Everson aircraft were constructed by the brothers Arthur and Ernest Everson. They built three aircraft from the late 1920s. Their third, the Everson Evo III, was a long-range racing aircraft from New Zealand. It was the first and to date only twin-engined aircraft designed and built in New Zealand. The Eversons also built a number of cars and a gyrocopter. Evo The Evo was built in the late 1920s by Ernest and Arthur Everson of 9 Sentinel Road, Herne Bay. Evo was powered by a Henderson motor cycle engine. News of their construction was reported in 1928, with interest being shown in national newspapers. Ernest was described as the aircraft's designer. He was a draughtsman and had a keen interest in aircraft, having built a number of successful models. Neither he nor his brother had any flying experience. Despite an attempt at flying the machine at the Mangere speedway on 10 July 1929 it never actually flew, but crashed attempting to take off. The Auckland Sun had reported a flight by the aircraft but this had turned out to be a hoax, possibly perpetrated by the brothers and their friends. The competing New Zealand Truth made much of its rival's error. The paper went on to say that the local Auckland Aero Club had refused the boys permission to use their field at Mangere because they considered the plane a hazard. The boys were aged 20 and 18 respectively at the time. Evo II Undeterred by their first failure, Ernest and Arthur began construction of Evo II. After trying out a 23-horsepower motor-cycle engine (probably the Henderson from Evo I), they installed an 80 hp Hall-Scott engine. On 3 December 1930 they took the plane to Muriwai beach for its first and last flight. The flight was on 4 December 1930 but ended when, after lifting off to about 20 feet in the air, the wing broke and the plane crashed. The brothers survived the crash with only a few scratches and bruises. The plane, however, was a writeoff. Evo III Against this background the brothers' decision to enter the 1934 MacRobertson Air Race between England and Australia seemed ambitious, but they came surprisingly close to achieving their goal with the Evo III. The Evo III was a braced high-wing monoplane with a spatted tailwheel undercarriage, of conventional fabric-covered construction, powered by two Bristol Cherub Mk III engines, mounted beneath