Men Of Power (The Lives Of RR Chief Test Pilots Harvey & Jim Heyworth)
Robert JacksonBy 1942 he had amassed 4000 flying hours.
Harvey then joined Rolls-Royce (RR) test flying early British jet aircraft including the famous Gloster-Whittle and test-bed Wellington bombers powered by the new jet engines.
In 1944 Harvey's brother Jim also joined RR, after having flown with 12 RAF Squadron in RAF Bomber Command.
The story then unfolds into the development of the Trent turboprop and the Avon jet engines.
Development work on a variety of test-bed aircraft was ongoing and included some weird combinations of airframe and engine tests.
Jim succeeded his brother as chief test pilot in 1958 and flew 82 different aircraft types.
He recounts his experiences of piloting and test flying the Vulcan bomber, Lightning and the 'Flying Bedstead' VTOL test rig amongst many others.