Background
Brian Trubshaw was born in Liverpool in 1924 although he grew up in Llanelli where his parents lived at the time.
Brian Trubshaw was born in Liverpool in 1924 although he grew up in Llanelli where his parents lived at the time.
He was educated at Winchester College.
He signed up for the Royal Air Force in 1942 at the age of eighteen and went to the United States where he trained as a pilot flying Stearman biplanes. He joined Bomber Command in 1944, flying Stirlings and Lancasters, transferring a year later to Transport Command. Then in 1949-1950 he taught at the Empire Flying School and the Royal Air Force College Cranwell.
Trubshaw then went to Malaya when he was given permission to leave the Royal Air Force (Flight Lieutenant Trubshaw retired from the Royal Air Force at his own request on 21 May 1950) to take up a role as test pilot for Vickers Armstrongs, where he remained for 30 years.
He succeeded G R "Jock" Bryce as chief test pilot by 1964, and was director of test flighting from 1966. Trubshaw worked on the development of the Valiant V-bomber, the Vanguard, the VC10, and the Baccalaureate One-Eleven, and test flew all of these.
He shot to public attention when he first flew Concorde on 9 April 1969 on a flight from Filton to its test base at Royal Air Force Fairford. He emerged from Concorde 002"s futuristic cockpit with the words: "lieutenant was wizard - a cool, calm and collected operation." Weeks earlier he had piloted an early test flight of the identical French prototype Concorde 001, commanded by André Turcat.
He ended his career as divisional director and general manager of the Filton works of British Aerospace from 1980-1986.
He authored books on aviation, notably Concorde: The Inside Story. A burly, extrovert figure, Trubshaw added golf to his abiding interest in cricket, and later became involved in equestrianism. He was for some years a fence judge at Badminton Horse Trials.
He died peacefully in his sleep aged 77, at his home in Tetbury, Gloucestershire in 2001.
After the War he joined the King"s Flight, piloting George VI and other members of the Royal Family. From 1986-1993 he was a member of the board of the Civil Aviation Authority, and worked as an aviation consultant.