Eric Brown was a Royal Navy pilot who spent a great deal of his career test flying aircraft. Working in the UK for the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Brown's job allowed him to be involved in parts of testing of a rather incredible number of aircraft. Not only British planes, but those of the United States and after WWII, it involved flying captured German types as well.

His exploits with the various Luftwaffe machines have been covered in a previous book. This one covers a number of WWII and post war types that range from the Japanese A6M to the Bearcat, DH.108 Swallow, Vickers Windsor, SRA.1 jet flying boat fighter and many, many more. In fact, it was the SRA.1 that nearly cost Brown his life when it hit a submerged object on landing and flipped the plane over on its back. That is but one of the many harrowing incidents covered in the book and part of the dangers and excitement of test flying new aircraft.

Within these pages are short history and flying impressions of more than 50 of the 490 aircraft the author has flown. Each is accompanied by photos of the aircraft and in some cases color profiles. Capt. Brown is quite frank on his opinions of various types, with some differing from what most have been led to believe. You may not agree with him, but you cannot deny the thoroughness with which he has done his work. It makes for a superb read and one that I spent many enjoyable hours going through.

Completely updated with additional information from the original, this one is a keeper and a book that I am positive you will very much enjoy. Highly recommended for all aviation enthusiasts.

January 2011

Review book courtesy of Specialty Press, where you can order your copy of this and many other superb aviation and modeling books. Visit their website at the link above or call them at 1-800-895-4585

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