Cyril Frank Uwins OBE, AFC,

FRAeS The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a British multi-disciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community. Founded in 1866, it is the oldest aeronautical society in the world. Members, Fellows ...

(1896–1972) was a British

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testing ...

who worked for

Bristol Aeroplane Company The Bristol Aeroplane Company, originally the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, was both one of the first and one of the most important British aviation companies, designing and manufacturing both airframes and aircraft engines. Notable a ...

, where he made the first flight of 58 types of aircraft. On 16 September 1932 he broke the world aeroplane height record by climbing to (nearly miles). He eventually became the Deputy Chairman of Bristol Aircraft. He was also Chairman of the Society of British Aircraft Manufacturer between 1956 and 1958, and he was awarded the Royal Aeronautical Society silver medal for aeronautics.

Early life

Cyril Uwins was born at 2 Carmichael Road,

South Norwood South Norwood is a district of south-east London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon, Greater London and formerly in the historic county of Surrey. It is located 7.8 miles (12.5 km) south-east of Charing Cross, north of Wood ...

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

, on 2 August 1896, the eldest son of Frank Uwins, a wood broker, and his wife, Annie Henton. He was educated at the

Whitgift School ("He who perseveres, conquers") , established = , closed = , type = Independent school , religious_affiliation = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head Master , head = Christopher Ramsey , c ...

, where he developed an interest in

kite A kite is a tethered heavier than air flight, heavier-than-air or lighter-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create Lift (force), lift and Drag (physics), drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. ...

Aviation career

On the outbreak of the First World War, Uwins joined the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

and served with the

London Irish Rifles The London Irish Rifles (LIR) was a reserve infantry regiment and then company of the British Army. The unit's final incarnation was as D (London Irish Rifles) Company, the London Regiment. On 1 April 2022 soldiers in the company transferred to ...

. In November 1915 he was promoted to

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

. After active service in France he transferred to the

RFC RFC may refer to: Computing * Request for Comments, a memorandum on Internet standards * Request for change, change management * Remote Function Call, in SAP computer systems * Rhye's and Fall of Civilization, a modification for Sid Meier's Civ ...

in August 1916 and flew with 13 and 64 Squadrons. In January 1917 he was posted to Farnborough as a ferry pilot, and that summer he formed a flying school at Lake Down Aerodrome on Salisbury Plain. He moved to No 5 Aircraft Acceptance Park,

Filton Filton is a town and civil parish in South Gloucestershire, England, north of Bristol. Along with nearby Patchway and Bradley Stoke, Filton forms part of the Bristol urban area and has become an overflow settlement for the city. Filton Church d ...

, which started his association with

, then officially referred to as the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, Ltd. Here, he carried out test flights on newly built Bristol Fighters before ferrying them to France. In 1918, during a ferry flight in a Morane-Parasol monoplane from

Hounslow Hounslow () is a large suburban district of West London, west-southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hounslow, and is identified in the London Plan as one of the 12 metropolitan centres in Gr ...

aerodrome to St Omer in France, the engine failed and in the ensuing crash Uwins broke his neck. As a result of this injury his head movement was permanently impaired. Once he was out of hospital Uwins was judged medically unfit for active service, and on 25 October 1918 he was posted to the Bristol Aeroplane Company's works at Filton to succeed Captain Joseph Hammond who had been killed flying an American-built Bristol fighter. Uwins's first test flight as chief test pilot was the next day (26 October 1918), in a Bristol Scout. He had already made his first trial of a new aircraft type on 4 September in the prototype Bristol Scout F1. On 1 May 1919 he was demobilized from the Royal Air ForceWhile Uwins left the RAF in 1919 he remained in the Reserve of Air Force Officers, being promoted to honorary flight lieutenant in February 1927. and formally joined the Bristol Aeroplane Company, and the same day made the first post-war civil air flight in Britain when he flew the Bristol Company's general manager, Herbert Thomas, from Filton to Hounslow in a

Bristol Tourer The Bristol Tourer was a British civil utility biplane produced in the years following the First World War, using as much as possible from the design of the Bristol Fighter aircraft. Bristol Tourers were delivered with a variety of engines, su ...

. As well as test flying, Uwins flew Bristol aircraft in a number of races and in 1926, flying a

Bristol Brownie The Bristol Type 91 Brownie was a light sports aircraft produced in the United Kingdom by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1924. It was a low-wing cantilever monoplane aircraft of conventional configuration with fixed tailskid undercarriage. ...

, he won the second prize at the

Lympne light aircraft trials The Lympne Light Aircraft Trials were held to encourage the development of practical light aircraft for private ownership, with a strong but not exclusive emphasis on fuel economy. They were held in 1923, 1924 and 1926. Each year saw different rest ...

, also winning the Duke of Sutherland's prize for the best take-off and landing. The following year he was one of the first pilots to experience

control reversal Control reversal is an adverse effect on the controllability of aircraft. The flight controls reverse themselves in a way that is not intuitive, so pilots may not be aware of the situation and therefore provide the wrong inputs; in order to roll to ...

caused by

aeroelasticity Aeroelasticity is the branch of physics and engineering studying the interactions between the inertial, elastic, and aerodynamic forces occurring while an elastic body is exposed to a fluid flow. The study of aeroelasticity may be broadly classif ...

while testing the

Bristol Bagshot The Bristol Bagshot, also known as the Type 95, was a prototype heavily armed British fighter built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company and first flown in 1927. Flight testing revealed serious problems, and the project was abandoned. Developme ...

On 16 September 1932, flying a modified

Vickers Vespa The Vickers Vespa was a British army cooperation biplane designed and built by Vickers Limited in the 1920s. While not adopted by Britain's Royal Air Force, small numbers were bought by the Irish Free State and Bolivia, the latter of which used ...

fitted with a supercharged

Bristol Pegasus The Bristol Pegasus is a British nine-cylinder, single-row, air-cooled radial aero engine. Designed by Roy Fedden of the Bristol Aeroplane Company, it was used to power both civil and military aircraft of the 1930s and 1940s. Developed from t ...

engine, he set a new world altitude record, reaching a height of 43,976 ft (13,404 m). He was awarded the

Britannia Trophy The Britannia Trophy is a British award presented by the Royal Aero Club for aviators accomplishing the most meritorious performance in aviation during the previous year. In 1911 Horatio Barber, who was a founder member of the Royal Aero Club, w ...

for this achievement. He was awarded the AFC in 1937 and appointed OBE in 1943. Uwins' entire career was spent with Bristol, and eventually he had a team of ten test pilots working under him. His nickname, "Papa" Uwins, is an indication of the affection and respect with which he was regarded. He made the first flight of every Bristol type up to the Type 170

Bristol Freighter The Bristol Type 170 Freighter is a British twin-engine aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company as both a freighter and airliner. Its best known use was as an air ferry to carry cars and their passengers over relatively sh ...

, and in all made the first flight of 58 prototype aircraft, achieving this without any major accident, although not without several close shaves. He ended his career as Deputy Chairman of the company.

Family life

He died on 11 September 1972 in Bath. At the time he was married to Naomi with a daughter and stepson; another stepson had died before him."Deaths." Times ondon, England12 Sept. 1972: 22. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 12 Oct. 2012.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uwins, Cyril 1896 births 1972 deaths British Army personnel of World War I Military personnel from Surrey London Irish Rifles soldiers London Irish Rifles officers English test pilots English aviators Officers of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Air Force officers London Regiment officers Flight altitude record holders British aviation record holders People educated at Whitgift School