The Lonely Sky : The Personal Story of a Record-Breaking Experimental Test Pilot

This is the powerful and often thrilling story of a man who daily enters that lonely region beyond the speed of sound. A narrative of needle-nosed ships flying at blistering speeds, it is also the moving testament of a man risking his life to push back the frontiers of scientific knowledge. Like St.-Exupéry, Bridgeman is capable of describing the vastness and beauty of the skies. But as America's foremost experimental test pilot, he is constantly aware of the multitude of technical information which he is called upon to use at any given instant. After the war, Bill Bridgeman left the Navy a restless man. Seeking action, he joined Douglas Aircraft as an engineering test pilot. Soon he was asked to take over the final stages of the Skyrocket testing program. The Skyrocket, a javelin-shaped experimental ship, was a challenge to Bridgeman. The story of his day-by-day life with the plane is the substance of THE LONELY SKY.