British Army Aeroplane No 1 (Cody 1)

History of British Military Aircraft Cody 1

The British Army's first powered airship became Airship 1 "Nulli Secundus", born at the Farnborough Balloon Factory. One of the main players in its design was the American Samuel Franklin Cody, who was then awarded to use the factory for a period of time to build an official powered and winged aircraft. This work was done under the strictest secrecy and culminated in the production of "British Army Aircraft One", later also known as "Cody One". The Cody 1 is similar in layout to the Wright Bros. "Flyer", which officially established flight with the power and sustained heavier-than-air flight recorded on December 17, 1903. The Cody 1 made its first flight on 16 October 1908, heralding the dawn of the British era of flying.

It was also the first officially recognised flight on the European continent.

Cody 1 came as the British Army - and many of the world's powers at the time - still relied on kites and balloons for many of the aerial missions now performed by planes and UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles). During this historical period, these instruments were useful in reconnaissance of enemy positions and formations and artillery targeting for more accurate results. It is for these reasons that observation balloons proved powerful during the American Civil War and many other large-scale wars that engulfed Europe and elsewhere.

Aircraft became a major focus during World War I (1914-1918), where they graduated as air kill machines, fast-flying reconnaissance planes, and dedicated strategic multi-engine bombers.

Samuel Cody began his career as an entertainer in the United States before discovering his interest in kites. He then experimented with different designs and attempted to sell one of his earliest, well-established Second Boer War arrangements to the British War Office.

However, his work received more recognition from the British Admiralty, which then commissioned Cody to begin work on his kites for military applications, particularly observation missions. Cody responded with a draft that was successfully launched from the battleship HMS Revenge on September 2, 1908.

His knowledge of kite design eventually earned him the position of head kite instructor at the British Army's Aldershot Balloon School in 1906. Cody helped establish the first Royal Engineer Kite Unit, which over the years would develop into the famous Royal Air Force (RAF) 1st Squadron. To satisfy the Army's interest in airships, Cody was involved in the design and development of the British Army Airship One, nicknamed "Nulli Secundus", a development that became the first notable British powered aircraft.

Following the successful completion and testing of the airship, the Army then awarded Cody development funding and facilities to begin work on the first British aircraft - "British Army Airplane 1".

Cody soon began work on the model, and the aircraft began testing until September 1908. Like the Wright brothers' progress in the Flyer series, the original #1 aircraft had to be developed in stages to achieve stability. So, in the months that the project went live, the main design changed, with changes big and small to achieve milestones. These early tests were little more than a "jump" to the next stage of development before the aircraft achieved true endurance flight.

However, Cody's work hit a snag when the War Office abandoned its interest in the aircraft concept in 1909, intending for private inventors to take over and advance the British cause. Undeterred, Cody continued his work, using his own funds, while still being allowed into Farnborough (the plane was henceforth known as the "Cody 1" as Army interest ceased). His test culminated in a 1-mile flight on May 14, 1909.

In August of the same year, individual passengers were admitted. Several more public flights followed to demonstrate the effectiveness of European manned flights.

The Cody 1 certainly mimics the original range of the Wright Flyer, with lots of cables and an unconventional wing surface. The aircraft uses a standard biplane wing layout, although the elevators are mounted in the forward position. The pilot sits in an open space and has access to various controls. The landing gear consists of a series of multi-spoke wheels that support various parts of the aircraft.

As usual, a rudder is attached to the stern. The Cody 1 is larger than the Wright Flyer, measuring 38 feet, 6 inches long, 52 feet, 4 inches wingspan and 13 feet tall.

The type is powered by a 50-horsepower, water-cooled, 8-cylinder gasoline engine made in France, allowing the Cody 1 to reach a top speed of 65 mph in ideal conditions. The mount remains vulnerable to environmental factors, and several test flights were cancelled or rescheduled to reflect this.

On September 8, 1909, Cody completed the 40-mile flight in just over an hour's flight time and had to land when his fuel supply ran out. On October 28 of that year, Cody officially became a British citizen. Cody 1's last notable flight was an attempt to win a ?1,000 flight from Manchester to Liverpool.

Cody's flight was hampered by dense fog and never materialized. With the Cody 1 already making aviation history, Samuel Cody turned his attention to the experimental one-off 1910 Cody Michelin Cup biplane.

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