Smell of Kerosene: A Test Pilot's Odyssey, The

Flight Journal, Dec 2004 by DeGroat, Robert S

The Smell of Kerosene: A Test Pilot's Odyssey by Donald L. Mallick with Peter W. Merlin; NASA History Office, Washington, D.C. 20546; 252 pages; illustrated; $22.

Test pilots are an interesting lot-people who regard danger as an everyday part of the job. Any semblance of danger in the business world can hardly compare.

This thought is amply reinforced in Donald L. Mallick's new book. It is a fascinating account of a NASA research pilot who accumulated over 11,000 hours in more than 125 different types of aircraft. Although his early naval flight training and carrier operations are included, they are only a prelude to some truly exotic flying.

It is the riveting story of a test pilot who became intimately familiar with some really cool planes: the F8U-3 Super Crusader, YF-12A (predecessor to the SR-71), F-104, and though he missed out on flying the X-15, he did fly the fantastic XB-70 Valkyrie. Also listed on his resume are the B-52 and B-58-both legendary in their own ways. Mallick not only flew the bizarre M2-F1 Lifting Body but also the LLRV (Lunar Landing Research Vehicle). The LLRV was eventually used to help develop training techniques for astronauts to land on the moon.

From tales of advanced flight training in the F6F Hellcat to chasing the Northern Lights in a Convair 990, there's something to interest everyone. This story will appeal to average plane nuts as well as historians. What a ride it must have been!

-Robert S. DeGroat