Percy Pilcher was born
in Bath, England in 1867. In 1891 he flew his glider named The Bat
for the first time and met Otto Lilienthal, the German gliding expert.
Pilcher built two more gliders - The Beetle and The Gull. In 1869
Otto Lilienthal was killed when his glider crashed and Pilcher became
the favourite to build the world's first aeroplane. Pilcher 's next
glider was called The Hawk. He broke the world record for flight
in this glider.
Percy Pilcher and his Bat
glider in 1895
Pilcher then built a
triplane which had a small engine that drove two propellers. On
30th September 1899 Percy Pilcher planned to test his new triplane
in front of a large crowd . As the weather was bad he was unable
to attempt the first powered flight. To please the crowd Pilcher
flew his glider The Hawk instead. However the wire in the tail snapped
when he was 9 metres off the ground and he crashed. Percy Pilcher
died two days later.
Percy Pilcher and his Hawk
glider in 1897
Anne
Jakins (February, 2004)
