Cooper, George

American test pilot. Together with Welko Gasich, survived a crash of the XSB2D in 1946. Flew the X-4 # 2.

Educated as a mining engineer, trained as a pilot in WWII, and flew the P-47 in the European Theater. After the war, he pursued a successful career as chief research test pilot for NASA Ames. In 1957 he published the Cooper Pilot Opinion Rating Scale which became the industry standard for defining aircraft handling properties. After retirement in 1973 he became a vintner, producing a private reserve for his family for 20 years before commercial sales began in 1994. Passed away in 2016 at the age of 99.