Brien Singleton Wygle (August 23, 1924 – September 15, 2020) was an American pilot from

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Washington. Wygle was a test pilot for

Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...

Early life

On August 23, 1924. Wygle was born as Brien Singleton Wygle in

, Washington. Wygle's brothers are Hugh Wygle and Monte Wygle. In 1927, Wygle and his family moved to Canada. Wygle grew up in a farm near

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

, Alberta, Canada. In 1942, Wygle graduated from Kathryn High School in Canada.

Education

In 1951, Wygle earned a Bachelor of Science mechanical engineering degree with aeronautics from

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

in Vancouver, Canada. In 1953, Wygle graduated from United States Air Force Test Pilot School.

Career

In 1942, at age 18, Wygle joined the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

. During World War II, Wygle became a pilot for the

. Wygle flew the

Douglas C-47 Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II. During the war the C-47 was used for tro ...

as a combat cargo pilot. In 1948, Wygle flew bombing missions for

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. In 1951, Wygle became a test pilot for Boeing in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...

. In 1951, Wygle's first assignment was flying the B-47 bomber. After transferring to Seattle, Washington, Wygle flew the

Boeing B-52 Stratofortress The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic aircraft, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the ...

bomber as a lead project pilot. In 1957, Wygle performed flight testing as a pilot for the

Boeing 707 The Boeing 707 is an early American long-range Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, the initial first flew on Decembe ...

airliner. In 1967, Wygle flew the first

Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is an American narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton factory in Washington (state), Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the t ...

flight as a test pilot. Wygle was the co-pilot of the first

Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a long-range wide-body aircraft, wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2023. After the introduction of the Boeing 707, 707 in October 1958, Pan Am ...

flight that took place on February 9, 1969, in

Everett, Washington Everett (; ) is the county seat and most populous city of Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is north of Seattle and is one of the main cities in the Seattle metropolitan area, metropolitan area and the Puget Sound region. Everett ...

. For the first flight, he flew as co-pilot with the pilot in command Jack Waddell and the Flight engineer Jesse Wallick. During this flight they experienced minor problems with the wing flaps and decided to cut the flight short. In 1970, Wygle became a Director of flight tests at Boeing. In January 1990, Wygle retired from Boeing as the Vice President of flight operations.

Awards

* 1945 Distinguished Flying Cross for valor

Personal life

In May 1947, Wygle married Norma Renton. They have four daughters. In August 2020, Wygle developed pneumonia. On September 15, 2020, Wygle died in

Bellevue, Washington Bellevue ( ) is a city in the Eastside (King County, Washington), Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States, located across Lake Washington from Seattle. It is the third-largest city in the Seattle metropolitan area, and the f ...

with his family in attendance. Wygle was 96.

References

External links

Meet Brien Wygle – Boeing Test Pilot at skiesmag.com

Brien Wygle oral history interview
at The Museum of Flight Digital Collections
Brien S. Wygle Collection
at The Museum of Flight Digital Collections {{DEFAULTSORT:Wygle, Brien S 1924 births 2020 deaths American test pilots Boeing people Boeing test pilots Military personnel from Seattle Royal Canadian Air Force personnel of World War II Aviators from Washington (state) U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School alumni