Percival Hopkins Spencer (April 30, 1897 – January 16, 1995) was an American inventor, aviation pioneer, test pilot, and businessman.
[1][2] He was one of the Early Birds of Aviation, a group which required members to have flown a glider, gas balloon or airplane prior to December 17, 1916.
[2] That association credited Spencer with "the longest active flight record in aviation history": he first soloed in 1914 and was a licensed pilot until 1987.
[2] At the age of 14, Spencer built his first pontooned hang glider in April 1911 from plans he found in a Popular Mechanics magazine.
The S-12 was a fabric-covered amphibian with a unique boxlike forward cabin; a high wing with a two-bladed propeller in pusher configuration; and a long, slender tail boom.
[citation needed] In December 1941, Spencer put the Air Car into storage and joined the war effort as a test pilot for the Republic Aircraft Corporation.