Wings on My Sleeve: The World's Greatest Test Pilot tells his story

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Because of the special circumstances involved, Brown didn't think that this record would ever be topped. [58] Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown, second right, with other pilots at Farnborough, Hampshire. Photograph: BBC/Eric Brown Paisley University Library Special Collections – Putnam Aeronautical 1997". Archived from the original on 4 March 2009 . Retrieved 4 November 2014. {{ cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown ( link)

In February 1945, Brown learned that the Aerodynamics Flight had been allocated three Sikorsky R-4B Hoverfly/Gadfly helicopters. He had never seen one of these tail-rotor machines, so a trip to Farnborough was arranged and Brown had a short flight as a passenger in one. A few days later, Brown and Martindale were sent to RAF Speke to collect two new R-4Bs. a b c Rawlinson, Kevin (21 February 2016). "Royal Navy's most-decorated pilot dies aged 97". The Guardian . Retrieved 23 February 2016.

10. Brown flew more aircraft than anyone else in history

Test instrumentation on Brown's flight recorded during the oscillations accelerations of +4 and −3g's at 3Hz. Brown described the DH 108 as; "A killer. Nasty stall. Vicious undamped longitudinal oscillation at speed in bumps". [44] All three DH 108 aircraft were lost in fatal accidents. During this period, Brown was asked by Brigadier Glyn Hughes, the Medical Officer of the British Second Army occupying the newly liberated Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, to help interrogate the former camp commandant and his assistant. [28] Agreeing to do so, he soon interviewed Josef Kramer and Irma Grese, and remarked upon the experience by saying that; "Two more loathsome creatures it is hard to imagine" and further describing the latter as "...the worst human being I have ever met." Kramer and Grese were later tried and hanged for war crimes. [29] [30] Post-war career [ edit ] The captured Heinkel He 177 A-5 variant in British markings flown by Brown at Farnborough in September 1944

During the war, Brown’s fluency in German and expertise on aircraft made him valuable in interviewing many important figures, including captured German pilots – gathering crucial information about their aircraft, tactics and training. As a fellow airman, he knew the right questions to ask, consequently gaining invaluable insights. During his flying career, Brown flew 487 different types of aircraft– many of them as a test pilot, when the designs were still mostly experimental and thus potentially very dangerous. (For comparison, today’s test pilots average fewer than 100 flights – any number over 50 is considered substantial).Brown flew aircraft from Britain, the United States, Germany, the Soviet Union, Italy and Japan and is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as holding the record for flying the greatest number of different aircraft. The official record is 487, but includes only basic types. For example, Brown flew 14 versions of the Spitfire and Seafire and although these versions are very different they appear only once in the list. This list includes only aircraft flown by Brown as "Captain in Command". In 1936, Brown’s father took him to see the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, during which Brown witnessed Hitler shaking hands with Jesse Owens. At the time, Hermann Göring had recently announced the existence of the Luftwaffe, and Brown and his father (a former balloon observer and pilot in the Royal Flying Corps) met and were invited to join social gatherings by its members. Not only did Brown not have the benefit of high-tech simulators, but flew the aircraft with the benefit of a slide rule rather than the array of modern computers available today. He was also one of the first test pilots to attach notes to his leg, helping remind him which one he was flying. a b Guinness World Records. "First landing on an aircraft carrier". Guinnessworldrecords.com . Retrieved 14 November 2014.