About the Author

Harald Penrose was chief test pilot at Westland Aircraft Ltd from 1931 to 1953, a naval architect, and an aviation author. His flying experience spanned man carrying kites before the First World War, to early jet fighters and helicopters. He designed, built and flew his own glider in the 1930s, designed 36 boats and yachts, and wrote many books describing his flying career and the history of British aviation.