G R 'Jock' Bryce

[2] On 11 January 1952, Jock was piloting the first Valiant prototype which was lost while making internal noise measurements for the V.1000 programme.Testing included engine shutdowns and re-lights, one of which caused a fire in the port wing.

[7] In September 1953, Bryce made the first flight of the Valiant B2, with Brian Trubshaw, later chief test pilot of Concorde, as his co-pilot.

Finished in a gloss black night operations paint scheme, the B2 was intended to serve as a Pathfinder aircraft, flying at low level to mark targets for the main bomber force.

[2][8] Bryce made the first test flight of the Vickers Vanguard in January 1959 with a short hop from Weybridge to Wisley, some three miles away.

[9][10][11] Along with co-pilot Brian Trubshaw, Bryce also flew the prototype Vickers VC10 on its maiden flight from Weybridge on 29 June 1962.

Due to the delay dismantling would have caused, Bryce convinced managing director Sir George Edwards to let him fly the aircraft out of Wisley to Boscombe Down.

The aircraft crashed following a deep stall, killing all the crew including test pilot Mike Lithgow.

[16] When he retired from the post of chief test pilot at British Aircraft Corporation in 1964, he handed over to his deputy, Brian Trubshaw.

He was successful in promoting the BAC 1–11 to major American corporations, including Tenneco and Ford Motor Company.