Edgar Percival, continued

In 1924 there was a Low-Powered Airplane Competition sponsored by the Australian Aero Club.  The winning entry was designed by H. E. Broadsmith and built by Edgar Percival. The second prize was won by L. J. Wackett with his Warbler aircraft.
H. E. Broadsmith together with N. Love had founded Australia's first aircraft manufacturing company, Australian Aircraft and Engineering Company in 1919. AAEC was established on a Bullock Paddock at Mascot NSW that was to grow into Sydney International Airport.
AAEC went into liquidation in 1923 and the design for the winning entry to the 1924 competition was passed on to Edgar Percival to build and fly for the competition.
In 1926, flying an aircraft that he helped design, he competed in a Federal Government challenge for both design and piloting skills, winning £940 in prize money. (This is a direct reference from Wikipedia that I have not been ably to verify through other sources).
Also in 1926 Edgar Percival flew a Sopwith Pup off the USS Idaho in the US Navy's experiments with using catapults for launching aircraft off Battle Ships at Guantanamo Bay.
By this time Aircraft Carriers where an established part of naval warfare, but these experiments involved flying a small plane off a platform built on top of the gun turret of a Battle Ship for artillery spotting and then landing back on the platform.
Percival returned to England in 1929 and became a test pilot for the Air Ministry specializing in amphibians, seaplane and Schneider Trophy racers.
The British Government was sponsoring Supermarine Aircraft in the Schneider Trophy competitions at the time and it is likely that Edgar Percival was one of the test pilots of the Supermarine S.6 series of aircraft that later developed into the Supermarine Spitfire.
In 1930 Percival designed a three engine mail aircraft called the Saro-Percival Mailplane that was built by Saunders Roe. Saro is a shortened version of Saunders-Roe.

 
  Edgar Percival had an interest in Saunders Roe which he sold in 1932. The design of the Saro-Percival Mailplane was sold to Spartan Aircraft and became the Spartan Cruiser passenger aircraft that first saw service with the Yugoslav airline Aeroput.They also flew in Iraq, Egypt and India as well as Spartan Airlines. Later Spartan Airlines became part of British Airways.
Percival's principle interest was light aircraft and when he failed to find an established aircraft manufacturer interested in building his designs he formed the Percival Aircraft Company in conjunction with Lt Cdr E.B.W. Leake. The prototype for the first aircraft . the Gull, was built by Lowe-Wylde British Aircraft Company of Maidstone and series production was contracted to George Parnall and sons. After two years (and 24 aircraft) later the Percival Aircraft Company set up its own factory at Gravesend in Kent.
The graceful and high performing Gull was used by many famous aviators of the day (including Jean Batten). In 1933 Charles Kingsford-Smith flew a Percival Gull (Miss Southern Cross) from England to Australia in 7 days, four hours and 44 minutes to set a new world record.
A pure racing variant was developed called the Percival Mull Gull and Edgar Percival often flew a Mull Gull in air races. He had the nickname of 'The Hat' because he raced in suit and tie and a trademark hat.
The records set by aviators using Percival aircraft in both speed and distance events are too numerous to mention in an article of this length.
The next variant of the Gull was the Vega Gull that was later to morth into the Proctor, developed for radio operator training and military communications at the beginning of the World War.
In 1938 a six seat feeder airline/military communications twin called the Q.6 ( the military version was called the Petrel) was introduced. It was used by some foreign countries including Lithuania National Airlines which resulted in the Petrel being pressed into service with the Soviet Air force during the World War.
Continued