<!-- This article is a part of [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft]]. Please see [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft/page content]] for recommended layout. --> {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2018}} {{Use British English|date=February 2018}} {{Infobox aircraft | name = Cody V | logo = | logo_size = | image = Cody aircraft mark V RAE-O354.jpg | alt = | caption = | long_caption = | other_names = | aircraft_type = Experimental biplane | aim = | outcome = | related = | national_origin = [[United Kingdom]] | manufacturer = | design_group = | designer = [[Samuel Franklin Cody]] | builder = | issuer = | status = | owners = | primary_user = [[Royal Flying Corps]] | more_users = | service = | major_applications = | proposals = | prototypes = | number_built = 2 | construction_number = | civil_registration = | military_serial = | radio_code = | requirement = | aircraft_carried = | flights = | total_hours = | total_distance = | construction_date = | introduction = 1912 | retired = 1913 | first_flight = July 1912 | initiated = | in_service = | last_flight = | expected = | developed_from = | variants = | developed_into = | preservation = | fate = | predecessors = | successors = | concluded = }}
The '''Cody V''' was a single-engined [[biplane]] built by the British-based American aviation pioneer [[Samuel Franklin Cody]] in 1912. It was built from the remains of two of Cody's earlier aircraft, and won the [[1912 British Military Aeroplane Competition]], with two aircraft being purchased for the [[Royal Flying Corps]]. The design was abandoned after the mid-air disintegration of one of the aircraft in April 1913.
==Development and design== In December 1911, the British [[War Office]] announced a competition for a military aeroplane capable of carrying a pilot and observer for the recently established [[Royal Flying Corps]]. First prize was £4,000, with the War Office having the option to purchase any of the prizewinning machines.<ref name="Bruce RFC p1">Bruce 1982, p.1.</ref><ref name="Flight Comp">''Flight'' 23 December 1911, p. 1109.</ref>
The American showman and aviation pioneer Samuel Cody, who had developed a system of man-carrying kites from 1901, had built his first aircraft, the [[British Army Aeroplane No 1]], at the [[Royal Aircraft Establishment|Army Balloon Factory]] at [[Farnborough, Hampshire|Farnborough]] in 1908. Its first flight on 16 October 1908 was recognised as the first powered controlled flight in the United Kingdom.<ref name="Jarrett p8-9">Jarrett 1999, pp. 8–9.</ref> He intended to enter two aircraft into the Military Trials, which were planned to start on 1 August 1912: a [[monoplane]] powered by a 120-hp (89 kW) [[Austro-Daimler 6|Austro-Daimler]] engine which had been salvaged from an [[Etrich Taube]] which had crashed during the 1911 [[Daily Mail Circuit of Britain Air Race|''Daily Mail'' Circuit of Britain Air Race]], and a [[biplane]] powered by a 60-hp Green engine, with which Cody had finished fourth in the 1911 Circuit of Britain.<ref name="Jarrett p13 15">Jarrett 1999, pp. 13, 15.</ref>
However, the biplane was wrecked hitting a tree when landing on 3 July, and on 8 July Cody crashed the monoplane, badly damaging it and killing a cow. Still keen to enter the competition, Cody used the remains of the two damaged aircraft to build a new biplane, later to be known as the Cody V, using the powerful Austro-Daimler engine.<ref name="Bruce RFC p198-9">Bruce 1982, pp. 198–199.</ref><ref name="Jarrett p15"/> This was a [[pusher configuration|pusher]] [[Canard (aeronautics)|canard]] biplane, with seats for the pilot and three other people in an open cockpit. Lateral control was by [[wing warping]], and two vertical tails were carried on [[bamboo]] booms behind the engine.<ref name="Jarrett p15">Jarrett 1999, p.15.</ref><ref name="Bruce p199">Bruce 1982, p. 199.</ref><ref name="Cath p808">''Flight'' 7 September 1912, p. 808.</ref>
==Operational history== [[File:Cody aircraft mark V RAE-O154.jpg|thumb|Cody V in flight]] Cody took the new aircraft for its maiden flight on 23 July 1912, flying it to [[Salisbury]] on 27 July to take its place in the trials.<ref name="Jarrett p15"/> While Cody's biplane was, even in 1912, outdated, it was declared the winner: Cody was awarded the £4,000 first prize and a further £1,000 for the best British-built aircraft.<ref name="Jarrett p15"/><ref name="Bruce p199"/> (Although the vastly superior [[Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2|B.E.2]] took part in the trials, as a product of the [[Royal Aircraft Factory]] it was ineligible for the prizes.)<ref name="Bruce RFC p345">Bruce 1982, p. 345.</ref>
The War Office purchased the prototype Cody V, together with a second aircraft to be built to the same design. In October, Cody re-engined the biplane with a British-built 100-hp (75 kW) [[Green Engine Co|Green]] engine in order to enter the British Empire [[Michelin Cup]] competitions, winning the £600 prize for the fastest time over a 186-mile (299 km) circuit.<ref name="Jarrett p16">Jarrett 1999, p.16.</ref>
After re-fitting the Austro-Daimler engine, the prototype was delivered to the Royal Flying Corps on 30 November 1912, being issued to [[No. 4 Squadron RAF|No. 4 Squadron]] in December that year. The second Cody V flew in January 1913, and was delivered in February. On 28 April 1913, the first prototype broke up in mid-air and the aircraft crashed, killing the pilot. The resulting investigation discovered that the aircraft's structure, which incorporated many parts from the 1911 Circuit of Britain aircraft, had deteriorated badly and was in "precarious" condition by the time of the crash. The second aircraft, which was awaiting repair of damage that had been received in an accident in March, was never flown again, and in November that year it was given to the [[Science Museum, London|Science Museum]], London, where it is displayed today.<ref name="Bruce p200">Bruce 1982, p.200.</ref>
==Specifications== [[File:Cody V biplane - Science Museum.jpg|thumb|The second Cody V biplane on display at the [[Science Museum (London)|Science Museum, London]]]] {{Aircraft specs |ref=''The Aeroplanes of the Royal Flying Corps (Military Wing)''<ref name="Bruce RFC p199-200">Bruce 1982, pp. 199–200.</ref> |prime units?=imp<!-- imp or kts first for US aircraft, and UK aircraft pre-metrification, met(ric) first for all others. You MUST choose a format, or no specifications will show --> <!-- General characteristics --> |genhide=
|crew=1 |capacity=3 passengers |length m= |length ft=37 |length in=9 |length note= |span m= |span ft=43 |span in=0 |span note= |height m= |height ft= |height in= |height note= |wing area sqm= |wing area sqft=430 |wing area note= |aspect ratio=<!-- give where relevant eg sailplanes --> |airfoil= |empty weight kg= |empty weight lb=1900 |empty weight note= |gross weight kg=2500 |gross weight lb= |gross weight note= |more general= <!-- Powerplant --> |eng1 number=1 |eng1 name=[[Austro-Daimler 6|Austro-Daimler]] |eng1 type=water-cooled six-cylinder inline engine |eng1 kw=<!-- prop engines --> |eng1 hp=120<!-- prop engines --> |eng1 note= |power original=
|prop blade number=<!-- propeller aircraft --> |prop name= |prop dia m=<!-- propeller aircraft --> |prop dia ft=<!-- propeller aircraft --> |prop dia in=<!-- propeller aircraft --> |prop note=
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|max speed kmh= |max speed mph=72.4 |max speed kts= |max speed note= |max speed mach=<!-- supersonic aircraft --> |cruise speed kmh= |cruise speed mph= |cruise speed kts= |cruise speed note= |stall speed kmh=<!-- aerobatic --> |stall speed mph=48.5<!-- aerobatic --> |stall speed kts= |stall speed note= |never exceed speed kmh= |never exceed speed mph= |never exceed speed kts= |never exceed speed note= |minimum control speed kmh= |minimum control speed mph= |minimum control speed kts= |minimum control speed note= |range km= |range miles=336 |range nmi= |range note= |combat range km= |combat range miles= |combat range nmi= |combat range note= |ferry range km= |ferry range miles= |ferry range nmi= |ferry range note= |endurance=<!-- if range unknown --> |ceiling m= |ceiling ft= |ceiling note= |climb rate ms= |climb rate ftmin=288 |climb rate note= |time to altitude=1,200 ft (370 m) in 3 minutes 30 s |sink rate ms=<!-- sailplanes --> |sink rate ftmin=<!-- sailplanes --> |sink rate note= |lift to drag= |wing loading kg/m2= |wing loading lb/sqft= |wing loading note= |power/mass= |thrust/weight= |more performance=
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==Notes== {{reflist}}
==References== {{Commons category|Cody aircraft mark V}} *Bruce, J.M. ''The Aeroplanes of the Royal Flying Corps (Military Wing)''. London:Putnam, 1982. {{ISBN|0-370-30084-X}}. *"[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1912/1912%20-%200808.html Cody and His "Cathedral"]". ''[[Flight International|Flight]]'', 7 September 1912. pp. 808–809. *{{cite journal |last1=Jarrett|first1=Philip |author-link=Philip Jarrett |title=Cody and his Aeroplanes: Samuel Franklin Cody: His Life and Times |journal=Air Enthusiast |date=July–August 1999|issue=82|pages=6–17 |issn=0143-5450}} *"[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1911/1911%20-%201101.html The War Office Competition]". ''Flight'', 23 December 1911, p. 1109.
{{Cody aircraft}}
[[Category:Cody aircraft|V]] [[Category:1910s British military reconnaissance aircraft]] [[Category:Canard aircraft]] [[Category:Single-engined pusher aircraft]] [[Category:Biplanes]] [[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1912]] [[Category:Twin-tail aircraft]]