![]() When Allen died on February 13, 1943, in the fiery crash of the second XB-29, aviation lost one of its most heroic figures. Although he became Chief of Boeing's Research Division, he continued to fly test flights because his knowledge of large aircraft was second to none. B-29 Superfortress You will be immediately behind the Pilots in the cockpit, listening and watching as they cover the checklist, run up the engines, and. On loan to Lockheed, he made the first flight in the famed Constellation airliner.Īllen was particularly important because he insisted on integrating test flying with research and development, design, wind-tunnel tests, and production. Allen had an unusual expertise in large aircraft, having made the first flights on such Boeing giants as the XB-15, Model 307 Stratocruiser, and Model 314 flying boat. Planes were then assigned an airport, at places like Kingman and Walnut Ridge for short-term storage and subsequent disposal, or Davis-Monthan or Pyote for longer. No one was more skilled than Edmund Turney Allen, who was widely known as the dean of test pilots. The jet revolution made many aircraft obsolete, including the P-38, B-17 and B-24, among others, while planes like the B-29, A-26 Invader, and C-47 were destined for the reserve. Test pilots have always been vital to flight, for the success of a new aircraft inevitably depends in great part on the ability and judgment of men and women who are willing to risk their lives for aircraft development. This is a clip of the footage that I took during my TWO recent flights on the Commemorative Air Forces Boeing B-29 Superfortress 'Fifi.' One flight went out. ![]() Edmund Turney Allen: the Dean of Test Pilots ![]()
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