Testing To The Limits Volume 1: British Test Pilots, Addicott to Humble (Testing to the Limits, 1) - Tapa dura

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Ken Ellis is best known for Wrecks & Relics, the biennial 'bible' of the UK preservation movement. He is author or co-author of 12 other titles. Ellis is a member of 20+ aviation societies and groups and holds a private pilots license, flying whenever he can.

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Tentative hops by Edwardian-era pioneers led to the development of a world-class industry. Spearheading this were the test pilots who ventured into the unknown in British-built aircraft for their maiden flights. As well as those that became household names, Testing to the Limits also brings to the forefront many 'unknowns' who risked everything to take a prototype into the skies.

The culmination of a 20-year project, in two volumes Testing to the Limits charts the careers and endeavors of over 400 company test pilots. Inter-related biographies brim with types first flown, incidents and anecdotes, including first-hand quotes. It is the most comprehensive study on the subject ever produced.

From Short biplanes of 1909, the book traverses the abundance of prototypes in the 1920s and 1930s, the advances of World War II from Spitfire to Vampire, the post-war challenges of the sound barrier and the pressures of the Cold War to the supersonic Concorde, the Harrier 'jump-jet' and today's fly-by-wire Typhoon.

Designer-pilots, flight test observers, the Empire Test Pilots' School, the relentless pace of production test, engine test-beds and the origins of the ejector seat, the service test institutions and a glimpse of the future - all aspects of these extraordinary flyers are examined.

Chris Yeo, BAE Systems Typhoon test pilot, provides a foreword to this ground-breaking title which is lavishly illustrated with over 300 photos. Testing to the Limits is not just a tribute to a band of elite aviators it is also a vibrant commentary on the failures and successes of the British aircraft industry.

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Every aircraft program starts with a leap of faith. No matter how sophisticated the technology, the moment the test pilot initiates take-off is one of tension and hope. Since 1910 the British aircraft industry has relied on test pilots to take the dreams of a designer to success on the production line. Over the decades the risks have lessened, but aircrew still pay the ultimate price in the name of progress.

The first flight of a prototype is just one step in a long and painstaking process that puts a fighter into squadron service, or an airliner on its inaugural schedule. Thousands of hours of testing, modifying, validating and perfecting lie ahead. Then it is a case of testing the production line each brand new machine presenting its own challenges before it reaches a customer.

In the 1930s and especially the heydays of the 1950s and the 1960s some test pilots became household names and takes of their derring-do filled the newspapers. There were also tragedies when the nation mourned the loss of a brave aircrew and worried that Britain s position of dominance in design and technology was slipping. Today s test pilots are unsung, going about incredibly complex and demanding tasks on a daily basis, still taking calculated risks and making it all look routine.

In two volumes, Testing to the Limits presents the story of Britain s aircraft industry--its turkeys and its triumphs. It pays tribute to the men who daily push the envelope to ensure that the UK is still at the forefront of aviation endeavors.