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Tex Johnston: Jet-Age Test Pilot
One of America's most daring and accomplished test pilots, Tex Johnston flew the first US jet airplanes and, in a career spanning the 1930s through the 1970s, helped create the jet age at such pioneering aersospace companies as Bell Aircraft and Boeing.
320 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 2, 2021
Let's get this out of the way: Tex Johnston, according to his autobiography, is an embarrassingly terrible human being. He fires his long-time friend and colleague on the spot for literally just talking about unionizing. He badmouths the Russians, the Indians, and the vast majority of other countries whose turf he was allowed to visit.
He seems to think that we care about his opinion on the attractiveness of literally every woman whom he had any sort of significant interaction with, including whether or not he found Amelia Earheart beautiful (he did not). He sexually harassed the female doctor who handled his physical. He makes decisions without consulting or caring about his wife; she once found herself taking care of a newborn while doing all the cooking and cleaning for another family to earn room and board while he went to school. In return for her doing that (and also moving 7 times in 10 years for his career), he travels around partying it up, flirting with other "attractive" women (his words, not mine) and spending inordinate amounts of time with them alone while his wife is sat at home taking care of his 3 children.
He is a good technical writer. The actual descriptions of his job scope, the planes he flew, the way they handled - that was perfectly fine and that was what I bought the book for.
The rest of it, though? I won't lie, this book left me feeling extremely sorry for his wife, his workers, and any woman in his life who might have wanted to be taken seriously as a person.
He seems to think that we care about his opinion on the attractiveness of literally every woman whom he had any sort of significant interaction with, including whether or not he found Amelia Earheart beautiful (he did not). He sexually harassed the female doctor who handled his physical. He makes decisions without consulting or caring about his wife; she once found herself taking care of a newborn while doing all the cooking and cleaning for another family to earn room and board while he went to school. In return for her doing that (and also moving 7 times in 10 years for his career), he travels around partying it up, flirting with other "attractive" women (his words, not mine) and spending inordinate amounts of time with them alone while his wife is sat at home taking care of his 3 children.
He is a good technical writer. The actual descriptions of his job scope, the planes he flew, the way they handled - that was perfectly fine and that was what I bought the book for.
The rest of it, though? I won't lie, this book left me feeling extremely sorry for his wife, his workers, and any woman in his life who might have wanted to be taken seriously as a person.
March 10, 2019
Chief Test Pilot of the Boeing Company when all the 700 series of passenger planes were being built. A great read with a few surprises thrown in for good reading. Lets just say the man knows how to handle the 707 pro-type.
August 9, 2024
Great story about an amazing life lived at a time the aerospace industry will never see again. True grit, raw talent, and a clear instinct to manipulate the laws of phslysics. A must read for those even remotely interested in aeroplanes and the history of why we have the flying machines of today.
January 13, 2013
Did you know that Tex rolled a Boeing 707 in front of thousands of people during it's FIRST public flight. Did I mention the plane was full of reporters? Read this book and you'll hear about that and other amazing stories.
September 21, 2012
The inside story of his career and life as a test pilot. Light of stories and details but a good read.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews