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The first jet pilot was Captain Erich Wersitz, a test pilot for the German Air Force. He is notable for being the first person to fly both a rocket-powered and a jet-powered airplane. His airplane was a Heinkel He 178, a fighter prototype, which took its first flight on August 27, 1939, in Rostock, Germany. His flight was short, only completing two laps around his airfield, but still set the stage for all the airplane designs to follow.