Duncan Menzies Soutar Simpson (23 December 1927 - 5 December 2017) was a Scottish pilot, and the former chief

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...

of Hawker Siddeley in the 1970s. He flew the first production Harrier aircraft in December 1967, and the first two-seat Harrier in April 1969.

Early life

He was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

, and was educated at

Merchiston Castle School Merchiston Castle School is an independent boarding school for boys in the suburb of Colinton in Edinburgh, Scotland. It has around 470 pupils and is open to boys between the ages of 7 and 18 as either boarding or day pupils; it was modelled ...

there. His uncle was a test pilot for the

Fairey Aviation Company The Fairey Aviation Company Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer of the first half of the 20th century based in Hayes in Middlesex and Heaton Chapel and RAF Ringway in Cheshire. Notable for the design of a number of important military a ...

Career

de Havilland

After leaving school in 1945 he worked for de Havilland in Hertfordshire.

Royal Air Force

In 1949 he joined the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

with 6FTS and 226 OCU, and flew the

Gloster Meteor The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies of World War II, Allies' only jet aircraft to engage in combat operations during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turb ...

VIII with 222 Squadron. In 1953 he joined the Day Fighter Development Unit at the Central Fighter Establishment.

Hawker Siddeley Aviation

He joined Hawker Siddeley in 1954. He first flew the

Hawker Siddeley P.1127 The Hawker P.1127 and the Hawker Siddeley Kestrel FGA.1 are the British experimental and development aircraft that led to the Hawker Siddeley Harrier, the first ''vertical and/or short take-off and landing'' ( V/STOL) jet fighter-bomber. Devel ...

in August 1962; he was the third pilot to fly the P.1127. On 27 December 1967, he was the first the fly the first production Harrier GR1 ''XV738''. On 24 April 1969 he was the first to fly the two-seat Harrier ''XW174''; six weeks later on 4 June 1969 in this aircraft, he was forced to eject at low level (100 ft), over

Larkhill Larkhill is a garrison town in the civil parish of Durrington, Wiltshire, England. It lies about west of the centre of Durrington village and north of the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge. It is about north of Salisbury. The settlement ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, when the engine failed at 3,000 ft. On ejection from the aircraft he broke his neck; he needed a

bone graft Bone grafting is a surgical procedure that replaces missing bone in order to repair bone fractures that are extremely complex, pose a significant health risk to the patient, or fail to heal properly. Some small or acute fractures can be cured wit ...

, and surgeons had to operate via his throat. He returned to flying nine months later, and received the

Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air The Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air, formerly the King's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air, was a merit award for flying service awarded by the United Kingdom between 1942 and 1994. It was replaced by the Queen’ ...

in the

1969 Birthday Honours The 1969 Queen's Birthday Honours were appointments to orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms to reward and highlight citizens' good works, on the occasion of the official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. They were announced in supplem ...

. After this incident, all Hawker aircraft were fitted with canopy severance cord to shatter the canopy before ejection occurred. He became deputy chief test pilot in 1969. He became chief test pilot in 1970. He was the first to fly the Hawk HS1182 prototype (''XX154'') at around 7pm on 21 August 1974,''Hawker Siddeley Aviation and Dynamics: 1960-77''
/ref> and reached 20,000 ft in a 53-minute flight. The Hawk entered service with the RAF in November 1976.

Personal life

He married in June 1958 and had two sons, and a daughter. They lived in Guildford, Surrey. He received an award in 2011 from the

Honourable Company of Air Pilots The Honourable Company of Air Pilots, formerly the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators (GAPAN), is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The Company was founded in 1929, and became a Livery Company in 1956. Elizabeth II granted ...

. He received the OBE in the

1973 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1973 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were published on 2 June 1973 for ...

. He became a Fellow of the

Society of Experimental Test Pilots The Society of Experimental Test Pilots is an international organization that seeks to promote air safety and contributes to aeronautical advancement by promoting sound aeronautical design and development; interchanging ideas, thoughts and suggest ...

. He died aged 89 in December 2017.

References

External links

''Telegraph'' obituary 14 December 2017

''Times'' obituary 10 February 2018
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Duncan 1927 births 2017 deaths Military personnel from Edinburgh Royal Air Force personnel BAE Systems Hawk De Havilland Fellows of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Fellows of the Royal Aeronautical Society Harrier Jump Jet Hawker Siddeley Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Merchiston Castle School People from Edinburgh People from Guildford Recipients of the Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air Royal Air Force officers Scottish test pilots