In 1932 Penrose, Chief Test Pilot at Westland Aircraft from 1931–53,[1] began the design of a wooden single-seat glider.
One unusual design constraint was that no component could be more the 12 ft 6 in (3.81 m) long in order for it to leave the workshop.
Early test flights with the improved undercarriage were made in July and August at Maiden Newton, home of the Dorset Gliding Club.
[5] Until the outbreak of war Penrose often flew the Pegasus from Kimmeridge, on the Dorset coast, at weekends.
[6] The Pegasus survived World War II and afterwards underwent modifications, never completed, to enlarge the cockpit.