One of America's most daring and accomplished test pilots, Tex Johnston flew the first US jet airplanes and, in a career spanning the 1930s through the 1970s, helped create the jet age at such pioneering aersospace companies as Bell Aircraft and Boeing.

On December 22, 1964, at a small, closely guarded airstrip in the desert town of Palmdale, California, Lockheed test pilot Bob Gilliland stepped into a strange-looking aircraft and roared into aviation history. Developed at the super-secret Skunk Works, the SR-71 Blackbird was a technological marvel. In fact, more than a half century later, the Mach 3-plus titanium wonder, designed by Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson, remains the world's fastest jet. It took a test pilot with the right combination of intelligence, skill, and nerve to make the first flight of the SR-71, and the thirty-eight-year-old Gilliland had spent much of his life pushing the edge. In Speed one of America's greatest test pilots collaborates with acclaimed journalist Keith Dunnavant to tell his remarkable story: How he was pushed to excel by his demanding father. How a lucky envelope at the U.S. Naval Academy altered the trajectory of his life. How he talked his way into U.S. Air Force fighters at the dawn of the jet age, despite being told he was too tall. How he made the conscious decision to trade the security of the business world for the dangerous life of an experimental test pilot, including time at the clandestine base Area 51, working on the Central Intelligence Agency's Oxcart program. The narrative focuses most intently on Gilliland's years as the chief test pilot of the SR-71, as he played a leading role in the development of the entire fleet of spy planes while surviving several emergencies that very nearly ended in disaster. Waging the Cold War at 85,000 feet, the SR-71 became an unrivaled intelligence-gathering asset for the U.S. Air Force, invulnerable to enemy defenses for a quarter century. Gilliland's work with the SR-71 defined him, especially after the Cold War, when many of the secrets began to be revealed and the plane emerged from the shadows--not just as a tangible museum artifact but as an icon that burrowed deep into the national consciousness. Like the Blackbird itself, Speed is a story animated by the power of ambition and risk-taking during the heady days of the American Century.

Afprøvning af erobrede flytyper (Beuteflugzeugen) i det tidligere Luftwaffen-Testzentrum, Rechlin, under 2. verdenskrig. Forfatteren virkede endvidere som testpilot på mange af Tysklands egne nyudviklede fly. Fløj ialt 125 forskellige flytyper.

Stanley H. Kaplan's uniquely effective teaching methods and his curiosity about a mysterious new test caused his tutoring business to grow at breathtaking speed from a modest Brooklyn operation into a global enterprise.

In 1961, pilot Robert M. White flew a hypersonic rocket-powered airplane six times faster than the speed of sound and higher than 300,000 feet above the Earth's surface. This is his story. Tracing his childhood on the rough streets of Manhattan during the Depression, his years as a pilot and POW during World War II, his service in Korea and Vietnam and his rise as an experimental test pilot in the Air Force, this autobiography is a testament to the role of persistence and excellence in the life of a man whose aeronautical feats are now legend. It is the portrait of an extraordinary man in pursuit of the American dream and a glimpse into a remarkable time in America's aviation history.

An elite test pilot recounts his life on the cutting-edge of aviation, flying everything from homebuilt airplanes to helicopters and fighter jets. Over his long career as a licensed Category 1 test pilot and flight test instructor for both airplanes and helicopters, Chris Taylor has flown an astonishing 400 different aircraft. He is arguably one of the best qualified and widely experienced test pilots in the world. Now he shares the literal ups and downs of aviation testing, putting readers in the cockpit. Chris began his service flying career with the Royal Navy, piloting Wasp and Lynx helicopters from warships around. After five years instructing, he became a test pilot flying experimental aircraft for research and development purposes, before returning to the Empire Test Pilot’s School as a tutor. Having served at Boscombe Down for 10 years, he joined the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority as an airplane and rotorcraft test pilot. With the closure of the CAA’s Flight Test Department, he went on to form his own company and has continued to test fly a wide variety of aircraft ever since. In this eventful memoir, Chris covers general aviation aircraft, including testing homebuilt airplanes, helicopters and autogyros. He also discusses testing ex-military jets and warbirds such as the Fieseler Storch, Sea Fury, Spitfire and the Mustang.

Test pilots - dashing and courageous young men or foolhardy gamblers? In this fully illustrated book written by the producer of the BBC1 television series of the same name, we follow the ups and downs of a group of trainee test pilots at Boscombe Down in Wiltshire. Beginning with the exacting selection procedure, we discover what personal and professional qualities a pilot needs in order to become a test pilot. Only six UK and twelve foreign students are chosen each year and, once selected, the pressure on them steadily mounts. As the students learn to push each aircraft's performance to its limits they, too, are being mentally and physically stretched further than ever before. Training is given on both fixed - and rotary - wing aircraft and by the end of the course each student is fully conversant with the different techniques necessary to fly each type. They learn how to recover safely from spins, how to cope with sudden failures of equipment in mid-flight and how to land an aircraft with no power. All the time, they are assessing each aircraft's capabilities and the scope of the on-board technology. The final part of the course is the 'preview exercise' when every student is required to evaluate an aircraft he has never flown before and to make a formal presentation to his tutors and examiners. Using a number of remarkably frank interviews with students and tutors, Brian Johnson explores the process of becoming a test pilot and reveals both the stresses and successes of the year. The RAF has given its full support to both the book and the television programmes and thus has enabled Brian Johnson to produce a unique and authoritative account of the training for one of the most responsible and exciting jobs in modern aviation.

Flight testing experimental and new aircraft is one of the worlds most hazardous occupations. A test pilot requires the skills of a flying ace whilst maintaining the self-control and mental discipline of a scientist. They are a rare breed, carefully selected for their experience and intelligence let alone their bravery. This book contains a series of exclusive, fascinating anecdotes written by some of the world's best, flying iconic aircraft during the extensive experimental flights that must take place before a type can enter service. Each story is a unique insight into these modern day technological explorers. From Concorde to the Phantom jet, Spitfire to the U-2 spy plane.

Chris Taylor has had a very successful career as a Royal Navy officer, helicopter pilot, test pilot, instructor and as an internationally acclaimed civil certification test pilot. His first book, Test Pilot, concentrates on anecdotes and incidents from the most recent phase of his career. This book is the prequel and is his account of his ten years’ service as an experimental test pilot, from 1994 until 2004, at MoD Boscombe Down, the UK’s tri-Service home of military aircraft testing and evaluation. In this book, Chris explains what led to his passion to be a test pilot and how, with tenacity, he plays the cards he was dealt as well as he could. The story captures the difficulties and challenges associated with being selected for the single annual place at the Empire Test Pilots’ School (ETPS) and the dedication required to then complete the very demanding twelve-month course. Chris was one of only three helicopter experimental test pilots posted to the Experimental Flying Squadron (EFS). It was there that he worked with scientists from the defense Research Agency (DRA) at Bedford and Farnborough on a number of cutting-edge technologies, specializing in ship/helicopter interface testing. In addition to flying the Westland Wessex, Lynx and Sea King, Chris was able to act as an evaluation pilot in the Hunter, Jaguar, Andover, Hawker Siddeley HS748, and the Comet. During his time as an active test pilot, EFS was merged into three platform squadrons which gave Chris the chance to play a full part in conventional ‘release to service’ activities in a wide variety of rotorcraft. Asked to take on the role of a flight test instructor (FTI), Chris served at ETPS where he made sweeping changes to the syllabus, acquired a new helicopter type and had to deal with a number of students who could not cope with the rigors of the course. In his first year he suffered a ‘flame out’ in a Hawk jet, an engine failure during his first flight in the twin-engine Basset and crashed the school’s Westland Scout helicopter– all of which are fully discussed. Following four successful years teaching helicopter flight test, Chris was recruited to manage the ETPS short course portfolio. This required the design, sale and delivery of numerous flight test courses, while also introducing innovative teaching methods and the use of civil registered aircraft. In this new, exciting and rewarding role Chris taught both fixed wing and rotary wing students and the book explains the difficulties of learning the additional skills and flight test techniques required of a fixed wing test pilot. This autobiography explores the military flight test career of an individual who is arguably one of the best qualified and most experienced test pilots working today anywhere in the world.

Speed depicts the life of Bob Gilliland, an accomplished pilot and principle test pilot for the SR-71 Blackbird, and his journey with this record-breaking aircraft that helped win the Cold War.