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272:, to produce his aircraft designs. Edgar Percival was also very active as a pilot during the interwar period; not only did he compete with regular success, but his designs were widely used by other racing and record-setting pilots who held his products in very high regard. Noted racing pilots of the time who also flew Percival's machines included
371:. He was the first pilot to fly from Britain to Africa and back in one day. He left Gravesend at 1.30am and returned to Croydon at 6.20pm. "Day trips in the future will be as commonplace as trips to Margate" he said in a broadcast at nine o'clock. Other famous aviators were associated with Percival aircraft; in 1933
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Percival was a noted character on the air racing scene at the time, and was often referred to in the aeronautical press of the day as "The Hat," the nickname resulting from his omnipresent hat, which he also wore while flying, along with a lounge-suit) He was respected as a highly competitive and
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In
Australia Percival began to take a further interest in aircraft design; he built the winning entry in the 1924 Australian Aero Club competition to design a light aircraft. In 1926, flying an aircraft that he had helped design, he competed in a Federal Government challenge for both design and
465:; Edgar Percival sold his interest in his company and moved to the United States to continue work on engine technology. From 1954, his old company began trading under the name Hunting Percival Aircraft Ltd; "Percival" was not dropped from the company name until 1957.
239:, to do film work, stunt flying, barnstorming and charter flights, operating his own charter company. A number of notable flights were made: in 1921 he surveyed the Melbourne-Brisbane route in an Avro 504, and in 1923, he won the Melbourne to Geelong Race.
136:, landed on the council field in Richmond, near the Percival property. After helping to maintain Hart's aircraft, Percival received, as a reward, his first flight. By 1912, when he was 14, Percival had designed, produced and flown his own gliders.
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able pilot, taking great pride in being awarded the prize for "fastest time" in handicap air racing, as well as being a rather fiery, impatient and irascible businessman and employer. During this period, Edgar
Percival served in the
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in
Bedfordshire. A two-bay hangar was constructed to accommodate the workshops and the design offices were set up in the original Georgian farmhouse situated nearby. Production at Luton was then primarily focused on the
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as one of its founding members. With 111 Sqn he saw service in the Middle East and Greece. In 1918, while serving in Egypt, Percival designed his first powered aircraft, "a special-purpose aircraft based on the
355:, Gloucestershire, an arrangement that lasted two years. Percival Aircraft was officially formed in 1933. In 1934, after 24 Gulls had been produced at Parnalls, Percival set up his own factory at London
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Edgar
Percival's aircraft were renowned for their graceful lines and outstanding performance. As a noted test pilot, Percival continued to fly his own creations; in 1935, he flew a Gull from England to
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Series II engines driving variable-pitch propellers. Again, the same basic method of construction was employed and the finished result was an aesthetically pleasing and aerodynamically clean
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Having had interests in the company which he sold in 1932, Percival began searching for an established manufacturer to produce a light aeroplane which he had designed called the
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Later in the same year, Percival was involved in a series of proving flights that helped establish the use of carrier-borne fighters, culminating in him taking off in a
117:, the son of Blanche Hilda Leontina Percival, née Wikner and William Percival, a butter manufacturer. Edgar Percival's maternal great uncle was the Swedish philosopher
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132:. He also became fascinated by aviation, especially after seeing an aeroplane for the first time in 1911, when a local dental surgeon and pioneer aviator,
630:
Ord-Hume, Arthur W. J. G. "Percival aircraft : Edgar
Percival, the man & his legacy : from racing gulls to jet trainer", 2013, Stenlake.
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Running the business from his private address in London (20, Grosvenor Square), Percival then arranged for series production to be contracted out to
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engine. During the Second World War, a great deal of
Proctor production was sub-contracted out and the designs of other firms, including the
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In 1938, with war imminent, Percival developed a military communications and R/T operator training version of the Vega Gull named the
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Percival returned to
England in 1929 where he was appointed as an Air Ministry test pilot, specializing in amphibians, seaplanes and
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was a utility aircraft well suited to agricultural use. A total of 21 were constructed before
Percival sold his company in 1960 to
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In March 1940, Percival resigned from the company, his dual roles being taken up by P.D. Acland (formerly
Aviation Manager of
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which represented the final new design produced by the company prior to Edgar
Percival selling his interests in the company.
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also used the Percival Gull to fly from England to Australia in October 1936. A pure racing member of the Gull series, the
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from England to Australia in the record breaking time of 7 days, 4 hours and 44 minutes. The New Zealand aviator
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aircraft designer and pilot whose aircraft were distinguished by speed and grace. Percival went on to set up the
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324:. Finding no company that was willing to take on production, Percival therefore started his own company, the
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Silvester 1983, p. 173. Note: 1,300 Oxfords and 245 Mosquito aircraft were constructed at Percival Aircraft.
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190:(RFC), and was accepted in November 1916. After going solo in 20 minutes in 1917, Percival was assigned to
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At the time of his death in 1984, Percival was working on aviation projects in the UK and New Zealand.
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He went to New Zealand in 1951, where he was involved with pioneering aerial application efforts.
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In late 1936 Percival transferred production to larger facilities at the newly built
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Percival requested a transfer from the AIF to pilot training with the British
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who became the Chief Designer. During the war years, Percival served in the
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As a child Percival assisted at his family's farm, on the flats of the
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In December 1915, Percival volunteered for overseas service with the
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Percival's interest in aircraft technology led him to design the
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Silvester, John. "Percival Aircraft 1933-1954 (Parts 1-4)."
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Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II
605:. Chalford, Stroud, UK: Chalford Publishing Company, 1997.
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John McCarthy, 1988, "Percival, Edgar Wikner (1897–1984)",
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engine". In August 1919 he was elected as a member of the
198:(fighter) unit in France, commanded by the Canadian ace
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were, in turn, produced by Percival Aircraft at Luton.
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to set many speed and distance records in the 1930s.
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Percivals Aircraft (The Archive Photographs Series)
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Edgar Percival with his Mew Gull, UK, 15 March 1934
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93:(23 February 1897 – 21 January 1984) was a noted
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268:racers and went on to set up his own firm, the
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616:Percival, Robert. "A Portrait of Percival."
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530:Australian Dictionary of Biography
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476:Edgar Percival Aircraft Limited
860:Australian aerospace engineers
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492:Lancashire Aircraft Company
16:Aircraft designer and pilot
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373:Charles Kingsford Smith
250:from the turret of the
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569:Silvester 1983, p. 66.
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413:de Havilland Gipsy Six
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925:Designers from London
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855:1984 deaths
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457:Later years
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443:Vickers Ltd
417:feederliner
381:Jean Batten
248:Sopwith Pup
215:, with the
109:Early years
844:Categories
501:References
330:registered
95:Australian
817:Designers
711:Vega Gull
405:Vega Gull
342:Maidstone
233:Avro 504s
181:Palestine
171:with the
808:BAC 1-11
716:Mew Gull
688:aircraft
359:, Kent.
344:, Kent.
177:sergeant
84:Designer
706:Gull VI
701:Gull IV
424:Proctor
365:Morocco
204:captain
169:private
167:, as a
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82:Aviator
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