During this time she made test flights in many types of military aircraft from Tiger Moths to Hawker Typhoons and Gloster Meteors.
The following year Burns was awarded the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air[6] in recognition of her bravery and contribution to the investigation.
[1] She became an expert on clear-air turbulence due to "wind-shear", caused by different air movement (wind) at altitudes close to each other, such as at the edge of a high-level "jet stream".
In 1963 she was awarded a second Queen's Commendation,[8] this time for her flights in an English Electric Canberra carrying out low- and high-level-gust research.
[1] Although she had flown military assault gliders during the war, Anne Burns took up gliding as a sport in 1954 winning awards and establishing both national and international records for women.
On her first cross-country flight, from Lasham, Hampshire in an Eon Olympia she reached RAF Ternhill, Shropshire in 4hr 55min breaking the British women's distance record.
In December 1956, she flew a Slingsby Skylark 3b following a bungee launch to 11,890 feet (3,620 m) setting new women's British national and UK absolute altitude and gain-of-height records.
[10] In 1962, Anne and Denis Burns were jointly awarded the Royal Aero Club's Britannia Trophy for their gliding achievements.
She decided to bail out but became tangled in the parachute's shroud lines, nevertheless escaping with only an injured ankle by landing in a sycamore tree.