Eric "Winkle" Brown Interview

[Eric Mc]

On iPlayer but not sure for how much longer.

Very good.

https://ssl.bbc.co.uk/id/signin?ptrt=http%3A%2F%2F...

[Fonz]

Thanks for the link Eric. Amazing man, I got to hear him give a talk about the Miles M52 supersonic plane recently; he never flew it as the project was canned by the government. He kept a whole room of pilots (and wanabe pilots like me) totally engrossed for a good hour or so. Totally speechless when I got him to sign a book for my dad as there are really very few people that deserve the title of legend but Captain Brown is very definitely one of them.

[simonspider]

I've read many books on test pilots but Eric Winkle Browns 'Wings on my Sleeve' is without doubt the most riveting.
Closely followed by Neville Duke's autobiography

[HOGEPH]

He gave an interesting talk at our local British Legion, standing room only, which surprised me for a very specialised subject.

[Eric Mc]

Even though his main activity was as a Royal Navy fighter pilot and Test Pilot, his career also brought him into contact with some very interesting people - especially members of the Nazi hierarchy - both before and after World War 2.

[Mojocvh]

Yes indeed, that was a very interesting interview and to my mind too short!

[Eric Mc]

There was so much more that he could have talked about. Another half hour at least would have helped.

[IanMorewood]

Program name or channel? I don't have a IPlayer sign up and the link you provided required ID.

[Eric Mc]

BBC Radio 4. It was part of their iPM programme broadcast last Saturday at 5.30 pm.

[IanMorewood]

Thanks twenty odd minutes of good listening.

[JungleJim]

Eric, think he might be giving a talk locally soon, I could swear I saw that name on the notices board of fleet sainsburys this afternoon

[Simpo Two]

He doesn't usually advertise in supermarkets. I met him at Shuttleworth - and that was only because he gave me a clue on the phone! IIRC most of his lectures are done under the aegis of the RAS.

[Eric Mc]

He is giving a talk in Farnborough in a few weeks time as part of a fund raising activity to pay for a new statue they want to erect here to coincide with the centenary of the death of aviation pioneer Samuel Cody (he was killed in 1913).

Tickets are £50 a pop - so I won't be going

A couple of years ago he was guest of honour at the FAST Museum in Farnborough when they mounted an exhibition to commemorate the 1945 display of captured German aircraft that were exhibited at Farnborough. He flew most of the aircraft that were displayed at various times. I was there as a guest having been part of a team of modellers who were asked by FAST to build 1/72 replicas of the original captured aircraft.

Although the original display has been closed for a while, a cut down version of the German Aircraft Exhibition is still on show in the Cody Pavillion at FAST - including one of my models, the Messerschmitt 110G night fighter.

Brown giving his speech in front of the replica Cody biplane -



My model of the 110 -

[PowerfullyBuilt]

I've had the great privilege of meeting Captain Brown on several occasions. He would often pop in to the house where my father was a live-in groundskeeper, as he was great friends with the lady owner.

What a fascinating man! Such a master of self-deprecation too. What amazes me is that among the 800+ aircraft types he has flown each model appears on the list just once - i.e. it just says 'Supermarine Spitfire' one time when in fact he has flown over 50 variants.

It can't just be blind luck that he survived innumerable dangerous situations, I think he must be one of the finest fliers of all time.

[Dr Jekyll]

Eric Mc said:

My model of the 110 -

Is that the 110 that's now in the RAF museum?

[Simpo Two]

And he's still as sharp as a tack.

[tr7v8]

His two books the Wings of the weird & wonderful vol 1 & 2 are fantastic. Stories of each aircraft flown whilst in the UK & Europe during & after WW2

[Eric Mc]

Dr Jekyll said:

Eric Mc said:

My model of the 110 -

Is that the 110 that's now in the RAF museum?

Sadly no. The one I modelled was scrapped not long after the German Aircraft Exhibition.