Flying to the Edge- The Ground Breaking Career of Test Pilot Duncan Menzies

Duncan Menzies flew with the RAF in the Middle East, the Aeroplane and Armament Evaluation Establishment, and finally Fairey Aviation in a flying career that lasted from the late 1920s to the 1950s. In doing so he saw the world of flying change from a carefree one of open cockpits and few rules to the jet age, with its complexities and crowded skies. Menzies was a modest, family man whose unassuming nature belied his many achievements, which ranged from setting a cross-country speed record across Africa in the early 1930s to surviving two forced landings and the breakup of a Fairey Fulmar at over 400mph. This biography charts Menzies' career from his decision to leave the family farm in Scotland to join the RAF, his long standing desire to be a test-pilot, and finally his career as the lead test pilot at Fairey's Stockport Heaton Chapel operation, which at the height of the war turned out thousands of Battles, Fulmars, Barracudas, Halifaxes and Beaufighters.