Outside the Edinburgh airport a life-sized bronze statue commemorates Captain Eric Melrose "Winkle" Brown. The statue was descigned by the Scottish sculptor David Annand. The necessary funds were raised by former pilots from the Edinburgh University Air Squadron. Next to the statue a big information board informs about his outstanding achievements. He holds three world records: He has flown 487 different aircraft types, had 2721 catapult launches and 2407 aircraft carrier landings.
The statue was unveiled by His Royal Highness Prince Andrew, The Duke of York on 2 July 2018.
Eric Brown
"Captain Eric Melrose "Winkle" Brown, CBE, DSC, AFC, Hon FRAeS, RN (21 January 1919 – 21 February 2016) was a British Royal Navy officer and test pilot who flew 487 types of aircraft, more than anyone else in history. He was also the most-decorated pilot in the history of the Royal Navy.
Brown holds the world record for the most aircraft carrier deck take-offs and landings performed (2,407 and 2,271 respectively) and achieved several "firsts" in naval aviation, including the first landings on an aircraft carrier of a twin-engined aircraft, an aircraft with a tricycle undercarriage, a jet-propelled aircraft, and rotary-wing aircraft.
He also flew almost every category of Royal Navy and RAF aircraft: glider, fighter, bomber, airliner, amphibian, flying boat and helicopter. During World War II, he also flew many types of captured German, Italian, and Japanese aircraft, including new jets and rocket planes. He was a pioneer of jet technology into the postwar era."
Source and further information: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Brown_(pilot)