1908 PHOTOGRAPH OF THE FIRST EVER BRITISH MILITARY AIRCRAFT BEFORE IT CRASHED

The British Army Aeroplane No 1 or sometimes Cody 1 was a biplane built by Samuel Franklin Cody in 1907 at the Army Balloon Factory at Farnborough. It made the first recognised powered and sustained flight in the United Kingdom on 16 October 1908

The flight of 16 October ended when Cody attempted a turn to avoid trees and a wingtip touched the ground. The resulting crash caused substantial damage, and the rest of the year was spent in repairing it and making major modifications. The gap between the wings was increased from 8 ft (2.44 m) to 9 ft (2.74 m), the booms carrying both sets of control surfaces lengthened, and provision for lateral control made by installing a wing-warping system and fitting differentially-moving surfaces at each end of the elevator. The radiators were moved to the aft interplane struts, the triangle of canvas that had stretched between the trailing edge of the upper wing and the top of the rudder was removed, and the small vertical stabiliser was moved from above the top wing to a position between the centre booms supporting the elevator, and linked to the rudder control. New larger propellers were fitted

On 6 January 1909 this work was complete and testing continued,[6] on this occasion with a number of streamers attached so that the airflow might be observed. More ground trials were made, the ailerons moved to a position in the middle of the aft interplane struts, and the radiators moved forward slightly to adjust the aircraft's trim. In this form Cody made another flight on 20 January covering about1,200 ft (370 m) and reaching a height of 25 ft (7.6 m) but crashed after a turn, Cody being unhurt.[7] The aircraft was again taken back to the factory for alterations and repairs. The ailerons were discarded and a pair of horizontal stabilisers were fitted in front of the rudder.[8] Cody flew the aircraft again on 18 February, this time landing with no more damage than a burst tyre and a broken rigging wire. Further successful flights were made on 22 February, after which the rear stabilisers were removed and the ailerons repositioned, now being placed on short outriggers trailing from the forward interplane struts, and the front rudder was moved to a position above the elevator.

WILLIAMARNOLD wrote:

Was this the same Mr Cody mentioned in this article from the Sketch in 1907 when he crashed his airship the Nulli Secundus ?

In the early years of the twentieth century, the British Army's limited interest in aeronautical matters was largely confined to the use of tethered balloons or kites for artillery observation purposes. Many people did not believe the Wright Brothers' claims of sustained controlled flight, and in 1907 an officially sanctioned experiment at the Balloon Factory, Farnborough, was limited to the building of the Dirigible No. 1 Nulli Secundus, which was the Army's first powered airship, under the supervision of Colonel J.E. Capper, the superintendent of the factory. In addition some highly secret experiments with gliders were being carried out at Blair Atholl in Scotland by J. W. Dunne in collaboration with Capper. In late 1907 the Director of Fortifications, Capper's immediate superior, was persuaded to allow the use of some of the Balloon Factory's resources for the construction of a powered aircraft, to be designed and built by the American Samuel Franklin Cody, who was at that time working with Capper on the Nulli Secundus.