Flying to the Edge (Paperback)

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 which may have been realised thanks to a chance encounter with the Prince of Wales, 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. The book will also reflect his postwar career as Fairey's liaison to the Navy, his championing of the Firefly trainer for the Royal Navy, and his role in the adoption of Firefly aircraft by the Canadian and Australian Navies.