January 2005 Cover Story:
Percival Mew Gull: The Holy Grail of British Air Racing
Story by Gary Williams -- Photo by John H. Garrett

The first air-racing event was held near Reims, France in August 1909. Only a few of the three dozen aircraft that appeared were successful at competing but the air meet ignited worldwide interest and, over the ninety-four years since, air races have been held nearly every year.

With the excitement of holding competitive air meets, England was quick to follow France and the British organized two such meets, Doncaster and Blackpool, in the short time remaining before the end of the year. Over the years the British maintained their interest and held a number of race events that would become famous.

In September 1922 the Brits started an annual handicapped air-racing event called the King's Cup Race. The rules were designed to encourage all pilots to get involved and they were structured to aid in the development of light aircraft. Because the entries were handicapped, everyone had a chance. Each racing result was compared to the time that the committee decided each should have completed the course and the more an entry beat that time, the better his chance of winning. Initially King George V was to present a cup to the winner and, like the Schneider Trophy, the same cup would be engraved and awarded to the new winner each year. After the first year's race it was decided that a new cup would be presented each year.

In March 1934 Capt. Edgar W. Percival first flew his new monoplane design; the P6 Percival Mew Gull (G-ACND). Only six of the examples of the Mew Gull were ever built, but the aircraft became one of the best known and loved of the British designs. The aircraft was designed for the King's Cup races and while the prototype flew with a 165 hp Napier Javelin Six it was replaced with a more powerful and reliable 200 hp Gipsy Six engine for its first race.

The Mew Gull (G-ACND) first entered racing in the 1934 King's Cup Race in July but Percival failed to place. In July 1935 it was entered in a French race but already a change had to be made to satisfy the rules of the Coupe Armand Esders, a race of 1046 miles from Deauville, France to Cannes and back. To meet the racing committee's engine size limit a French Regnier engine with 180 hp was installed. The aircraft averaged 188 mph in the race and when it was over the French power plant was quickly replaced by the original British Gipsy Six.

In that French race Count de Chateaubrun, the Percival representative in France, was the pilot but once back in England Percival, the designer and builder of the aircraft, took over the controls. In September Percival got a 1st in a 120-mile race and in July '36 he finished 4th in G-AEKL in the King's Cup Race. In August 1936 Percival finished 7th in the 174-mile race for the Folkestone Trophy.

In September 1936 the first production Mew Gull (G-AEKL) was entered in the Schlesinger Race, a race from England to South Africa (6154 miles). It was to be flown by Tom Campbell Black who was well known for winning the 1934 England-Australia race in a DeHavilland Comet. The racer was withdrawn ten days before the Schlesinger when Black taxied into a military aircraft. Its propeller cut into the cabin killing him. Two other Mew Gulls were entered but both failed to finish the race to South Africa. Maj Alistair Miller's retired with a fuel feeding problem at Belgrade and the other, while flying with reduced visibility, flipped the racer on landing to refuel in Africa. Only one aircraft actually completed the race and it was another Percival design. Miller's Mew Gull was re-registered as G-AEXF then sold to W. Humble who in turn sold it to Alex Henshaw in May 1937.

In the 1937 King's Cup Race the Mew Gull (G-AEKL) got a win with Charles Gardner as the pilot. He averaged 234 mph over the 1442-mile course. Percival flew his Mew Gull (G-AFAA), the fourth production aircraft, to a third place finish and still another was raced by Alex Henshaw.

The 1938 King's Cup Race was a 1012-mile event and this time Mew Gulls came in 1st and 2nd. Alex Henshaw (G-AEXF) got 1st Place at 236 mph in the race and Giles Guthrie (G-AEKL) took 2nd. Percival flew a third Mew Gull (G-AFAA) to get 6th.

After the disappointment of the Mew Gull in the 1936 Schlesinger Race, Henshaw had his aircraft further modified to attempt another flight to South Africa. On February 5, 1939 Alex took off from Gravesend Airport in England and, after many refueling stops, landed at Wingfield Aerodrome at the Cape on February 6, taking just 39 hours and 25 minutes to cover the 6377 miles. The next day he took-off again and did the return trip in just 11 minutes longer! For the time in the air his average on the first leg was 209.44 mph.

Henshaw sold the Mew Gull (G-AEXF) to Frenchman Victor Vermoral in late 1939 and when World War II broke out the aircraft was stored in a hangar in France and several owners hid it when Germany overran the country. Finally, in 1950, Hugh Scrope bought the aircraft and got it refurbished so he could fly it back home to England where Scrope restored it and continued its racing career. At that time the racer had a bad accident when it ran into a ditch and it was sold to JN Somers. He had it restored again and also raced it. The last to race it was Ernest Crabtree who flew it in the 1965 Manx Air Derby on May 29.

In 1975 Desmond Penrose bought the aircraft and, once again, restored it. This time it was painted snow white with black lettering, exactly like it was in the 1930s when Alex Henshaw raced it and set some records. It was later sold to the current owner, Rob Fleming, in 2002 and is now operated by The Real Aeroplane Company at the Breighton Aerodrome in England.

At the 2003 National Championship Air Races at Reno, Nev., air racing fans got a chance to see this famous racer, the last remaining example of this successful design. Not only did we get to see the sixty-seven year old racer on display, it went out to fly the pylon course daily during the races in September.

Early in the formation of the program for the 2003 Reno races Unlimited racing pilot Jimmy Leeward helped the Reno Air Racing Association to schedule a demo race with actual and replica racers from the Golden Age of the 1930s. For various reasons only two showed up but, fortunately, one of them was the Percival Mew Gull. Weeks before the races, Tony and Anne Smith, representing The Aeroplane Company in England, had the aircraft disassembled and crated to be place on a ship bound for New York. It then traveled across this country to Reno to be re-assembled in time for the races. Tony was quoted as saying that the whole operation went very smoothly and they only had to re-mount the wing, make some adjustments to the racer and start it up for a test. The fact that it is flown often in England also helped.

This Mew Gull has picked up the nickname "The Holy Grail of British Air Racing" because it's the only one left and there is only one racing aircraft older than the MG and that aircraft never held records like those that Henshaw acquired. Fans at the 2003 Reno air races were indeed fortunate to get to see this fine example of air racing history. No records were set at Reno but it was pure pleasure to be able to venture back to the 1930s and the "Golden Age."

Suggested Reading:
British Racing & Record Breaking Aircraft, Peter Lewis, 1970
Fifty Years Fly Past, Geoffrey Dorman, 1951


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