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 Defence Research Agency (DRA) at
Bedford and Farnborough on a number of cutting-edge technologies,
specialising 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 rigours 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.
General
Imprint: |
Air World
|
Country of origin: |
United Kingdom |
Release date: |
April 2023 |
Authors: |
Chris Taylor
|
Dimensions: |
234 x 156mm (L x W) |
Format: |
Hardcover
|
Pages: |
280 |
ISBN-13: |
978-1-399-04885-9 |
Categories: |
Books
|
LSN: |
1-399-04885-6 |
Barcode: |
9781399048859 |
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