Myers nearly died test-flying one prototype aircraft that never made it to production because of its performance.

'John Myers was a true pioneer and legend of aviation who throughout his entire career demonstrated his exceptional flying abilities in all types of aircraft,' General Jack Dailey, director of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, told the Los Angeles Times.ĭuring the war, Mr. Myers most notably performed experimental test flights on the P-61 Black Widow, America's first successful night fighter, and on the first flying wing. 'We always looked up to him.'Īs chief engineering test pilot for Northrop Corp. 'He was about 10 years older and a role model for all of us pilots,' Yeager said in a statement. Myers in 1945 as a young test pilot, agreed. General Chuck Yeager, the legendary test pilot who met Mr. 'He was truly a pioneer and inspired many test pilots.' 'For us, he was a legend of legends,' Barron Hilton, hotel magnate and aviation enthusiast, said in a statement. 31 at his home in Beverly Hills, said Janice Merriweather, his longtime assistant. Myers, a business executive and renowned test pilot during World War II whose extraordinary flying skills earned him the nickname 'Maestro,' has died.

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