If you've never heard of Eric "Winkle" Brown (I hadn't), this BBC profile is an eye opener.
Brown's exploits run through some of the most momentous events of world history. He was
at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, he interrogated Hermann Goering, helped liberate the Belsen concentration camp and by chance managed to sing with the Glenn Miller band.
But his greatest achievements were as a Royal Navy test pilot. He mastered deck landings in the face of tremendous danger. Now 95, he is a hero among military pilots who fly far more safely thanks to the techniques and technologies he helped test.
Among other things, he's flown a record 487 different aircraft, many on their first flights in the days before everything was simulated and modeled to death before anything left the ground. He's made more carrier landings than anyone - 2407 - and "Captain Eric Melrose Brown CBE, DSC, AFC, KCVSA, PhD Hon FRAeS, RN is his full title. Charlier says Brown is one of the only pilots who - on top of all his campaign medals - has the Distinguished Service Cross as well as the Air Force Cross. "That is highly unusual.""
Read the whole thing - it's amazing. If that's not enough, try the wikipedia entry.