked the culmination of all the effort and hard work of those involved.

Not exactly written like a Dale Brown or a Tom Clancy, but all the better for it.I enjoyed it enormously. Well worth a punt. :ok:

Druid's Circle by Gp Capt H.W (Dixi) Dean A.F.C.

ISBN 0-9523023-3-0

Trained in the halcyon days of the '30s on Tigers, Atlas' and Siskins, Dixi Dean was posted to a bomber squadron equipped with the ludicrous HP Hinaidi and subsequently Heyfords. Specialising later in armaments he found himself at Martlesham Heath as the Second World War broke, as a Weapons Development Engineer.

At the end of Chamberlain's historic broadcast his CO told him to "get into that Blenhiem over there, go low level to Boscombe Down, and say nothing to anyone"...Despite protests that he'd never flown a Blenhiem before he did so, and set a trend that he'd follow for the rest of the war.

There followed a hectic five years taken up with solving the problems of fitting, sighting and operating eight guns into the thin wings of the new fighters, the even harder problem of making canons fit and work in that same space, the endless problems with feed machanisms that were so crucuial to the air war, and the long development of RPs, the unguided Rocket Projectiles that turned the Hurricane into, effectively, a 4 inch artillery battery, and the later Thunderbolt into something resembling a small battleship in terms of hitting power. The triumphs, disappointments, coincidences and miracles that all contributed to the Allied success in the war from the air are carefully documented, as well as the people involved.

All this with constant flight testing of his developments in new aircraft with never a check-out, just jump in, study the "taps" and go straight into a weapons test routine. He flew virtually every type the RAF operated, one engine or four, (and quite a few they didn't, including captured Luftwaffe types) and worked constantly at Boscombe and elsewhere, including a highly successful trip to the USA to co-ordinate the development of his beloved RPs and other weapons, flying all their new types as he went, as well as learning the new-fangled "radio range" system of navigation in corridors called "airways"...He even flew (illegally) on Operations in P47s, splashing Tiger tanks in Normandy to see how his weapons worked in the field!

This is a superbly well written book done with humour and panache, it has enough technical detail to fascinate, but not so much as to baffle or bore. His zest for flying, his family and the Service shines throughout.

This is a highly unusual book, a story of the back-room boys and how they interfaced with the front line. It's not short, 400 pages with notes and Bibliography, but irritatingly no index. It is, however, a ripping good read.

Book on flight testing
 

I am the author of "Homebuilt Aerodynamics and Flight Testing", an introduction mostly intended for aircraft homebuilders or those who perform first flights on experimental aircraft. It covers basic aerodynamics and has a list of flight tests with test cards and descriptions on how to perform the tests and data reduction. There are also examples of how improvements can be made if the characteristics are not satisfactory. Because experimentals come in many configurations, brief descriptions about the most important characteristics of for example flying wings, pushers, canards, seaplanes, gliders, biplanes unusual twins etc. are included.

The book is available in the UK from the
LAA or in the US from my web site www.caro-engineering.com.

30 September 1992

opherben reviewed: It is now available at:
US Navy Flight Test Manual
and if that fails, PM me for a copy.

Helicopter Test and Evaluation, a Qinetiq sponsered book by Alistair K. Cooke & Eric WH Fitzpatrick.

Written by an ETPS flight test engineer and test pilot, with 25 yrs combined experience.

This book is aimed at helicopter test professionals, and in particular offers guidance on the thought processes involved and methods of approach to helicopter flight testing.
Saying that, it is definitely of use to others in the rotorcraft world who are looking for explanations as to why certain systems are designed the way they are and the limitations imposed on them.

The book is in four main sections:
An introduction to methods and aspects of test programmes.
Flight performance, including planning and data gathering.
Handling qualities, stability and control testing.
Systems, their assessment and failure testing.

Throughout, the theory of each topic is briefly explained and then followed up with practical details. These include safety, planning and the most efficient way to conduct the test. Where appropriate, typical test results are shown and explained. Where calculations are made to support these test results, the ‘example’ aircraft is loosely based on the Westland Lynx.

I have used this book as a reference for studies and work many times and have found it invaluable for in depth explanations of such subjects as rotor dynamics, engine governing and AFCS. Very much a book of not only how, but also why.


( Did I pass Genghis ?? You sound like my daughter's literacy teacher :-) )

Hmmm, Genghis has raised the bar! (report writing is my weak point!)

I have just finished "Adventures in the Air", by Maurice Patrick Rose' Meyer. ISBN 9781896582146. I bought it in person, at the local airport to Mr. Meyer's residence. It seems to be easily available at various sellers on the internet.

It is the life story of a flight test engineer, who worked in the UK, and later in Canada. The story goes somewhat beyond the bounds of flying, in presenting many life experiences in growing up as a youth in India, and retirement in Canada.

The core of the content centers on early and intense flight testing of UK types including the Shakleton, Canberra, Seamew, and later the deHavilland Twin Otter, Buffalo, and other DHC exprimental types.

The author goes into great detail in presenting some of his experiences, and provides ample backgorund explanation for the reader. Some of the stories relate to testing in extreme environments (high altitude, for example), and there is certainly enough peripheral information in the story to understand the situation, and put the whole thing in context.

The book obviously describes the life of a person, which includes more than just aviation. Though this may seem somewhat out of place, to the intended audience of those interested in aviation, it none the less draws the reader in to it being a life we are reading about, not just airplanes.

As the stories are presented from the perspective of the flight test engineer, as opposed to the pilot, there is a refreshing perspective. We pilots are reminded that there are other vital duties being carried out, while we are flying, and we are really there to support a team in reaching the objective.

Throughout the book, the stories flow in apparent chronological order, though seem "choppy" from time to time. An event, though correct in time, will be described in apparent isolation to those stories surrounding it.

I enthusiastically recommend this book to people involved in flight test. It will serve as a fine basis for helping one determine if testing is safe and appropriate, and if the depth of investigation is what it should be for the required evaluation. It would also be of particular value to those planning high altitude testing, though I expect that "tribal knowledge" (partly gained during the tests described, I'm sure) is well established amonge those doing such testing at this point.

All in all, well worth the read....

Not a review, but I hope you don't mind, Genghis.

I've just looked at this thread for the first time and in view of earlier comments, I would like to point out that the following PDFs are available from the USNTP Alumni website (http://www.usntpsalumni.org/html/library.html)

USNTPS-FTM-No. 103 FIXED WING STABILITY AND CONTROL
Theory and Flight Test Techniques

USNTPS-FTM-No. 106 ROTARY WING PERFORMANCE

USNTPS-FTM-No. 107 ROTARY WING STABILITY AND CONTROL

USNTPS-FTM-NO. 108 FIXED WING PERFORMANCE

USNTPS-FTM-NO. 109 SYSTEMS TESTING

Review Appreciation
 

I wish to thank PILOT DAR for hid review of my book "Adventure In The Air".
I have published another book called "Project Silver Bullet. The test and development of a futuristic fighter aircraft, that proves it's superiority in battle is the subject matter of this book that reaches out to the future. The books are available on Amazon and ebook distributers (Kindle,Apple iBooks,Soneyband Kobo).

Yes, I was looking at that while I was paying for my gas at Muskoka Airport today. I'll pick one up next time...

In the mean time, I'm overdue with two reviews.....

I am overdue in presenting my review of two more books I have recently enjoyed:

The first is:

"Flight Testing Homebuilt Aircraft" by: Vaughan Askue, 2006, and published by ASA. ISBN# 1-56027-628-2 978-1-56027-628-9

I found this book to be amazing in it's simplicity, yet very effective clarity. It presents the concepts, and relevent elements in a very easy to understand format. It is certainly an easy read, and will be easily understood by any pilot. I would suggest that every pilot should read this book, as it answers some basic questions which come up on PPRuNe from time to time. There is nothing intimidating here.

It covers subjects including:

How to Begin, System Tests, Final Preparations, Taxi Tests, First Flight, Envelope Expansion, Stability, Control, Pitot Static System, Stall Spin Testing, Performance, Engine Cooling, and Conclusion.

There is nearly no math, it's all concepts, and good information which can be practically applied in testing, and any flying anywhere just outside the mainstream of straight and level. The reader will recognize the description of many features we see on aircraft, and come to understand why they are there, and their affect on the flight of the aircraft.

I recommend this book because it can be understood by, and will interest every pilot.

Secondly, I will recommend;

FLight Testing Of Fixed Wing Aircraft, by Ralph Kimberlin, 2003, and published by American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronatics, ISBN 1-56347-564-2.

This book was provided to me during a flight test and performance course I took earlier this spring.

This book is the serious heavy math book, which handles all of the aspects of propeller (and some jet) fixed wing flight test. It certainly centers on the numbers and formula of flight test, with an emphasis on performance.

This book is not for the entry level pilot, and will bog down quickly if the reader does not have a good foundation of flight test analyisi.

That said, there is a lot of great information in there. The order of the information presented is great, and it is kept in context by the appropriate FAR standard being reproduced for clarity, in context.

A negative aspect I found was the extensive use of symbols. Though they are all quite appropriate, it does require a review frequently to determine what it stands of. Also, some symbols seem to change meaning chapter to chapter, where others do not. That said, if you could master all of this, you'd probably have it all well in hand. I did not!

I was given specific instruction in certain techniques, which are described in this book, and the book re-inforced well what I had been taught.

This is a book for a much more select audience, but I'm sure a mainstay of propeller powered flight test techniques.

a book about the lives of two test pilot bros who flew for rolls/royce
at hucknall ,,, MEN OF POWER,, harvey and jim heyworth i recomend this book to all aircraft fanatics ,

Jolly good. Are you going to review it?

Straightforward Flight Test Reading
 

Pilot DAR's entry by Askue sounds very similar to the trustworthy FAA Advisory Circular AC90-89A and follow-on editions, which is aimed at the homebuilder flight testing a kit or even a new design. It generally assumes that the equivalent of "developmental testing" has been completed and the builder is doing something more like "production flight test", but it even goes into the mechanics of flutter and how to detect or prevent it. Bottom line: It covers all the important subjects in an easy-to-understand "dirt farmer" style, and the price is definitely right, since you can download the PDF from the FAA web site for free.

ML Aviation Ltd - A secret world
 

Ml Aviation Ltd -a Secret World by Carter Graham: Keyham Books, Cippenham 9780952771562 Paperback - Baggins Book Bazaar Ltd


More a document of historical record/ interest than a technical study but actually makes for very light reading which is actually enjoyable, especially since it gives a (for this reader anyway) very fresh perspective on the origins and development of the British ejection seat, the accident that claimed the life of Wimpey Wade and a host of other projects and programs that the company engaged in.

Very interesting reading and surprisingly (given the book was published in 2006) that I think you'll find many things are written about for the first time.

The quick and the dead - the perils of post-war test flying
 

Its an old book written in 1955, first published in 1956 although re-printed more recently by Grub Street.

Through the excellent archives at Flight you can read what was made of the book here:-




javelin | folland aircraft | 1956 | 1033 | Flight Archive




westland widgeon | 1956 | 1057 | Flight Archive


It certainly made an impact at the time and I'm not sure anything has been written quite as candidly since.

I'm sure Waterton needs no introduction here but he was Chief test pilot for The Gloster Aircraft Company, working for the company from 1946 until 1954 (becoming chief test pilot in 1947). The book focuses upon three aircraft that Waterton was heavily involved. The Gloster Meteor, Javelin and also the Avro CF-100.


The timing of the book probably best explains its tone which has been written with the heart on his sleeve. It certainly gives the impression that for reasons not made obvious in the book Waterton was clearly not fully respected at Gloster and one suspects that he was unable to play the political game very well. A man whose first loyalty was to his fellow pilot he seemed very comfortable at going around the company directly to the customer (in this case the ministry of supply) to make his feelings known. No doubt this played its part in the destruction of the relationship.

In the end one can't help feeling an element of sadness at the way you can see the endless bridge blowing coming to its obvious conclusion, and I'm not sure if Waterton really saw it coming. Certainly when the company finally let him go I don't think that was the outcome he wanted but sadly it was a situation impossible to recover from.

A very interesting period and from a unique perspective in that it was written by a man who had resigned himself not to work in the industry again and so to hell with the consequences!

I have recently read the book: Initial Airworthiness, Determining the Acceptability of New Airborne Systems, by Guy Gratton.

I found it to be an excellent gathering together of the various aspects of aircraft design, certification and testing. This is certainly a "must read" for students of aircraft design, and those who intend to flight test an aircraft.

Each of the important areas of design and certification are discussed, though some at an introductory level (as I'm sure the author intended), and much more detailed study would be possible, should the reader wish to pursue a specific topic.

The reader will finish the book with many of those "why do they do it that way?" questions answered, yet an appetite for more detail too. The book does not center on any particular class of aeroplane, but rather discusses airworthiness aspects of a broad range of aeroplanes, which further helps the reader appreciate differences to be considered.

The author provide numerous "side bars" to explain associated factors, and fill in the background of some information.

Lots of reference information and tables are provided, which will make the book a good reference book for future work, rather than a one time read. I cannot think of another aeroplane design or flight test book I have read which draws together important information as well as this book does.

I highly recommend this book!

igo2fly, if you would like to start a thread here with your question, that would be fine. Your question was not a good fit in the flight test book review thread.

Pilot DAR

I've read part one and have only just gotten my hands on part two, but Ken Ellis' "Testing to the Limits" deserves a mention if you ask me:
Testing to the Limits: British Test Pilots Since 1910 - volume 1, Addicott to Humble

Testing to the Limits: British Test Pilots Since 1910 - volume 2, James to Zurakowski

This seems to be the first book (or rather books) to cover the many test pilots that supported the British aviation industry. It includes short (and some longer) biographies of all mentioned pilots but also a few longer articles about the changing role of the test pilot throughout the years. Ellis has included all the pilots who either performed the first flight on a type or who gave their lives in the course of their work. That obviously means that not everyone is included, many production test pilots had to be left out for example, but this is still a very comprehensive book. It is also extensively illustrated to show the many different types flown throughout the years.

I saw this article linked elsewhere, and thought a post here would be appropriate. It describes the book: Initial Airworthiness, Determining the Acceptability of New Airborne Systems, by Guy Gratton.

https://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net...0c&oe=58B1239E

A couple more good reference books with lots of info that may interest people in Flight Test are....

1) British Prototype Aircraft by Ray Sturtivant ISBN 1-85648-221-9
2) The X Planes - X1 to X31 by Jay Miller ISBN 0-517-56749-0

Both books are of the "table top reference" type with lot's of photographs, flight records and incident records.

(ps) note for Pilot DAR,..... Maurice Rose'meyer (who's books you mentioned above) celebrated his 90th birthday on the 22 Sep 2018

Welcome Flt Tester,

I hope that Maurice is doing well. I have never met him, though a number of my DHC friends have told me many stories about him!

Surprised no one has mentioned this, but 'Wings on My Sleeve' by Capt Eric "Winkle" Brown (ISBN# 0-753-82209-1) is a highly recommended read. While necessarily light on technical detail as it is an autobiography, it does give insight into his approach to test flying.

Wings on my sleeve is a fantastic book, Eric Brown holds the world record for the number of aircrafts that he tested, fluent in German too. it is an autobiographical in nature but a very good read

My recommendation is 'Sigh for a Merlin' by Alex Henshaw. I found this book quite interesting.

An interesting book I came across recently, that I think in historical circles is well regarded, but isn't known in flight test circles is this one.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....eb09deb606.jpg
Meager is an interesting chap - he seems to have spent much of the later years of the development and flight testing of big British airships as No.2 to many of the great flight test captains such as Irwin and Scott. His recall of detail is impressive, and his descriptions really do put you in the middle of these huge and remarkably modern flight test programmes. He also knew a lot of the big names that we can only know from history books - Nevil Shute Norway being one who particularly interested me.

It's out of print, but second hand copies seem quite easy to get hold of. I imagine anybody who is actively involved in large airship testing already knows it, so for the rest of us really it's leisure reading - but extremely interesting for all that. I'd strongly recommend it - and certainly I think that flight testers will see far more into the book than most historians will, and as such alone it's worth us reading it.

G

Wings on my sleeve
 

Ah..........Gerry Gallagher......the spin doctor. Anybody lucky enough to have flown with him in the T2 at TPS has come to a first hand association with the vaunted 3 axis coupled departure spin entry.
Flying like that is about as much fun as a pilot can have outside of possibly sex with a grizzly bear after drinking 23 straight afterburners made with Jeremiah Weed!
:-))))))))
Dudley Henriques

I enjoyed Brown's book immensely, but wished it had been longer, as I am sure there were more interesting tales to tell.

It appears those tales, or at least some of them, are probably available to read now, in a new book about Winkle Brown.

by Paul Beaver (published June 2023)

"Now, drawing on previously unseen documents and unfettered access to Winkle's own personal archive, Paul Beaver uncovers the complex and enigmatic man behind the legend - the real story of Britain's greatest pilot.

A story Winkle insisted could only be told after his death . . ."

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....35dcb48bce.jpg

Ah...Winkle! One of my favorite all time people.
Some years ago I was working with long time friend Gen Des Barker of the SAAF on two books, "Zero Error Margin" and "Anatomy of Airshow Accidents".
Back engineering one of the accidents involved in our research involving prop overspeed in a dive I ended up becoming friends with Winkle.
What a wonderful guy he was. It was 2009. Eric at that time was 90 years old. I can tell you talking with him revealed in a heartbeat he was sharp as a tack and still smart as a whip. We became friends and I simply loved the guy.
What a history he had. I had flown 72 different types. Winkle just laughed. He lost count of the types he had flown. :-)))
Over time we really got into some of the testing he and others had done at Farnborough, especially the high mach number dive testing they did in Spits.
I knew that Herb Fisher here in the states had done high speed dive testing in modified P47's and Eric was aware of that.
Naturally I was interested in just how far they got into the transonic region with the Spits as I saw no way in hell you could get into the 0.90 region with a prop fighter as had been postulated by some here in the states. Eric agreed. He had gotten into high mach areas with a Spit but the prop was of course always the issue. They tried everything they could think of to get into higher mach numbers. They tried special props and different propeller settings and dive entries. Naturally nothing worked. This is why no prop fighter has ever broken the sound barrier.
It was interesting about the incident that Eric told me was in his opinion the absolute fastest dive ever done in a prop fighter.
It was done on the 27th of April 1944 when Squadron Leader Martindale who was at the time heading up the high speed flight test program took a Spit X1 from 40K out to mach .92. On trying to recover at 28K the overspeeding Rotol propeller departed the aircraft taking the reduction gear with it. The Spit took +11g's and when Martindale recovered consciousness he was back up at 40K. He managed to get the gear down using the emergency system and landed without further incident. This incident and the speed achieved that day by Martindale remains the fastest speed in a dive ever achieved by a propeller driven airplane.
Winkle told me they never achieved a speed over .88 without a prop over speed.
This is just a sample of Eric's life and work environment. I considered Winkle one of the finest pilots of any nation of all time, a great guy, and a wonderful friend.
Dudley Henriques

I Had the pleasure of chatting with Des over lunch, during a flight test symposium here in Canada a number of years back. He was a presenter, and sure taught me a few things those days! He was a wealth of wisdom! Of particular interest (and coincidence!) was that he regularly flew the Patchen Explorer owned by the museum. It was a one of a kind airplane, derived by Dave Thurston, from the Teal amphibian. It had the 180HP engine installation, which was derived from the TSC-1A3 Teal III design. I own the TSC-1A3 prototype (which was never put into production), which I fly regularly. It is a standard Teal with the same engine and pylon arrangement as the Patchen Explorer. I understand that the Explorer had engine problems while Des was training another pilot in it. If the Explorer is anything like my modified Teal, the glide is poor, requiring regular practice to make decent power off landings. I was very saddened to hear of Des' passing in that accident, he was obviously a very talented and knowledgeable pilot, and just nice person!

Thank you very much for the nice words about Des. I knew Des for 20 odd years. He was one of the finest human beings I have ever known.
He was with Rama Iyer in the Explorer on final Swartkop. We will probably never really know exactly what happened.Both were excellent pilots. Whatever it was I have absolutely no doubt it happened quickly and was beyond their ability to save the airplane.
ICAS released Des' last book (Anatomy of Airshow Accidents) that he and I (and others) worked on so hard and for so long. I spoke with John Cudahy after Des' death and through John's efforts ICAS created an award for work in flight safety that is awarded every year to the most deserving person. Des would have liked that. I know when ICAS told me about it it made me feel better. Des' work in flight safety has in my opinion saved many lives and I am comforted knowing that his peers chose to recognize him in such a way as this.
Again, thank you for sharing your memory with me. I deeply appreciated it.
Dudley Henriques

Yes, Des made a very memorable impression upon me! He gave an excellent presentation which essentially was "You're a test pilot, so you're going to also be asked to demonstrate the airplane at airshows, here's what you need to think about.....". Though I have very rarely needed to demonstrate during an airshow, I certainly embrace his wisdom. I was a jump seat passenger on the DHC Buffalo during the Farnborough airshow in 1984 two day before the accident flight there. As I worked with the pilot, Bill Loverseed, to bring the event into greater understanding, I could see the pressures to demonstrate well, and be safe. Bill was very experienced at air demonstration, having been a Red Arrows team leader, and I understood the unusual capabilities of the Buffalo, and demonstration pressures, which led Bill into a bad situation. Des' presentation really connected with me.

I never saw the Patchen Explorer, but Des and I discussed it, and some of it's characteristics. I had ten years of flying the modified Teal at that time, including the original design approval test flying, and understood some of it's quirks. I ended up buying it, and still fly it. From the aft cabin bulkhead back, the explorer, and my Teal are the same plane. I know that Des understood it well, though he perhaps had less opportunity to get to know it's quirks, as I think it did not fly often. In the case of an engine failure, it glides, but stretching a glide is out of the question, thinking "autorotation" approach is better, their sink rate becomes troublesome when they slow. Des may have been caught out by a high rate of descent, which could not be arrested, which would not be the first time for a Teal!

Des will always remain one of those people I think of with a warm thought, as having added to my wisdom and safe thinking about flying!