Reginald Brie

Reginald Alfred Charles Brie MBE AFRAeS AFIAeS (27 November 1895 – 1988) was a British rotorcraft test and demonstration pilot.

Early life Reginald Brie was born in Egham, Surrey. After leaving school, he started an electrical engineering apprenticeship in Southall.

World War I In 1914, he joined the Royal Field Artillery, and in early 1915 he served in the Somme region. He was then posted to Salonika as an artillery spotter. He was promoted to Sergeant, and sent back to England for officer training. He then transferred to the Royal Flying Corps (RFC), and trained as an observer. He was posted to No. 104 Squadron at RAF Andover. In May 1918, he moved with the squadron to Azelot. On one mission, his Airco DH.9 was attacked by German fighters, and a forced landing was made. He and his pilot were captured, and they served as prisoners of war until December 1918.

RAF service 1918–1922 In early 1919, he was posted as Transport Officer to No. 2 Group RAF at Oxford. In September 1919, he was granted a short-service commission as a Flying Officer. In December 1919, he was posted to No. 99 Squadron at Risalpur. In 1920, he was posted to the Inspectorate of Recruiting in England. In August 1921, he took a pilot's course at RAF Leuchars, and went solo after 10 hours dual experience. In 1922, he left the RAF, and was retained in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR).

RAF service 1939–1945 In July 1940, he formed No. 1448 Flight RAF and was appointed its commanding officer. Its purpose was to operate Cierva C.30 and Cierva C.40 autogiros on flights from Duxford, to assist calibration of coastal radar installations. In April 1941, he handed over command of the unit to his former civilian colleague Alan Marsh. On 9 April 1941, he was appointed to command the Technical Development Unit at the Central Landing Establishment, based at RAF Ringway, and then assumed the rank of acting Wing Commander. The unit carried out research and development of methods such as landing troops and equipment by parachute or by glider, and notable projects were the Hafner Rotachute and Hafner Rotabuggy. While there, he collaborated with Dr J.A.J. Bennett, designer of the Cierva C.40.

In late 1941, he was sent to the United States to promote the use of autogiros on ships for convoy protection. He advised on the development of the Pitcairn PA-39 autogiro, of which seven had been ordered for the Fleet Air Arm. In May 1942, flying a PA-39, he made the first landings on a British merchant ship. Via the British Air Commission in the US, he promoted the use of helicopters, and he was the only British pilot to fly the prototype of the Sikorsky R-4 helicopter. In 1943, he ran the first helicopter school in America, and in 1944 he conducted the first deck-landing trials with a Sikorsky R-4. In late 1945, he retired from the RAF with the rank of Wing Commander.

Legacy and awards Reginald Brie was a founder member of both the Helicopter Association of Great Britain, and the American Helicopter Society. He held both the No. 1 Helicopter Aviator's Certificate and a Commercial Helicopter Pilots Licence. In 1954, the Royal Aeronautical Society awarded him the British Silver Medal for Aeronautics.