high-speed aircraft such as the General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark to expand their flight envelope. Bonney used differential sweep for roll control. Operational history Bonney was unable to find a willing test pilot and chose to fly the aircraft himself. He performed a test hop, damaging the landing gear once. On 4 May 1928 Bonney took up another aircraft on a flight, then announced he would test fly the Gull that day. Bonney was killed during the maiden flight when the aircraft nosedived into the ground from about 50 feet of altitude, seconds after taking off from Curtiss Field on Long Island. Pathé News was onsite to film the first flight. The newsreel shows the aircraft experiencing a roll to the left which was corrected, and a single oscillation in pitch before nosing straight down into the ground tossing out Bonney. Bonney was taken to Mineola Hospital where he died. Specifications (Bonney Gull) See also References External links Early Aviators Spooner Flight Journal: Bonney Gull Youtube Homebuilt aircraft Gull-wing aircraft 1920s United States experimental aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1928