One of our Aircraft is Missing !
Samuel Franklin Cody was the first man to fly a controlled, heavier than air, aeroplane in Great Britain, which occurred at Farnborough, Hampshire on 16 October 1908. At that time Cody was the British Army’s Chief Kiting Instructor and his aircraft was appropriately named “British Army Aeroplane No.1” (BAA1).
This was the dawn of military aviation in Great Britain and Cody went on to win the military aircraft trials at Larkhill, Wiltshire, in 1912, the same year that the Royal Flying Corp (RFC) was formed at Farnborough. The RAF was formed in 1918.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Cody’s momentous achievement the SBAC (in 1964) sponsored a 1/25 scale (2ft wingspan) bronze replica of BAA1, plus a concrete mounting plinth located in the garden of the RAF Farnborough No.1 Officers Mess, just a few yards from where Cody took off on his historic flight. The model was made by RAE apprentices.
The model was mounted on a wooden pedestal and occupied pride of place alongside the Mess ‘Honours boards’ which recorded the many squadrons that were formed at RAF Farnborough plus all the Commandants of the Experimental Flying Department over 86 years. Cody was the first of 32 Commandants, spanning both world wars and finished with Grp Capt Roger Beazley upon closure of the RAF Element in 1992. The Mess finally closed in 1999 as part of the RAE Farnborough rationalisation programme and was demolished in 2002.
In 1993 the model is believed to have been despatched to another RAF unit, but nobody knows where. The RAE Farnborough Museum (FAST) is anxious to trace its whereabouts and ensure it is in safe hands and being cared for.
Any information abouts its location will be gratefully received. Please contact Mr Shakespeare (Below) in the first instance.
Maurice L Shakespeare, CEng
(On behalf of FAST MuseumFarnborough, Hants)
Kitwood Cottage
Kitwood Road
Ropley
Alresford
SO24 0FH
Tel: 01962 772425
