BREAREY glider (F.W. Brearey)

   The real founder of the Aeronautical Society in 1866 was Fred Brearey, who was to be its Hon. Secretary for its first thirty years. When the first enthusiasm in the Society started to flag it was Brearey who kept it alive until his death in 1896; by then there had been a great revival of interest in aviation matters.
   Brearey was an ardent advocate of heavier-than-air flight and designed at least one glider. This was an elegant-looking machine, with birdlike wings and tail. It is not known if it was ever built.
   In 1879 Brearey filed a patent (No.2376) for a flying machine described as 'an elongated body pointed at both ends contains the requisite machinery and the passengers. Flexible lever arms extend on either side, and a flexible spar extends from the tail end of the body. Silk or other suitable fabric is extended from the arms and along the spar of the tail, thus giving a large supporting surface, and vibrations are imparted to the area which propels the machine by a wave like motion'.