Alis on

摘要

The Curtiss-Wright people were not happy with their prospective test pilot.The firm was about to show off its P-40 Warhawk on a wintry day in late 1940 to some important customers-officials from the Chinese government of Chiang Kai-shek. Accompanied by their American advisor, Claire L. Chennault, the Chinese were shopping for aircraft for what would become the famous American Volunteer Group, the "Flying Tigers." The US Army Air Corps had dispatched a P-40 and a young pilot to Boiling Field in Washington, D.C., to put on the show. But the pilot, a lieutenant by the name of John Alison, was on the short side. "I wasn't a very impressive looking officer," said Alison decades later. The Curtiss-Wright reps wondered if their company's own pilot could take over the flight. But Boiling officials said the switch would be too much trouble. So Alison taxied to the end of the runway, turned into the wind off the Potomac River, and flew two minutes of aerobatics so astounding they became service legend.He retracted his gear by the time he passed the reviewing stand. Boosting the engine past its recommended limit, he pulled the aircraft straight up and over in an Immelmann Turn, which left him roaring back in the opposite direction. Coming back toward his observers, he did a slow roll, cut power, and pointed his right wing tip directly at the Chinese and Chennault.