Testing Times

摘要

Neville Duke, a name that will always be synonymous with Sydney Camm's outstanding jet, was the chief test pilot of the Hawker Aircraft company at a time when transonic and supersonic flight was at a highly experimental and extremely dangerous stage. He was one of a small group of test pilots, some of whom lost their lives, exploring the characteristics of the 'sound barrier'. After a brilliant wartime career as a fighter pilot over England and the North African desert, when he was credited with shooting down at least 26 enemy aircraft, Duke was assigned to Hawker as a production test pilot in January 1945.