Tex Johnston: Jet-Age Test Pilot

One of America’s most daring and accomplished test pilots, Johnston flew the first U.S. jet airplanes and, in a career spanning the 1930s through the 1970s, helped create the jet age at such pioneering aerospace companies as Bell Aircraft and Boeing.

This memoir recounts his barn-storming beginnings, his legendary 1955 barrel-roll of the Boeing 707 prototype over the Seafair festival in Seattle, and his efforts to bring disciplined flight-testing to swept-wing jets—all against the backdrop of a rapidly evolving aerospace industry.

“There seem to be two Tex Johnstons: the one who became legendary in 1955 for performing two barrel rolls with the Boeing 707 prototype … and the man who brought to flight-testing a far more meticulous approach than had ever been used before. … Johnston is of the barnstorming generation.” — Air & Space

“Fascinating reading.” — Aerospace