Obituary – Tony Blackman, Physicist turned test pilot and Aviation Author

By Rob Russell

He was a role model for his profession, who delivered Britain’s nuclear bombers and was one of the last men to fly with the tycoon Howard Hughes

Blackman was the son of the radiologist Sydney Blackman (7 December 1898 – 1971) of Kensington Court, one of the principal developers of panoramic radiography in dentistry, and the son of Polish emigrants, educated at the Grocers' Company School (later known as Hackney Downs School). His parents Sydney and Lena Goodman had married in 1923 in Hackney

Blackman attended Oundle School. When at Oundle he observed many damaged US bombers returning to RAF Polebrook and RAF Deenethorpe in Northamptonshire. It was here that he developed his passion for aviation and physics. On completing his schooling, he went on to study Physics at Trinity College, Cambridge.

In October 1948 Blackman started his National Service at RAF Padgate, near Warrington. That December, he began as a Pilot Officer, training for 12 weeks at RAF Wellesbourne, thereafter joining the RAF School of Education and becoming a Maths and Physics instructor at No. 1 Initial Training School at RAF Wittering. In January 1950, he began at RAF Ternhill with 6 FTS (No. 6 Flying Training School RAF) learning to fly the Percival Prentice.

A contemporary of such distinguished aviators as John Cunningham, John Farley and Peter Twiss, Blackman formed part of a post-war cadre of a new breed of test pilot — one who could analyse the characteristics of the aircraft they were flying, but also work as an equal with the scientists and engineers trying to solve problems in aeronautical performance and design. A former fighter pilot who was a brilliant mathematician and had a degree in physics from Trinity College, Cambridge, Blackman was able to combine the unique attributes of exceptional pilot and first-class engineer.

He went to on to join the Empire Test Pilots' School (ETPS). He flew Vampires and Venoms with 5 and 11 squadrons. He worked at the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE), with B Squadron, until August 1956. Blackman joined Avro as a test pilot, becoming chief test pilot, and flying with Avro from 1956 to 1973. He tested 105 of the Vulcans that were built. Blackman tested all three of Britain’s nuclear bombers — the Handley Page Victor, the Vickers Valiant and the Avro Vulcan. He described flying the Vulcan as “exhilarating”. He also played a significant role in the development of the Hawker Siddeley Nimrod, a maritime patrol aircraft, which went on to pay a crucial role in the Cold War. He remained with the company until 1973 when he joined the engineering group Smiths Industries as technical director.

Blackman was also known for his friendship with Howard Hughes, himself a legendary pilot, aerospace engineer and business magnate who had created Trans World Airlines (TWA). It was on a summer day in 1973 that Blackman left the Comet Hotel near Hatfield, Hertfordshire, followed by a long black Daimler, that carried a passenger who insisted on avoiding the press and public. The Daimler followed the sports car through a dilapidated old farm that was the “back entrance” to Hatfield Aerodrome. After parking by a hangar, Blackman got out and opened the doors. The Daimler drove into the hangar, where a Hawker Siddeley 748 airliner was parked before a man in his mid-sixties emerged from the long black car.

It was none other than Howard Hughes, who in his flying career had set a number of flying records in the 1930s, including an airspeed record of 352mph, but had not flown for 13 years. He had made it clear to his management team that he wanted to fly again and, in turn, they had identified Hatfield Aerodrome, which was owned by Hawker Siddeley, as a discreet location north of London. Blackman circumvented aviation bureaucracy so that Hughes could fly in Britain without applying for various licences and other documentation, which would have led to the American being identified. He then accompanied Hughes on three flights, including a hazardous night-time landing in dense fog. It was part of the Avro plan to sell their 4-engined jet, the 146, to TWA.

Blackman married Margaret in late 1956. He had a son in 1964 (who married in 1998, with granddaughters in 2000 and 2003) and a daughter in 1961.

After a very successful and illustrious career at Avro and Smiths Industries, he went on to serve as a technical specialist on the board of the UK Civil Aviation Authority. He became a fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and was awarded the Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air in 1970, whilst serving at Hawker Siddeley, as deputy chief test pilot. He was made an OBE in the 1974 Queen’s Birthday Honours.

Highly acclaimed for his aeronautical knowledge and a distinctly articulate writer, Blackman wrote a series of books about the aircraft he had tested, including “Vulcan Boys: From the Cold War to the Falklands — True Tales of the Iconic Delta V-Bomber”, in addition to a series of aviation novels featuring an insurance investigator called Peter Talbot.

Charles Masefield, a pilot and engineer who became head of BAE Systems and president of the Royal Aeronautical Society, said Blackman’s flying career “set the standard and to this day, remains a role model for all modern-day test pilots”. In his foreword to Blackman’s autobiography, Masefield wrote: “It was Tony Blackman’s unique expertise that was required to develop the real heart of the Vulcan — its highly advanced systems and electronics. It was Tony who turned this futuristically shaped aircraft from a dramatic air show performer into a practical operational bomber of outstanding capability.”

Blackman's books, including his autobiography, are widely regarded as an aviation classics and essential reading for anyone aspiring to develop a knowledge of test flying.