Test Pilot: An Extraordinary Career Testing Civil Aircraft

by Chris Taylor (Test Pilot)

An elite test pilot recounts his life on the cutting-edge of aviation, flying everything from homebuilt airplanes to helicopters and fighter jets.

Over his long career as a licensed Category 1 test pilot and flight test instructor for both airplanes and helicopters, Chris Taylor has flown an astonishing 400 different aircraft. He is arguably one of the best qualified and widely experienced test pilots in the world. Now he shares the literal ups and downs of aviation testing, putting readers in the cockpit.

Chris began his service flying career with the Royal Navy, piloting Wasp and Lynx helicopters from warships around. After five years instructing, he became a test pilot flying experimental aircraft for research and development purposes, before returning to the Empire Test Pilot’s School as a tutor. Having served at Boscombe Down for 10 years, he joined the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority as an airplane and rotorcraft test pilot. With the closure of the CAA’s Flight Test Department, he went on to form his own company and has continued to test fly a wide variety of aircraft ever since.

In this eventful memoir, Chris covers general aviation aircraft, including testing homebuilt airplanes, helicopters and autogyros. He also discusses testing ex-military jets and warbirds such as the Fieseler Storch, Sea Fury, Spitfire and the Mustang.

498 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 6, 2022

About the author

Having wanted to be a pilot for as long as he can remember, Chris Taylor gained his private pilot’s licence at the age of seventeen. He joined the Royal Navy whilst studying for a degree in Electrical Engineering and, after serving as a Navigation Officer on numerous ships, went onto to operate Wasp and Lynx helicopters, flying in all weathers from frigates deployed worldwide. After five years instructing he became a Test Pilot and flew all manner of experimental aircraft for research and development purposes before returning to the Empire Test Pilot’s School as a Tutor. Having served at Boscombe Down for ten years he joined the UK Civil Aviation Authority as an aeroplane and rotorcraft test pilot. With the closure of the CAA’s Flight Test Department he formed Dovetail Aviation Ltd and has continued to test fly a wide variety of aircraft ever since.
Chris has flown four hundred different kinds of aircraft, is a Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and is a licensed Category 1 Test Pilot and Flight Test Instructor for both aeroplanes and helicopters, which arguably makes him one of the best qualified and most widely experienced test pilots working today. Additionally he finds time to be a Helicopter Examiner and Instructor for helicopters, aeroplanes and autogyros.
Chris has recently written a collection of anecdotes and humorous stories which is published by Pen and Sword 30 April 2022. This light hearted book was written as the stories have been previously told, usually by a roaring fire, with a glass in hand, and aims to capture just a few of the adventures from his most recent period of flight testing.

Reviews

[Spad53 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Test Pilot
What a wonderful book! Perfect for people like me, especially if you’re a bit tired of reading about military pilots. The average aircraft enthusiast tends to think that it’s not an aeroplane unless it has guns. And I’m not perfect either, military often means more exciting, so I tend to read those books a lot, there are also so many of them. This one has a scattering of military planes, I can never read enough about Spitfires, and ChrisTaylor flew that too. His log-book is stunning, over 400 types, including such civilian niceties as Britten-Norman Islander and Edgely Optica. It reads like those old articles in Flying “I Learned About Flying From That ” each chapter is another quirky episode about things going wrong and how our hero sorts it all out. It can feel a bit incredible, but finding faults in aeroplanes is what test pilots do and sometimes things go sideways (literally!) all too often.
Highly recommended to aviation enthusiasts.
And here’s a Britten-Norman Islander after we flew in it, it was old!

[Mike Sweet · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book on the work of a General Aviation test pilot. Written in an entertaining, informative and humorous manner, I felt that I was in the cockpit alongside Chris. I have read hundreds of books on aviation and most of them end up going to charity shops once read, but Test Pilot will be staying on my "keep forever and read again shelf". I really hope that Chris produces further books detailing more of his civil and military flying adventures. Highly recommended.

[Sam Woolford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful insight into the world of civil aviation flight testing. Funny, poignant and gripping throughout.

[Paul Greig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily one of the most engaging and entertaining books about aviation that I have read in a long time. I couldn't put the book down, and read it in one sitting (admittedly I was on an 8-hour long-haul flight at the time). Chris does a splendid job of balancing the technical and the theoretical aspects of flight testing with personal anecdotes from his working life starting with the Royal Navy, graduating from the esteemed Empire Test Pilots School and then, eventually, moving into civilian flight testing. With that sort of background I would suggest Chris has even more stories that he wanted to share but, for the time at least, was ordered into a cull by the editors.

If you fly General Aviation aircraft then chances are Chris has also flown and evaluated the type. With over 400 different types in his logbook, it would be hard not to have! His experience covers an eclectic range of fixed wing, warbirds, helicopters and gyroplanes and he has done the flight testing so that you - and mere mortal pilots like myself - don't have to suddenly and/or inadvertently become a Test Pilot. Yet you don't have to be a pilot to enjoy this book. Even if you have a passing interest in aviation then I highly recommend Test Pilot for a unique insight into how civilian aircraft are tested.

In the forthcoming Christmas/Birthday season you may be asked, What would you like for a gift? Tell 'em you want Test Pilot by Chris Taylor.

[Lucy-Bookworm · Rating 2 out of 5]

Chris Taylor has had an unusual and interesting career as a test pilot, flying over 400 different aircraft (fixed wing & rotary wing). From his early career in the Royal Navy, to being selected for the prestigious test pilot programme and later working for the Civil Aviation Authority and then running his own business, his work has taken him all over the world, and he has hundreds of stories to tell about his exploits – the good, the bad & the ugly!
As well as the sophisticated jets and latest modifications that he has tested, Chris has also been involved in testing handmade aeroplanes, unusual refurbishments and autogyros.
The book is unashamedly written for his grandchildren, and whilst its nice that the stories are varied and quite chatty, it also means that its not particularly well structured and very repetitive in places. The photographs are great to help illustrate the different types of aircraft that he flew.
This book will probably appeal to fans of aviation who know the various aircraft discussed and if it could be re-edited, this could be a great book for those with a more general interest but as it stands it’s just ok.

Disclosure: I received an advance reader copy of this book free via NetGalley. Whilst thanks go to the author & publisher for the opportunity to read it, all opinions are my own & my review is left voluntarily.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found the book extremely interesting , well written, humorous and does a great job of placing you in the cockpit of a huge number of aircraft that Chris has flown. This book is perfect for aviation enthusiasts, pilots and engineers ! I look forward to reading the follow up story when it is published.

[Chris Pilot) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of quotes and reviews:

Wing Commander Mike Brooke AFC RAF (Retd). Fellow of SETP. Author of “Trials and Errors”
Chris writes like he’s telling you a tale after a couple of beers. His stories are hilarious and scary in equal measure!

Francis Donaldson BTech, CEng, FRAeS, Chief Engineer Light Aircraft Association
A fascinating and deeply personal insight into the daily highs and lows, hopes and fears of a test pilot at the top of his profession. Packed with fast-paced drama both inside and outside of the cockpit, some of which had me laughing out loud. Once started I couldn’t put the book down.’

Roger Pattrick BEng Chief Technical Officer, British Microlight Aircraft Association
A very entertaining and informative page-turner giving a good insight into the trials and tribulations of a test pilot. Essential reading for all aviation nuts.”

Steve Slater, CEO Light Aircraft Association
Chris has been a good friend to the LAA over the years, providing his knowledge and expertise to fine-tune a wide variety of aircraft, but they are just a fraction of those described in this book. It’s funny, scary, informative and entertaining. A must-read!

Flight Lieutenant Mandy Hickson RAF (Retd). Tornado Pilot. Author of “An Officer Not a Gentleman”
Such a great read… funny, relaxed and fascinating. A must read for any aviation enthusiast!

Ed Hicks, Editor Flyer Magazine
From dummies strapped to biplanes to dodgy ASI readings in Spitfires, ‘Test Pilot’ brings together a great array of fun flight test tales from Chris Taylor's varied career, all delivered with humour and humility that anyone lucky enough to have met him will instantly recognise.

Rowland White. Author of Vulcan 607, Harrier 809
I’d thought the days when a test pilot could rack up 400 plus types in his logbook were well and truly behind us, but Chris Taylor’s remarkable career gives lie to that. From helicopters to fast jets, and warbirds to microlights (and even flying cars!) ‘Test Pilot’ tells an eye-opening flying story full of variety, incident, and surprise with good humour to the fore and potential danger lurking in the shadows.

Navy Wings:
Well, what an excellent read!
Chris Taylor has that rare gift – the ability to write engagingly and in detail about a subject that is alien to most people and yet he invites them warmly onto a comfortable sofa within this unfamiliar world.
A book written about test flying by a test pilot? Surely only a pilot would understand? I’m not a pilot and that was my (soon to be confounded) expectation. This is an excellent book and it takes the reader through a career that has more variety than Heinz and which required more lives than a lucky cat.
Even the hairiest of experiences is described in a reassuringly down to earth manner that brings the reader fully into the experience. There are technical details that will fascinate the flying community and yet not baffle or bore those whose only flying experience is sitting in a commercial airliner. By the end of the book it wouldn’t be hard to convince yourself that you could fly any of a number of aircraft.
This book isn’t just a series of tales about flying and close escapes. It’s also about a man who clearly has an instinctive grasp of how the physics of flying works that is beyond mere training. It’s about that tight community of airmen, test pilots or not, who quietly share a mutual understanding of the risks and pleasures of aviation. It’s about the relationship between those who fly and those who make things fly – that intimate interplay between aircrew and engineers. Above all it’s about the pioneering spirit that must reside in every test pilot who pushes the envelope whenever they get into an untried aircraft.
Inevitably in a world where gravity leads to the final frontier, there are emotional highs and lows, but they only add to the richness of this book.
Whether you are a pilot or not, this is a terrific read. Leave yourself some time when you open it. You probably won’t put it down until the final page.

Dave Unwin Pilot Magazine.
As a naval aviator and test pilot, and then a CAA test pilot for both fixed and rotary wing aeroplanes, Chris Taylor has enjoyed a very enviable career. Rammed with amusing, entertaining and downright scary anecdotes, this book also has a rich seam of sound advice running through it - particularly regarding knowing when to quit for the day, and regroup! The chapter about learning to fly single-seat autogyros is almost worth the cover price alone, while the author’s experience of spin-testing some quite innocuous-looking aircraft is quite revelatory. Also of note is how even the addition of something so seemingly benign as spats can have a profound effect on an aircraft’s handling characteristics. Some of the editing could be better (I fear the sub-editor’s grasp of grammar was probably superior to their understanding of air law) but overall this is a very enjoyable book.

[Jean De · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It is easy to read, yet introduces the art and skills of being a test pilot in a very helpful, humorous and informative way. It had me hooked from the start. I'm not an expert in aviation, but feel I've grasped some of the different talents needed for flying an extraordinary range of aircraft. The glossary of acronyms and tech jargon was useful without interrupting the flow of the accounts. I laughed out loud at times. The author has a lovely, self-deprecating warmth and humanity which kept me engaged throughout. His literary technique works well - each chapter is a stand-alone short read, yet as I read through, I felt I was incrementally growing in my appreciation of what pilots get up to. Pushing the boundaries of the airworthiness of some great and terrible machines was both fascinating and terrifying. The little catchphrase "Phew! ... Survived another" comes with genuine relief after many episodes. Perhaps more than anything, the author's love of flying and simple gratitude for the gift of such an extraordinary "job" with some amazing colleagues made this a delight to read. Would make a great present!

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

There can be no question that Chris has had an extraordinary career, test-flying a vast range of fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft of all vintages, with extraordinary stories to match his voluminous logbook. For an aviation nut, this is a thoroughly convincing read, even if the anecdotes jump about chronologically more than some of his test flight aircraft did. But, to anyone of a certain age and background, this all makes perfect sense – all the aircraft manufacturers and private owners desperately wanting their ‘baby’ planes not to be ‘ugly’ and having to be told the truth after flight test. I have that aviation background, and hence enjoyed the book a lot because I could identify with what he was trying to do, and many of the types and places. I hope that other UK aviation nuts will find the same.

[Chris Lofting · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nerves of Steel

Anyone with the slightest interest in aviation will find once started this book is difficult to put down. Taking to the air specifically to discover possibly life threatening problems and regularly finding them takes incredible courage. Chris obviously has a rare mind and skill set that has helped him to survive some extremely daunting test flights. I have read a lot of aviation biographies and none have focused my mind on the realities of test flying quite like this one. Written with a self demeaning wit which really underplays the potential dangers Chris has faced during his career. I struggle to come to terms with his ability to keep getting back into the cockpit after reading one after another after another of his nail biting flights. Enthralling read 5 stars.

[Emily Woolford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really loved this book. I was chuckling throughout and sometimes on the edge of my seat wondering what would happen next even though I knew the pilot would ‘survive another’ as is repeated throughout!
There is some technical jargon but the author does a good job of explaining it and even if it does go over your head in parts it doesn’t detract from it being a good set of stories. It’s definitely given me a better insight into life as a test pilot!

[David Beevers · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a pilot myself I can appreciate some of the problems Chris encountered during his flight testing
The book is both lighthearted but yet very informative without being too technical.

[Dylan Tobin · Rating 5 out of 5]

i enjoyed this book. Chris has a typical pilots attitude to life and a humourous way of explaining times in his career that maybe weren't so humorous. not a very serious read but very informative and enjoyable.