Age, Biography and Wiki

Francis Chichester was born on 17 September, 1901, is a New Zealand yacht racer. Discover Francis Chichester's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Learn How rich is he in this year and how he spends money? Also learn how he earned most of networth at the age of 70 years old?

Popular As N/A
Occupation N/A
Age 70 years old
Zodiac Sign Virgo
Born 17 September, 1901
Birthday 17 September
Birthplace N/A
Date of death 26 August, 1972
Died Place N/A
Nationality

We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 17 September. He is a member of famous racer with the age 70 years old group.

Francis Chichester Height, Weight & Measurements

At 70 years old, Francis Chichester height not available right now. We will update Francis Chichester's Height, weight, Body Measurements, Eye Color, Hair Color, Shoe & Dress size soon as possible.

Physical Status
Height Not Available
Weight Not Available
Body Measurements Not Available
Eye Color Not Available
Hair Color Not Available

Dating & Relationship status

He is currently single. He is not dating anyone. We don't have much information about He's past relationship and any previous engaged. According to our Database, He has no children.

Family
Parents Not Available
Wife Not Available
Sibling Not Available
Children Not Available

Francis Chichester Net Worth

His net worth has been growing significantly in 2023-2024. So, how much is Francis Chichester worth at the age of 70 years old? Francis Chichester’s income source is mostly from being a successful racer. He is from . We have estimated Francis Chichester's net worth, money, salary, income, and assets.

Net Worth in 2024 $1 Million - $5 Million
Salary in 2024 Under Review
Net Worth in 2023 Pending
Salary in 2023 Under Review
House Not Available
Cars Not Available
Source of Income racer

Francis Chichester Social Network

Instagram
Linkedin
Twitter
Facebook
Wikipedia
Imdb

Timeline

1901

Sir Francis Charles Chichester KBE (17 September 1901 – 26 August 1972) was a British businessman, pioneering aviator and solo sailor.

1929

After returning to England in 1929 to visit his family, Chichester took flying lessons at Brooklands, Surrey, and qualified as a pilot.

He then took delivery of a de Havilland Gipsy Moth aircraft, which he intended to fly to New Zealand, hoping to break Bert Hinkler's record solo flight back to Australia on the way.

While mechanical problems meant that the record eluded him, he completed the trip in 41 days.

The aircraft was then shipped to New Zealand.

Finding that he was unable to carry enough fuel to cross the Tasman Sea directly, Chichester had his Gipsy Moth fitted with floats borrowed from the New Zealand Permanent Air Force, and went on to make the first solo flight across the Tasman Sea from East to West (New Zealand to Australia).

He was the first to land an aircraft at Norfolk Island and Lord Howe Island.

Again, the trip was delayed: after his aircraft was severely damaged at Lord Howe, he had to rebuild it himself with the help of islanders.

Though the concept of "off-course navigation" (steering to one side so you know which way the error is) is probably as old as navigation, Chichester was the first to use it in a methodical manner in an aircraft.

His only method of fixing his position was to take sun sights with a sextant.

As a solo pilot, this was a difficult thing to do in a moving aircraft, as he needed to fly the aircraft at the same time.

After the sun sight was taken, he had to make calculations by long-hand.

As all this could be unreliable, Chichester needed an alternative.

When he reached a point at which the sun was at a calculated altitude above the horizon, the pilot then made a 90-degree turn to the left (or right as calculated) and then flew along this line until the destination was reached.

Since he did not know in advance when he would arrive at a line of position passing through his destination, he calculated a table or graph of the Sun's altitude and azimuth at his destination for a range of times bracketing his ETA.

The advantage of this method was that the effects of drift were reduced to errors in distance travelled, usually much smaller.

Since Chichester arrived at Lord Howe Island in the afternoon, the Sun was to his north-west when he made his turn.

Some hours before making his turn, close to local noon when the Sun was to his north, Chichester made two observations with his sextant to check his dead-reckoning course.

The general principle was, when the Sun is to the right or left of one's course one can check the course but not distance to the destination.

When the Sun is ahead or behind one's course, the distance to one's destination can be checked but not one's course.

Chichester planned his final approach to follow a line of position directly to his destination.

This technique allowed him to find tiny islands in the Pacific.

He was awarded the inaugural Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators Johnston Memorial Trophy for this trip.

Chichester then decided to circumnavigate the world solo; he made it to Japan but at Katsuura, Chiba he collided with an overhead cable, sustaining serious injuries.

1941

Unable to join the Royal Air Force at the outbreak of the Second World War due to age and eyesight, he was not granted a commission until 14 March 1941 when he joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve for the duration of hostilities.

His civil occupation was listed as Air Navigation Specialist.

1942

His first posting was to the Air Ministry in the Navigation section of the Directorate of Air Member Training, where he served until August 1942.

1943

In July 1943 he was sent to the Empire Central Flying School where he instructed in navigation until released in September 1945.

He wrote the navigation manual that allowed the pilots of single-handed fighter aircraft to navigate across Europe and back using kneeboard navigation similar to that which he had used in the Pacific.

At the end of the war, he stayed in the United Kingdom.

He purchased 15,000 surplus Air Ministry maps, initially pasting them onto boards and making jigsaw puzzles out of them, and later founded his own successful map-making company.

1958

In 1958, Chichester was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer.

(This might have been a misdiagnosis; David Lewis, a London doctor, who competed against Chichester in the first solo trans-Atlantic race, reviewed his case and called Chichester's abnormality a "lung abscess". ) His wife Sheila put him on a strict vegetarian diet (now considered to be a macrobiotic diet) and his cancer went into remission.

Chichester then turned to long-distance yachting.

1960

In 1960, he entered and won the first Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race, which had been founded by 'Blondie' Hasler, in the 40 foot ocean racing yawl Gipsy Moth III.

1966

He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for becoming the first person to sail single-handed around the world by the clipper route and the fastest circumnavigator, in nine months and one day overall in 1966–67.

Chichester was born in the rectory at Shirwell near Barnstaple in Devon, England, the son of a Church of England clergyman, Charles Chichester, himself the seventh son of Sir Arthur Chichester, 8th Baronet.

His mother was Emily Annie, daughter of Samuel Page.

At the age of six he was sent as a boarder to The Old Ride Preparatory School for boys, then attended Marlborough College during World War I.

At the age of eighteen Chichester emigrated to New Zealand where in ten years he built up a prosperous business in forestry, mining and property development, only to suffer severe losses in the Great Depression.