A self-confessed aviation obsessive, Hugh Cowin failed to be deterred from
his aeronautical interests despite living through the 15-month Luftwaffe
blitz on Liverpool during 1940 and '41. Cowin's first historical feature on
an obscure US Navy racing aircraft of the mid-1920s was published while he
was still in the RAF (1951 to 1963). In the more technical sphere, Cowin
launched and exclusively produced Flight International's monthly Systems
feature during the first half of the 1970s, along with many of their weekly
Avionics pieces. While his day-job involved in aerospace/defence programme
analysis and forecasting, Cowin still managed to produce a number of books,
including the pocket-sized Observers Warship, produced essentially as a
readily portable aid for his own use. Cowin remained an active pilot until
late 1979, after which his non-passenger flying has been confined largely to
photographic sorties. Regarded for their insight and veracity, Cowin's books
and features have always shunned the use of 'jargonese', preferring plain
English and simple explanations where required. Thanks to his late-1942
decision to star gathering photographs of aircraft and the people behind
them, he also now has an enviable image archive from which to illustrate his
works. Of late, Cowin has embarked on an illustrated Directory of Jet &
Rocket Aircraft. Covering well over 600 manned machines and streching back
to June 1928, this a task guaranteed to keep him occupied for a while yet.