Pat Fillingham FRAeS (deceased)

A test pilot with de Havilland from the late 1930s, Pat Fillingham was the sole survivor of the elite group of wartime Mosquito test pilots that once included both John de Havilland and Geoffrey de Havilland, sons of the founder of de Havilland Aircraft. In a test career that took him through virtually every mark of Mosquito produced, Pat Fillingham flew over 2000 different aircraft and was involved in the development of manufacturing facilities in Canada and Australia. Candian Mosquitos presented a special delivery problem and one of Pat Fillingham's tasks was to investigate a spate of Mosquito losses on the Atlantic run. After one trip himself that nearly proved disastrous, and then one that was successful, he concluded that the major reason for the losses was a bravado amongst the crews, born of inexperience. For once, the Mosquito had inspired too much confidence.

Pat Fillingham was born in Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire, and was eductaed at Worksop College in Nottingham. From school he decided to pursue a career in aviation, and entered the De Havilland Technical School as a student in 1936. He soon wished to fly and joined the RAFVR in 1937. His initial pilot training was on the Tigermoth at Perth. On the outbreak of war he was retained at Hatfield, and working alongside John and Geoffrey de Havilland, he spent that period of his life testing the Mosquito, Hurricane, Oxford and many other types of aircraft. He undertook a large test programme on the Mosquito from 1940, and was seconded firstly to D. H. Canada in 1943, and DH Australia in 1944, to initiate and develop production lines for the Mosquito. Pat returned to Canada in 1946 to fly the prototype Chipmunk. On his return to Hatfield he continued with the test programme for the Comet, Vampire, Dove and Heron aircraft under the C. T. P. John Cunningham. His love of 'fun flying' gave a relief to the more serious aspect of his career in aviation, and he became British Air Racing Champion in 1952, and had the honour of winning the King's Cup in 1953. In 1959, Pat Fillingham made the first flight in the Comet 4c, and then became Chief Production Test Pilot on the Trident programme. During a remarkable career in the pursuit of aircraft development, he flew 120 different types of aircraft, and retired from the company in 1975. Pat Fillingham died on 17th July 2003.

Items Signed by Pat Fillingham FRAeS (deceased)

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