Test Pilot

Aviation job helps to ensure aircraft prototypes are in safe condition for flight.

When I saw the trailer for The Right Stuff in a movie theater, I knew what my plans were for opening night—and, oh did that movie deliver! A World War II ace tasked to pilot the Bell X-1—that orange, bullet-shaped, rocket-powered beast—dropped from the belly of a B-29. He risked it all to break the […]

Col. Eileen Collins pilots an ongoing mission to inspire youth to space flight.

I bought N4875D in fall 2012. It’s the first and only airplane I’ve owned, a Mooney M20F. As with any vintage vehicle, it’s been an adventure tracking down the various nits, bugs and deferred maintenance items. We’d been through the hydraulics, engine, prop and fuel system. When I took it in for an annual this […]