| Percival Vega Gull | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Civil touring aircraft, military trainer and communications aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Percival Aircraft Limited |
| Designer | |
| Primary users | Royal Air Force |
| Number built | 90 |
| History | |
| Manufactured | November 1935 – July 1939 |
| First flight | November1935 |
| Retired | 1945 |
| Developed from | Percival Gull |
| Variant | Percival Proctor |
ThePercival Vega Gull was a 1930sBritish, four-seater touring aircraft built byPercival Aircraft Limited. It was a single-engine low-wing , wood-and-fabricmonoplane with a fixedtailwheel undercarriage.
Built byPercival Aircraft ofGravesend andLuton (after 1936 when Percival Aircraft became a Limited Company), the 'K-Series' Vega Gull was a development of their earlier 'D-Series'Gull. The main changes from the earlier design were the provision of a fourth seat, dual controls andflaps. The fuselage was widened and the wingspan increased. Increases in drag were compensated for by reducing parasitic drag from exterior fittings such as hinges and actuation horns. This work was largely attributable to the arrival at Percivals of the draughtsman Arthur Bage.[1] Thus, the Vega Gull was very nearly as fast as the slimmer Gull Six. Payload, range and utility were all much improved. The prototypeG-AEAB first flew from Gravesend in November 1935.[2]
The Vega Gull retained thede Havilland Gipsy Six air-cooled inline engine introduced in theD.3 Gull Six of 1934. Most examples were fitted with the optional DH Gipsy Six Series II engine in conjunction with the DH-PD30 VP airscrew. The final Mk II examples were fitted with a curved windscreen (the earlier examples had a multi-faceted windscreen of flat panels) similar in appearance to the early marks of theProctor.[3]
The Vega GullVP-KCC named "Messenger" was used byBeryl Markham on her transatlantic flight on 4-5 September 1936; this was the first non-stop solo crossing by a woman, and the first east-to-west solo crossing.[4][5]
Two early production Vega Gulls were entered in theSchlesinger Race fromEngland toJohannesburg,South Africa.C.W.A. Scott and Giles Guthrie flying Vega GullG-AEKE were the only finishers, landing at Rand Airport on 1 October 1936.[6] The aircraft had leftPortsmouth 52 hours 56 minutes 48 seconds earlier. With the publicity of the win, Percival set up a production line at larger premises atLuton. The new type was an immediate success with production running to 90, the last production aircraft having its maiden flight on 27 July 1939.
The Vega Gull was widely used by British and Commonwealth aviators during the later years of the "Golden Age" of record-setting aviation during the 1930s.Alex Henshaw,Jim Mollison,Amy Johnson,Beryl Markham,C.W.A. Scott and others, won races and broke records to, among other places, South Africa, South America, Australia and New Zealand.
In addition to civil orders, 15 were ordered by theAir Ministry. Of these, 11 served with24 SquadronRoyal Air Force on communications duties and two were issued to theFleet Air Arm, which was yet to come underAdmiralty control.[2] The remaining two were used by the Britishair attachés inBuenos Aires andLisbon. A third aircraft for use by theBritishair attaché inBerlin was seized by the Germans at the outbreak of theSecond World War.[7] It remains unclear whether theLuftwaffe subsequently used this machine.
After the outbreak of war Vega Gulls were requisitioned for military use. In the UK, 21 were impressed in 1939–40, 14 for the RAF and seven for the FAA. Two aircraft were impressed in each of Australia and India, while one other was "called to the colours" in New Zealand.[7]
By the end of the war the Vega Gull had been largely supplanted by theProctor, of which more than 1,100 were manufactured. Despite the obvious drawbacks of its wooden airframe in terms of durability, the Vega Gull compares favourably with more modern designs. To save hangar space, the wings could be folded to reduce the space needed for storage.
Civil Vega Gulls have been registered in the following countries; Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, India, Iraq, Japan, Kenya, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States.[8]
Data fromBritish Civil Aircraft 1919–1972: Volume III.[11]
General characteristics
Performance
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
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