Well-Known Aviator Was Rated In Over 300 Aircraft Types

One of the U.K.'s oldest and best-known pilots, Derek Piggott, has Gone West at the age of 94.

Piggott was rated in more than 300 types of aircraft, ranging from gliders to jets. He also worked as a stunt pilot on occasion, perhaps best known for his work in "Those Magnificent Men in the Flying Machines" and "The Blue Max". In the latter movie, he repeatedly flew two Fokker DR.I triplane replicas under a narrow bridge span. Piggott had only four feet of clearance on each side of the airplane during that stunt.

Pilot Web reports that Piggott began his flying career when he volunteered for the RAF in 1942. After receiving his commission, he grew tired of waiting for an opportunity to fly bombers and volunteered for glider operations, which got him in the air quickly.

He became a glider instructor, training Indian pilots at Jodhpur and later becoming chief instructor at the RAF Gliding School in Detling. He developed a systematic sequence of exercises in dual-controlled gliders which was credited with greatly improving the safety of gliding, and in 1953 he received the Queen’s Commendation for work on developing and introducing new instructional techniques for gliding in the Air Training Corps.

After leaving the RAF in 1953, he become the CFI a Lasham Airfield, where he stayed until 1989. He continued flying, and authored eight books on gliding.

In 1987, Piggott was recognized with the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his services to gliding.

(Image from file)

FMI: Source report