Aviation Pioneer. Regarded as the father of modern flight testing, he piloted some of the most famous planes of all time on their first flights. He began his career in World War I, serving as a Lieutenant pilot instructor in the United States Army Signal Corps. After the war, he became an aeronautical engineer and was chief test pilot for the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics. In 1925, he was an air mail pilot for Boeing Air Transport and served as the first test pilot for the United Aircraft and Transport Corporation. As a freelance pilot, Allen contributed to flight testing of the Douglas DC-1, was the first to fly the Curtiss C-46 Commando, Boeing's XB-15, 307 Stratoliner and 314 Clipper. In 1939, Boeing gave him the position as head of the company's Research Division, in charge of aerodynamics, all flight testing, wind tunnel research and chief civilian liaison to the US Army Air Force. As America became involved in World War II, Boeing was awarded a contract to build the most technologically advanced airplane of the war, the B-29 Superfortress. In 1942, Allen took the first XB-29 on its initial flight as the program's chief pilot and engineer. On February 18, 1943, while on a performance test an engine fire broke out on Allen's XB-29, during final approach to Boeing Field. In a desperate effort to reach Boeing Field with one wing on fire, the XB-29 crashed into a meat packing plant resulting in a catastrophic fire, killing pilot Allen, his crew and 19 people on the ground. For his contributions to aviation, he was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, from President Harry Truman and the Daniel Guggenheim Award.
Aviation Pioneer. Regarded as the father of modern flight testing, he piloted some of the most famous planes of all time on their first flights. He began his career in World War I, serving as a Lieutenant pilot instructor in the United States Army Signal Corps. After the war, he became an aeronautical engineer and was chief test pilot for the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics. In 1925, he was an air mail pilot for Boeing Air Transport and served as the first test pilot for the United Aircraft and Transport Corporation. As a freelance pilot, Allen contributed to flight testing of the Douglas DC-1, was the first to fly the Curtiss C-46 Commando, Boeing's XB-15, 307 Stratoliner and 314 Clipper. In 1939, Boeing gave him the position as head of the company's Research Division, in charge of aerodynamics, all flight testing, wind tunnel research and chief civilian liaison to the US Army Air Force. As America became involved in World War II, Boeing was awarded a contract to build the most technologically advanced airplane of the war, the B-29 Superfortress. In 1942, Allen took the first XB-29 on its initial flight as the program's chief pilot and engineer. On February 18, 1943, while on a performance test an engine fire broke out on Allen's XB-29, during final approach to Boeing Field. In a desperate effort to reach Boeing Field with one wing on fire, the XB-29 crashed into a meat packing plant resulting in a catastrophic fire, killing pilot Allen, his crew and 19 people on the ground. For his contributions to aviation, he was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, from President Harry Truman and the Daniel Guggenheim Award.
Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith
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