A SALISBURY councillor has lifted the lid on some of his most daring outings as a test pilot – including some things you would expect to only see in a film.

Salisbury City and Wiltshire Council councillor Chris Taylor was the latest guest speaker at the Salisbury Rotary Club- and he used this opportunity to share stories about his experience in the skies.

His talk was titled ‘from naval aviator to test pilot – a story of 10 lives, four collisions and a ditching’.

“It really was a story to tell of narrow escapes and escapades,” a Rotary Club spokesperson said.

“And it all started with Chris, who from an early age, always wanting to be a test pilot. He got his pilot’s licence at the age of 17, before later joining the Royal Navy while studying for a degree in electrical engineering.”

After serving time as a navigation officer he then went on to fly Wasp and Lynx helicopters and, was appointed to the Empire Test Pilots’ School at Boscombe Down in 1994 to train to become a test pilot.

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Following a 10 year stint at Boscombe Down he joined the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) as an aeroplane and rotorcraft test pilot.

Chris subsequently worked for the UK Civil Aviation Authority for 10 years before setting up his own company offering test pilot flying services worldwide.

Chris added that he had “suffered numerous close shaves in that time”, including experiencing engine failure in a Hawk Jet and a Basset aeroplane and managed to crash a Westland Scout helicopter into the sea, after the engine died.

The Rotary Club added: “He was also ‘kidnapped’ by a French trawler after a collision, whilst protecting the UK fishing zones; survived another crash in the Baltic with a German frigate in thick fog; and a collision with a Chinese gunboat off Hong Kong.

“Chris was quite matter of fact about all these incidents – having experienced plenty of engine failures and other problems. The first aircraft he flew was a Cessna 150 while he admits his favourite was the iconic Sea Fury.”

On what it’s like to be a test pilot, Chris said: “We are trying to do very dangerous things, but in a very safe fashion. We are trying to achieve what we have to do, which is to test these aircraft to their extremes, and not come a cropper along the way.”

He said that being a test pilot is a great privilege, adding: “Once it is in the bloodstream it is hard to shake it off.”

The club added: “This really was a fascinating talk, with video clips, photos and so many tales to tell.”

Cllr Taylor ending his talk by saying that he was still the most qualified test pilot in Europe, having flown more than 420 different types of planes and helicopters, and was still busy test flying.