Test Pilot Signature

[Ryan Smith]

Hi all,

I just picked up logbooks for 57D and grabbed a picture of the test pilot’s signature. Can anyone shed light on who it was? Doyle Worley flew 56D, but I can’t make this one out.

Thanks!

Ryan

[Bruce Fenstermacher]

If we had a list of test pilot names. That would be a start.

AI finds these 1950s Cessna test pilot names:
Emil "Fritz" Feutz: Conducted the first flight of the Cessna 172 prototype (N41678) on June 12, 1955, at Cessna Aircraft Field in Wichita, Kansas.
Mort Brown: Actively tested various Cessna models in the early 1950s, including the 1951 Cessna 310, 1952 Cessna 170, and the Cessna LC-126A.
Hank Waring: Conducted the first flight of the Cessna 310 in 1951 along with Mort Brown.

Brown might mention others in his book.

Looks like TMA or TWA.the A looks like a printed A rather than cursive but I think many folks take liberties using a mix of cursive and printing in signing their name or initials, I know I do. And there is no cursive letter that I see in the cursive alphabet that is shape with a forward slanting rising stroke following a nearly vertical down word stroke then a rising backwards curl.

And if that is actually their full last name, well, I'm pretty sure it starts with a T.

[GAHorn]

Looks like a JWH to me.

[Ryan Smith]

Several 120/140 folks are adamant it’s Mort’s signature and have compared it to theirs and verified through Mort’s logbook. Does anyone have his signature in their logbook to compare?

[DaveF]

Mine looks like the same signature. Edit: Looks like TWH - Ted Hart.

IMG_7216.jpeg

[Bruce Fenstermacher]

Here is Mort W. Browns initials in another log described here: viewtopic.php?p=145819#p145819

Screen Shot 2026-03-03 at 6.07.52 PM.png

I found Mort's middle initial was W. with Google searches.

[Bruce Fenstermacher]

In the same thread is another log book picture with supposedly the initials of test pilot Ted Hart. Does this look familiar Ryan?

Screen Shot 2026-03-03 at 6.29.47 PM.png

From this post: viewtopic.php?p=145823#p145823

[n2582d]

William Thompson, in Cessna: Wings for the World, said that Mort had well over 20,000 hours of flight test time. His group of production test pilots included Mel Coeur, Hubert Feese, J.A. Greer (Jim), Ted Hart, Richard Hill, H.C. Jackson, E.C. Johnson, Jack Mardis, Don Martin, Del Massey, Bill McCoy, W.G. McNeil (Bill), Jack Tovani, Jim Unger, Jim Wolf, Doyle Worley “and others.” (Footnote 3, pg. 2).

Here’s the signature in my logbook:

IMG_1688.jpeg

Bill McNeil???

[JimNelson]

And here's mine. No date, but 9955A was sold and flown out on March 31, 1950.