Derek Piggott
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Alan Derek Piggott MBE |
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Derek Piggott in his natural habitat at the Lasham Regional Competition in 2005
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| Born | 27 December 1922 |
| Nationality | English |
| Citizenship | United Kingdom |
| Occupation | Retired Flying Instructor and Author |
| Years active | 1942- |
Alan Derek Piggott MBE (born 27 December 1922) is one of Britain's best known glider pilots and instructors. He has over 5,000 hours on over 153 types of powered aircraft and over 5,000 hours on over 184 types of glider. He has been honoured for his work on the instruction and safety of glider pilots. In 1961 he became the first person to make an officially authenticated take-off and flight in a man-powered aircraft. He has also worked as a stunt pilot in several feature films.
He was born in Chadwell Heath, Essex, the son of Rev. William Piggott and Alice Harvey. His father was a conscientious objector in the First World War, led the rent strike against London County Council after the war and was a frequent speaker at Hyde Park. When his mother died, the family moved to Sutton, Surrey where Derek attended Sutton County School. When he left school he became a trainee scientific instrument maker. He had been a very active aero-modeller and helped to form the Sutton Model Aircraft Club. After the war he was selected to be a member of the British Wakefield Cup team, a prestigious aero modelling competition held that year in Akron, Ohio. He first flew in an Avro 504 as a passenger at the age of four.
Derek Piggott joined the Royal Air Force in 1942 as aircrew and made a first solo in a de Havilland DH.82A Tiger Moth after only six hours dual. He completed his training in Canada and was commissioned as a Pilot Officer in 1943. He was then sent on a multi-engine instructors' course and then on a course for elementary instructors before returning to England. By 1944 there was a surplus of trained pilots and he volunteered to fly military gliders. After a short conversion to the Airspeed Horsa, General Aircraft Hotspur and Waco Hadrian, he was posted to India and then on to Burma where he flew Douglas Dakotas dropping supplies to front-line troops. During his stay in India, he instructed Indian Air Force students and flew low anti-riot patrols just before partition.
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