It struck me while editing this issue that aviation has always been chockful of true characters. This month we don't just examine the life of that most famous of test pilots, Chuck Yeager (who passed away late last year), but also the careers of two other larger-than-life pilots: French wartime ace Pierre Clostermann and 'everyman' aviator Wilson 'Connie' Edwards. Clostermann is renowned for his Spitfire and Tempest exploits during World War Two, as well as successful post-war aviation business management and political service. Edwards is best known for flying various aircraft during the filming of the movie Battle of Britain, but he also flew in Guatemala, the civil war in Nicaragua and during the infamous Cuban Bay of Pigs invasion, and even recreated the first flight across the Atlantic. What things this man must have seen!
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