One of the UK’s greatest test pilots,who took part in the Battle of Britain and flew 487 types of aircraft between the 1930s and the 80sIn the jet age, the period of time when technology could be heroic, and Eric Winkle” Brown,who has died aged 97, was the archetypal test pilot. He never achieved the celebrity status that was afforded some of his friends and contemporaries in the 1940s and 50s. Indeed, and he was not the first pilot to outlive the sound barrier,or be a martyr to tall-speed flight, nor be a holder of the world air speed record. But Brown was a flier of extraordinary skill and versatility, and one of those people whose attention to detail,powers of improvisation and raw courage transformed aviation.
Between the late 30s and the 80s, Brown flew 487 types of aircraft, and more than any other pilot has flown,or is likely to fly, in history. He made a record 2407 aircraft carrier landings and was the most decorated pilot in the Fleet Air Arm (FAA).
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Source: theguardian.com