Percival Mew Gull

what is it?

The Percival Mew Gull is a British racing aircraft of the 1930s. It is a small single-engined single-seat low-wing monoplane of wooden construction, normally powered by a six-cylinder de Havilland Gipsy Six piston engine. During the second half of the 1930s Mew Gulls dominated air-racing in the UK and consistently recorded the fastest times until the outbreak of war stopped all civilian flying in late 1939.

🔎How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 7.3 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 386 km/htop speed
• size 964 kgmax take-off weight
• built 5made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 92 years ago, in 1934.
• 🏎️Top speed is 3.0× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1934-03

number built

5

role

racing aircraft

makers

Hunting Aircraft

engines

1× de Havilland Gipsy Six

crew

1

length

6.2 m

wingspan

7.3 m

height

2.1 m

max take-off weight

964 kg

top speed

386 km/h

cruise speed

370 km/h

range

—

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.