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.
