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Aviation History
1958
1958 - 0675.PDF
16 May 1958 691 wished to experiment with his model gliders in the airship shed,he did so while Cody was at lunch. Reporters were not allowed, and The Times was the only paper to notice the daily events inMay 1908, by calling them "rolling experiments." Starting up his engine for the May 16 flight, Cody opened thethrottle, and the machine increased its speed for about 200 yd, when the wheels were seen to be just clear of the ground. He thenswitched off to avoid running into the trees. Paced between the marks of the wheels on the grass, the lengthof the hop was found to be 50ft. Cody then flew back, increasing the length. He made another flight to the end of the clearing, andagain flew back, each flight being longer than the previous one. The fifth flight (all were made on the same day) was over 150ftin length, at a height of between eight and ten feet. This was approximately the same length as the first flight in the world—adistance of 120ft—made by Orville Wright at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on December 17, 1903. Cody was very excited at his success and, to give himself alonger run, rashly taxied too near the trees, and smashed his machine into a water trough. He never used the clearing again. At a lecture given to the Aeronautical Society later in 1908 hesaid: "I have accomplished one thing I hoped for very much; that is, to be the first man to fly in Great Britain. ... I made a machinethat left the ground the first time out; not high, possibly five or six inches only. ... I made some five flights in all, and the lastflight came to grief." These flights, which were observed by the officers and men ofthe Balloon School and Factory of the Royal Engineers, were the first in the British Empire. J. A. D. McCurdy, who flew in theUnited States early in 1908, did not make his first flight in Canada (at Baddeck) until February 23, 1909, so therefore Cody was,without doubt, the first, both in Great Britain and in the Com- monwealth, to fly over British territory. Men of the Balloon and Kite Companies, including a Navaldetachment, helped to take the machine back to the airship shed. Repairing the damage, Cody attempted another flight at the endof May, but dived into the ground after hitting a ditch. He next tried to fly from Farnborough Common, but the front elevatorfolded up and the machine was damaged. At this juncture, fearing that their engine would be wrecked, the Army took it from Codyand re-installed it in the Nulli Secundus 2. Trials of the airship were unsuccessful, and it never flew after June 24, 1908. Col. Capper now forbade Cody from making any furtherattempts to fly until he had thoroughly mastered the controls and had more "rolling practice." This explains his letter and hissilence about previous attempts. By now he had strengthened his outriggers, replacing the wires with bamboos; and as soon as hehad managed to obtain the engine again he made what he called "the most talented flight the machine did—it flew uphill." Movingto Jersey Brow, opposite the Queen's Hotel, Farnborough, he flew 78 yd in September; and after three "runs" of from half to three-quarters of a mile on September 24, he made a flight of 496 yd on October 5, 1908, which was terminated by a smash, caused byCody steering into the cant of the aeroplane—as on a bicycle— instead of the reverse. The machine had been struck by a gust. He rebuilt the machine, fitting balancing flaps on each side of theelevators. He also attached tapes to the trailing edges of all his lifting surfaces. He discovered that a nose-dive followed a stall,and photographs were taken of what happened to the tapes during the stall. Next he fitted a biplane tail,* and made many flights during theearly part of 1909. A cutting through the trees having been made, between the Balloon Factory and Laffan's Plain, he began flyingthere. Now, however, the Press started a campaign, calling him a "bluffer," and his machine an "agricultural implement." Though handicapped by lack of funds and encouragement fromthe Government, and hurt by the jeers, Cody still doggedly per- severed, and eventually persuaded his machine to do a completecircuit of Laffan's Plain. The Prince and Princess of Wales—later King George V and Queen Mary—were staying at the RoyalPavilion at Aldershot at the time. They were told of the flight and immediately went over to the Plain, to see Cody make his first"command flight." This terminated when the machine struck a ridge while doing a banked turn. From then on the Prince was astaunch friend of Cody and visited him on several occasions. This was the first circular flight in England, but it did not qualifyfor the £1,000 prize offered by the Daily Mail, as Cody was an American and his engine French. The War Office, however, having contributed £2,500 towardsthe experiments of Cody and Dunne, terminated both their engagements. Cody was given the wrecked machine, minusengine, and was granted permission to fly it (if he could) at the Fleet end of Laffan's Plain. At that time the War Office still owedhim for his kite patents, and only after protracted legal arguments, which swallowed up most of the money, was Cody awarded £5,000for his work at the Balloon Factory. A similar thing happened to the Wrights. They, incidentally, *The librarian of the Royal Aero Club at Londonderry House has drawings of this machine made in February 1909. Cody making his fifth flight, at Farnborough on May 76, 1908. This was over a distance of 50 yd and was witnessed by the Superintendent of the Balloon Factory (Col. J. E. Capper) and officers and men of the Balloon and Kite sections of the Royal Engineers. wrote to Cody claiming that he had infringed their patents. UponCody pointing out that he had used wing-warping on his kites before they had applied for their famous patent, the matter wasallowed to drop. Orville, Wilbur and Katharine Wright came to Jersey Brow in 1909, and I have a snap of Cody and Col. Cappershowing Orville where he flew from in 1908. At the other end of Laffan's Plain Cody completely rebuilt hisaeroplane, discarding the biplane tail, and fitting twin side-by-side front elevators, which operated either in unison or in oppositedirections, thus serving as balancers in addition to the ailerons on the rear struts. He obtained a French E.N.V. engine of 60 h.p.and was very soon carrying passengers, the first of whom was Col. Capper and the second Mrs. Cody. This was on August 15,1909. On September 8, 1909, he flew for over an hour across country at a height of from 600-800ft. This was a world record,and he became a national hero. He flew his machine at the first Doncaster Meeting in October1909, where he was naturalized, signing papers brought out by the Town Clerk, and, trying for a prize of £1,000 in a flight fromLiverpool to Manchester, he was forced down at Prescot through fog and crashed when attempting to take off.That winter he built the famous "Bournemouth" machine, which became "the first airliner." Originally designed for two 60 h.p.Green engines, driving one propeller, it flew at the Bournemouth meeting in July 1910 and then at Lanark, with only one engine.Winning the second Michelin Cup that year, it flew with three passengers—myself and another standing on the wings, with a ladyin the seat. I was also the "weight" on the wings, when Cody demonstrated that "it balances well."At the Bournemouth meeting the speed record was won at about 51 m.p.h. When Cody fitted the machine with the horsepower(120) it was designed for, it flew with four passengers at 70 m.p.h. Had this happened at Bournemouth, the greatest prizes in aviationwould have fallen into his lap. Next year he built the "Circuit of Britain" machine, which wasthe only British aircraft to finish. It was also the only biplane to complete the course. The engine was a 60 h.p. Green. Thismachine won two Michelin Trophies in 1911. When rebuilt and fitted with the 120 h.p. Austro-Daimler from the monoplanespecially built for the competition (and which crashed during the test flights) it won the Military Trials held on Salisbury Plain in1912 to decide the best machine for the newly formed Royal Flying Corps.These trials were open to the* world's foremost manufacturers and pilots, backed by unlimited funds; but Cody by his pluck,perseverance and wonderful piloting beat them all and won the first prize of £5,000.The War Office only ordered one copy of this machine from Cody and this is now in the care of the Science Museum at SouthKensington (though it is not at present on exhibition). Next year he built a waterplane for the Sea Circuit of Britain.Cody carried many passengers in it when it was fitted with a land undercarriage. On August 7, 1913, the machine broke up in theair, killing Cody and his passenger W. H. B. Evans. Personally I have always believed that the four-bladed propeller burst, knock-ing out one of the struts; but as the blades were never found, this theory could not be confirmed.Cody was often confused with Col. W. F. Cody, the celebrated "Buffalo Bill"; but never, until King George V so addressed him,did he use die title "Colonel." His death caused universal sorrow, and the funeral in the Military Cemetery at Aldershot was attended by over fifty thou- sand people, the Navy, Royal Flying Corps and every regiment in the Army being represented.
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