Good as new, glider that almost beat the Wright Brothers...
IT would be another six years before the Wright Brothers’ flight at Kitty Hawk ushered in the age of powered aviation.
But Scots-based pioneer Percy Pilcher had already succeeded in building a glider that flew 820ft – 200ft more than the Wrights’ best engine-free effort.
Now Pilcher’s historic Hawk, which at 120 is the UK’s oldest surviving aircraft, is being restored to its former glory by the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.
The glider was designed while the engineer was working as a lecturer at Glasgow University, and was first assembled in the city’s Kelvingrove Park.
Born in 1866 in Bath to an English father and a Scottish mother, he had trained as a nautical engineer before moving north to work in the Govan shipyards.
But after joining the university staff, he found himself increasingly drawn to the exciting new world of aviation.
His first effort, which he trialled in 1895 at Cardross, Dunbartonshire, was named The Bat.
A meeting with the German gliding pioneer Otto Lilienthal later the same year inspired him to carry on refining his design with The Beetle and The Gull.
However, it was not until 1897 that, with the invaluable help of his sister Ella, he designed and built The Hawk.
And not only was it Ella who sewed and treated the sailcloth used to make the aircraft’s wings, its first test pilot was a woman – Pilcher’s cousin, Dorothy Rose Pilcher.
Curators at the National Museum believe she has a strong claim to be recognised as the world’s first female pilot.
The Hawk is thought to be the oldest surviving aircraft in the UK, and restorers have spent many long hours reconstructing its bamboo and sailcloth frame. It is expected to be a key exhibit when the National Museum opens ten new galleries this summer at its main location on Chambers Street.
Louise Innes, its principal curator of transport, described Pilcher as one of the world’s greatest pioneers in the history of flight.
She said: ‘The Hawk was built in his lodgings in Hillhead in Glasgow with his sister Ella, and assembled in Kelvingrove Park. Years later when he was speaking about his own achievements Wilbur Wright paid tribute to the work of Ella and Percy as innovators.
‘This was a project that required dedication, creativity and invention. I hope it convinces young people, and particularly girls, to fall in love with the experimentation and excitement of science.’
The plane was been in the collection of the National Museum since 1909 and curators have spent the last 18 months getting it ready for its public unveiling this summer.
Mrs Innes said: ‘We’ve had to replace some sails which were put on in the 60s. We’re trying to take it back to the historical state it was in when it was completed.’
The Hawk was Pilcher’s most significant achievement but it was also the cause of his untimely death at just 33 years old.
On September 30, 1899, he had been planning to demonstrate his design for a powered triplane to potential backers near Stanford Hall, Leicestershire – but poor weather made him reluctant to take up the untried craft. Instead, he decided to fly The Hawk – and was fatally injured when the strong winds broke vital wires in the tail and sent him plunging 30ft to the ground. He died three days later.
Mrs Innes said: ‘The Wright Brothers flew in 1903. We’ll never know, but it’s possible that he could have beaten them to the first powered and controlled flight by nearly 4 years.’
‘Creativity and invention’