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Flying Officer Phillip Edward Gerald Sayer (5 February 1905 – 21 October 1942), was the chief test pilot for Gloster Aircraft as well as a serving RAF officer. "Gerry" Sayer flew Britain's maiden jet flight in Sir Frank Whittle's Gloster E.28/39 (Pioneer), an aircraft designed by George Carter, on 15 May 1941.
In 1934 Hawker took over the Gloster Aircraft Company and Sayer was appointed chief test pilot in November 1934. On 2 March 1937 Sayer relinquished his reserve commission on completion of service, and was permitted to retain his rank.
On 15 May 1941 at 7.45pm, he took off from RAF Cranwell, near Sleaford in Lincolnshire in the Gloster E.28/39 (W4041/G) powered by the W.1 engine and flew for 17 minutes, flying at over , impossible for other aircraft at the time in level flight. That Gloster aircraft has been in the Science Museum since 1946. A second aircraft of the same type (W4046/G) would be later demonstrated to Winston Churchill on 17 April 1943, having first flown on 1 March 1943 and later crashed in June 1943.
On 21 October 1942 Sayer departed from RAF Acklington in a Hawker Typhoon to carry out tests of a gunsight involving gun firing into Druridge Bay Ranges, accompanied by another Typhoon. Neither aircraft returned, and it was assumed that they collided over the bay. He was replaced as Gloster's test pilot by Michael Daunt, who would be the first to fly the Gloster Meteor (powered by two de Havilland Goblin engines designed by Frank Halford) on 5 March 1943 at RAF Cranwell.
In January 1929, he became engaged to May Violet Ellen Wallace-Smyth daughter of the vicar of Bures, north Essex. They were married on 7 June 1930 at Holy Innocents Church, Lamarsh in north Essex.
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