James Collins

Born in Warren, Ohio, James H. "Jimmy" Collins trained as an Army aviator at Brooks and Kelly fields, where contemporary accounts say he was in the same class as Charles A. Lindbergh. He later became one of the youngest instructors at Kelly Field before building a career as a civilian flier and test pilot.

Collins wrote magazine pieces about aviation and is best known for Test Pilot, a 1935 memoir-like account drawn from his flying life. The book stands out for its direct, practical voice and for the way it brings the dangers and thrill of early test flying close to the reader.

His life was short: Collins died in an aircraft accident on March 22, 1935, the same year Test Pilot was published. That gives his writing an added poignancy, preserving the perspective of someone who lived the high-risk world he described.