“Flight Testing to Win” by Tony Blackman Is a Book About Test Flying, Flying with Howard Hughes and More
“Flight Testing to Win” by Tony Blackman Is a Book About Test Flying, Flying with Howard Hughes and More
(PRWEB) November 21, 2005
Tony Blackman has written a wide ranging, well illustrated book about aviation which will appeal to all aviators and would-be aviators, experts and non-experts. The book gives a non-technical insight into flying and test flying but ensures that the reader understands the underlying issues. At the end, the book highlights the current problems of safety and also the conflict between preserving the environment and mass air travel.
The book covers all Tony Blackman’s working life which was dedicated to aviation. The book starts by describing learning to fly but rapidly goes on to squadron flying in the Royal Air Force and learning to be a test pilot at the world famous Empire Test Pilots School. Tony Blackman went on to be an acceptance pilot for the V bombers before he was asked to join Avro’s where the fabulous Vulcan delta bomber was made.
Tony describes developing this amazing aircraft and, amongst other things, doing aerobatics at the Farnborough Air Show. Development work is described including automatic landings and the Douglas Skybolt missile. As Chief Test Pilot he ensured that his team realised that safety cost money, that an aircraft could be ‘too safe’, meeting the requirements was safe enough.
Avro’s started to make the Avro 748 to replace the DC3 in the third world and Tony describes in detail the development of the aircraft and how the aircraft was sold worldwide, with fascinating stories of demonstrations and analysis of accidents.
There is a full description of flying with Howard Hughes during the summer of 1973 when Hughes was in London. Tony was the first project pilot of the HS146 and during the flying he was trying to get Hughes, as sole owner of Hughes Air West, to consider purchasing the airplane as the launch customer.
Tony joined Smiths Industries Aerospace Board when he stopped flying and applied his expertise to selling modern digital avionics to the airlines and also to managing some of the development programmes when they got into difficulties. He describes some of the ethical difficulties in selling worldwide.
When Tony retired from Smiths Industries he was invited to join the Board of the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority and he discusses the problems with the development of the Swanwick Air Traffic Control Centre, the privatization of the National Air Traffic Services and the impact of Europe on safety regulation in the UK.
The last chapter of the book discusses accidents, points out the challenges of the certification of very large, modern aircraft and considers the conflicts of mass air travel and preserving the environment.
This book will have something for everyone interested in aviation and the problems that are raised at the end are bound to provoke discussion.
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