Peter Roland Cope was the last surviving test pilot from the Avro

Avro

Avro was a British aircraft manufacturer, with numerous landmark designs such as the Avro 504 trainer in the First World War, the Avro Lancaster, one of the pre-eminent bombers of the Second World War, and the delta wing Avro Vulcan, a stalwart of the Cold War.-Early history:One of the world's...

 Arrow program.

Born in Croydon, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, Cope signed up for the Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 in 1939 after graduating from Croydon College

Croydon College

Croydon College, established in 1895, is a Further Education and Higher Education institution in the London Borough of Croydon.Located in East Croydon, it is made up of a Further Education College and a Higher Education College.- Further Education :...

 with a degree in science and applied mathematics.

In August 1941 Cope was called up for training in the U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, on the Vultee BT-13 Valiant at Maxwell Field

Maxwell Field

Maxwell Field was the football stadium located behind the former location of Louisville Male High School, 911 S. Brook St., Louisville, Kentucky, 40203 which was bounded by the streets of Brook, Breckinridge, Floyd, and Caldwell streets in Louisville, Kentucky. In 1984 a double murder known locally...

, Alabama with the USAAC.

Cope returned to England in 1942 and flew a variety of aircraft.

Cope attended No. 5 Course at the Empire Test Pilots' School

Empire Test Pilots' School

The Empire Test Pilots' School is a British training school for test pilots and flight test engineers of fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft at MoD Boscombe Down in Wiltshire, England. It was established in 1943, the first of its type...

 in 1946/1947.

He was hired by Armstrong-Whitworth Company to test the Gloster Meteor

Gloster Meteor

The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' first operational jet. It first flew in 1943 and commenced operations on 27 July 1944 with 616 Squadron of the Royal Air Force...

In April 1952 Cope moved to Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 to work for A.V.Roe Canada. Because of his experience in the war he became the unofficial armament development pilot.

Cope was one of four pilots assigned to test fly the Arrow, and flew it five times.

In 1960 Cope left Avro for Boeing

Boeing

The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...

, from which he retired in 1986.

Cope died in Bellevue, Washington

Bellevue, Washington

Bellevue is a city in the Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States, across Lake Washington from Seattle. Long known as a suburb or satellite city of Seattle, it is now categorized as an edge city or a boomburb. The population was 122,363 at the 2010 census.Downtown Bellevue is...

.