Percival Gull

The Percival Gull was a sleek, low‑wing monoplane produced in the United Kingdom during the 1930s by Hunting Aircraft, the successor to the original Percival Aviation Company. First flown in 1932, the Gull quickly earned a reputation for speed and efficiency, becoming a favorite of record‑setting pilots and long‑distance racers. Its wooden semi‑monocoque fuselage was covered in plywood, while the wings featured a thin, tapered profile and incorporated a patented variable‑incidence mechanism that improved climb performance. Power was supplied by a range of inline engines, most commonly the de Havilland Gipsy Six, delivering up to 200 horsepower and enabling cruise speeds of 180 mph (290 km/h). The aircraft’s streamlined nose, retractable landing gear in later models, and spacious cockpit made it both aerodynamically advanced and comfortable for cross‑country flights. The Gull set several world records, including a 1935 England‑Australia speed run, and served as a testbed for early radar and navigation experiments. Its success demonstrated the practicality of high‑performance, low‑cost civilian aircraft and influenced the design philosophy of later British twins such as the Percival Proctor and the famous Spitfire’s wing loading concepts.

Hunting Aircraft

Classification

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Design & Classification