A STATUE to honour one of the world’s most renowned pilots has been unveiled at Edinburgh Airport.

Former pilots from the Edinburgh University Air Squadron raised the funds for the life-sized bronze statue of Captain Eric “Winkle” Brown which was designed by Scottish sculptor David Annand.

Brown was born in Leith in 1919 and went on to become a British Royal Navy officer after training at RAF Turnhouse, now Edinburgh Airport, in the late 1930s.

His records include: flying more types of aircraft than any other pilot in history at 487 (including biplanes and helicopters to supersonic jets), and the world record for landings on aircraft carriers at 2407.

Captain Brown was also responsible for test flying a captured German aircraft in the Second World War.

Sir John Elvidge, chairman of Edinburgh Airport, said: “Captain Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown is a someone who is synonymous with RAF Turnhouse, and in turn a key figure in the history of what is now Edinburgh Airport.”