‘World’s greatest’ aviator Eric Winkle Brown dies at 97

A true legend in his own lifetime. If it had wings, he could fly it. Attended a talk by him some years ago. A truly great honour.
RIP Winkle.

 

Quite a man.

I understand that his meticulous attention to detail had a lot to do with his success as, and survival as a pilot

 

Watched the TV programme again just last week about Eric Brown and his incredible exploits in so many aircraft. It tickled me that the Americans were desperate to break his record for the pilot who had flown the greatest number of different aircraft. His achievements do seem inconceivable today. A very sad loss of a truly Great Man.

Vale Eric.

 

A unique airman.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...00-different-types-aircraft-dies-aged-97.html

 

I would have left out the word air, just unique man who obviously squeezed everything he could out of life and a bit more. The sort of fella they wrote boys comics about.
RIP

 

I picked up his autobiography on a whim a couple of years ago; to my shame I'd never heard of him before. I also got the impression that perhaps part of the reason for his success was that he understood very well when he'd got away with something through luck and did his best to avoid it happening again, rather than believing himself immortal for having survived so much.

So when the DH108 did to him exactly what had killed Geoffrey de Havilland Jnr, he attributed his survival to the fact that he was shorter than de Havilland, rather than believing himself a better pilot. A lesser man might have got caught up in his own legend after an incident like that; Brown remained completely professional.