Jack Woolams: Test Pilot/Practical Joker

Wore a Gorilla Suit Flying the P-59 Airacomet

A jet fighter is not a common sight in today’s world, but in the middle of WW2 the sight of a gorilla flying a propellerless aircraft was a rare sight indeed. Come to think of it, a gorilla flying any aircraft is a rare sight, even today. Woolams was a test pilot for Bell aircraft and had been essential in testing the P-39, P-63, P-59 and the X-1. He would have been the first man to break the sound barrier but he was killed while setting a speed record for his racing P-39 Cobra I and that honor went to Chuck Yeager. He was a bit of a joker and would often show up in formations of propellor planes wearing his gorilla mask, a bowler hat and cigar, only to accelerate away from them in his jet. It takes all kinds and he was definitely one of a kind. Valor is in you. Set it free.