MR CODY’S CAREER.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 144197, 13 September 1913, Page 4

MR CODY’S CAREER.

ACHIEVEMENTS WITH KITES AND AEROPLANES. LONDON. August 8. By the death of S. F. Cody the world of aeronautics loses at tho same time its most picturesque figure and one of its best-known pioneers. The larger world loses a remarkable example of those same qualities of indomitable courage and cheerful persistence in the face of difficulties which, although there were wide differences between the two men, will for ever be associated with the name of tho late, Wilbur Wright. Samuel Franklin Cody was a native of Birdville, AVise County, Texas, and was born in March, 1862. His early years were spent in adventurous wanderings, and in acquiring on the prairies that reputation for fine horsemanship which, together with a striking resemblance in personal appearance, often led him to be confused with the other Cody,' “Buffalo Bill,” of whom he was, in fact, no relation. The “Colonel” frequently attached to his name was an altogether unofficial designation, A FLYER OF KITES. It was as a kite-flyer that Cody first came into prominence. When ho arrived in England some 22 years ago his dramatic appearance and confident manner, while they surprised those who met him, did not greatly impress his hearers with tho seriousness of his ambitions. But Cody was of all men the least liable' to bo distracted from his fixed purpose and beliefs by contempt, ridicule, or even calumny. Just as later, when ho started building aeroplanes, people mocked his theories — though they never denied his pluck —so, when ho prophesied the future of the kite, the attitude of many of thoso who possessed twice his education and none of his genius was that of more pity for an imaginative “crank.” Gradually, - however, his box-kites forced themselves into notice. In 1903, after two failures, Cody all .but succeeded in crossing the Channel from Calais to Dover in a collapsible 14 ft, boat drawn by a kite. A few_ months later found him 'at Aldershot* instructing a party of Royal Engineers' in the use of the kite for man-lifting purposes. In 1906 tho War Office appointed him chief instructor' in kiteflying for three years, and subsequently the Admiralty permitted him to, make experiments with kites from battleships. . It is hardly necessary to. say that a kite . equipment to-day forms part of the organisation of almost all modern armies. ■ Even the aeroplane is not likely soon to displace it- altogether. - * ' • HIS CAREER AS AN AIRMAN.

AVith tho improvement, of tho petrol motor Cody’s genius and energy found a field' for infinite adventure. Ho had from tho first-Conceived, the idea that the flying machine of .the future would be something in tho nature of a powerdriven kite. - His early attempts to fly involved a series of failures, which might well have discouraged a less determined man, but although he started with • little practical knowledge of the internal combustion engine, ho was, largely responsible, in 1907, for the en- - ginoering work of tho Army airship Nulli Seotindus, which Colonel Capper piloted from Farnborough round St. Paul’s to the Crystal' Palace. . Meanwhile,, at .his own expense, he was struggling more strenuously than ever with Tiis biplane, which had been presented to him by tho AiVar Office as useless, and in September, 190$; he succeeded in getting off the ground. A year later he achieved a cross-country flight of 40 miles in 63 minutes—a "world’s record” at the time./: , With a brain bubbling over with ideas; some of them productive of curious freaks of engineering, Cody never allowed his failures to divert him from tho belief that the'secret of success in flying lay in having “plenty of power.” Big engines mean big machines to carry them, and the biplanes which he built wore so much bigger than, those of other constructors that they earned .such affectionate nicknames as ‘ ‘Swiss Chalet’ ’ and ‘ ‘Cathedral.” His methods of construction wero all his own and thoroughly characteristic of the man. Tho soundness of his belief in high engine-power was illustrated by his success at last year’s Military Aeroplane Competition, when he won first prizes amounting to £SOOO largely on the strength of his 120-h.p. Austrian- Daimler engine. In. this competition ho exhibited-a variation in mean speed between 72.4 and 48.5 miles an hour. , Of his earlier achievements the most note-worthy was his success in. accomplishing tho circuit of Great Britain in the -£IO,OOO competition organised by the Daily Mail in 1911. The winning machines, of foreign construction, were mot at every stopping point by an army of mechanics, who attended to their requirements while the pilots were resting. Cody had none of this support. He earned a few tools in his pocket, and when his machine needed repair he came down and tinkered it himself with such material as could be procured from the local blacksmith. It was this sporting way of doing things, coupled, no doubt, with his age and picturesque appearance, which endeared him to the crowd. He had become almost a national institution—he was naturalised as a British subject during the Doncaster Meeting of 1909—and ho was immensely popular with the spectators, who were always confident that, whatever mishaps might befall him on tho way, “good old Cody” would struggle homo. In tho course of his career he had a number of severe falls, but nothing seemed to affect his nerve and keenness. A very careful flyer himself, ho considered age no impediment to a pilot. He was in his 47th year when ho began to fly, and he used, perhaps not altogether seriously, to affirm that tho older a flyer grew tho more alert ho became. At all events, ho personally looked forward to continuing to fly for many years to come. Although he had had no previous experience with the seaplane, not only had ho entered for the forthcoming Daily Mail race round Great Britain the machine on which he has met his death, but, gallant veteran that he was, he was building an enormous triplane with which he intended to attempt next year tho flight across the Atlantic. Last year he constructed a monoplane with many, new and remarkable features. He was the winner of many prizes, including the British Michelin trophies in 1910 and 1911 and the British Empire Michelin Cup (No. 2) in 1911 and 1912. Ho received the bronze modal of tho Aeronautical Society in 1909 and the gold medal of tho Royal Aero Club in recognition of bis

success in the Military Aeroplane Competition last year. Ho .won an, arbitration against the AA’ar Office in respect of his man-lifting, kites, .and .received £sooo' compensation, undertaki ing at the same time not to communicate his .invention to any foreign Power. ■.