A View From the Hover: My Life in Aviation

The thrilling, career-spanning autobiography of one of the world’s most respected test pilots, notably on the Harrier, and a leading authority on a very wide range of piloting and aviation issues, which is full of insider knowledge, real-life flying stories and hard-won technical advice. A View From The Hover takes you from John’s beginnings as an engineering apprentice at Farnborough in 1950 through his lengthy career as an RAF test pilot and time as an instructor at the RAF College Cranwell to the period spent with the RAE Aerodynamics Research Flight (on the Short SC1 and Hawker P1127 prototype) and the nineteen years he served as Harrier Chief Test Pilot. After retiring in 1983, John spent another five years as a freelance test pilot, during which he added twenty types to the sixty different aircraft he’d already flown, and also performed at many major airshows around the globe. Since then he’s encouraged youngsters to enter the world of aviation and this book also features his incredibly valuable thoughts about and explanations of a range of traditionally tricky subjects, from aerodynamics to the PPL syllabus. Whether you’re just fascinated by amazing 50-year period in British aviation history, want to know exactly how to fly a Harrier, or are earning your Private Pilot’s Licence, this is a must-read!