David Mackay (pilot)
David William Donald Mackay AFC (born 1957) is the Chief Pilot of Virgin Galactic, and a former test pilot.
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Early life
David Mackay was born in Scotland, and lived in Helmsdale, Highland.[1] David's father was a police officer. He would see aircraft flying (low) from RAF Lossiemouth.
David studied Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Glasgow.[2] He first piloted an aircraft in 1977.
Career
Royal Air Force
He joined the RAF in 1979. He flew the Harrier GR3 in Germany and the Falklands.
Test pilot
In 1986 he was selected for test pilot training. In 1988 he graduated from the French test pilots' school, École du personnel navigant d'essais et de réception - EPNER, through an exchange with the RAF's Empire Test Pilots' School. He became Commanding Officer of the RAF's Fast Jet Test Flight in 1992 at RAF Boscombe Down. The fastest speed he reached was Mach 1.4 in a French Mirage. He conducted trials on the Harrier GR7, the Sea Harrier FA.2, and the Tucano. He flew with the Fixed Wing Test Squadron. He was awarded the Air Force Cross in 1992.[3]
Virgin Atlantic
He joined Virgin Atlantic in 1995, flying Boeing 747s as a Captain from 1999; he also flew the Airbus A340 from 2002. He finished his flying career with over 11,000 hours flying.
Virgin Galactic
He joined Virgin Galactic in 2009 as its test pilot. He will be the Chief Pilot when Virgin Galactic launches. The aircraft, SpaceShipTwo, will reach a height of 360,000 feet. On its journey into space, the aircraft will reach Mach 3.5. The first aircraft to fly, which he will pilot, will be called VSS Enterprise.
He is working with Brian Binnie, who became the first Scot in space, when he piloted SpaceShipOne on 4 October 2004.
Personal life
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. He has lived in Salisbury, Wiltshire,[4] but has now moved to Groom Lake, Nevada. He is married to Sue and they have a son and daughter.
