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| Cody Flyer replica at the FAST Museum |
| Information | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer: | Army Balloon Factory |
| First flight: | 1908 |
| Propulsion: | Antoinette 8-cyl piston-engine |
| Withdrawn: | 1910 |
| Number built: | 1 |
The aircraft was designed in 1907 by the American Samuel Franklin Cody, and under the supervision of Colonel Capper, who worked at the British Army Balloon Factory at Farnborough. Cody had been working for the government on tethered balloons and man-carrying kites for artillery spotting [1]. In 1907 work began on an aeroplane inspired by the Wright Brothers' Flyer. The resulting British Army Aeroplane No. 1 was a similar biplane with a pair of tractor propellers.
After many modifications and brief hops, the aeroplane made the first recognised and sustained flight by a British aeroplane on October 16th 1908 travelling nearly half a kilometre at Farnborough. The flight being cut short by a crash! The aeroplane, after repairs and more modifications [2], made a series of other flights later in 1908 and into 1909. By now however the Army had lost interest and Cody left government service [3] but he was able to keep the aeroplane and continued to fly and improve it. By late 1909 Cody was able to keep airborne for over an hour, his flight only ended by running out of fuel. The final flights were in early 1910 when Cody switched his attention to newer aircraft.
In 2008 a full-size non-flying replica of the British Army Aeroplane No. 1 was built by volunteers and is now on display, aptly, at the FAST Museum at Farnborough.
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| 8 cylinder petrol engine |
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| Front view of the replica |
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| Side view |
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| Three quarter view |
[1] Percy B. Walker, Early Aviation at Farnborough: Balloons, Kites and Airships (Macdonald, 1971) p. 105
[2] "British Army Aeroplane", Flight Magazine (January 9 1909) p. 25
[3] Walker p. 92
