The subtitle 'Surviving crash landings and emergency ejections: from fast-jets to heavy multi-engine aircraft' really does sum up this, the author's autobiography. When you've finished reading, you'll have to agree that he truly did 'do it all' and, better, that he relates even the most dramatic of the events that befell him in a perceptive, self-deprecating and totally engaging way. Burrows started his front-line career as an RAF pilot at Khormaksar, Aden on the Hunter, where he experienced his first 'Martin-Baker let-down' after an engine failure. His account of this ejection is as vivid and descriptive as any you'll encounter. Most of his flying, though, was as a test pilot, starting with an exchange posting to the US Naval Test Pilot School at Patuxent River, Maryland, where he had the misfortune of having to eject from an A-4B Skyhawk. There followed four tours. at Boscombe Down, ending up as superintendent of test-flying and training. Needless to say, during his time at Boscombe he flew pretty much every type the RAF had to offer. At the conclusion of his text, he reflects on the importance luck has played in his career.
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