Cody monoplane

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2018}} {{Use British English|date=February 2018}} {{Infobox aircraft | name = Cody IV | logo = | logo_size = | image = File:Cody aircraft mark IV RAE-O561a.jpg | alt = | caption = | long_caption = | other_names = | aircraft_type = [[Experimental aircraft]] | aim = | outcome = | related = | national_origin = United Kingdom | manufacturer = | design_group = | designer = | builder = | issuer = | status = | owners = | primary_user = | more_users = | service = | major_applications = | proposals = | prototypes = | number_built = 1 | construction_number = | civil_registration = | military_serial = | radio_code = | requirement = | aircraft_carried = | flights = | total_hours = | total_distance = | construction_date = | introduction = | retired = | first_flight = 21 June 1912 | initiated = | in_service = | last_flight = | expected = | developed_from = | variants = | developed_into = | preservation = | fate = | predecessors = | successors = | concluded = }} The '''Cody IV monoplane''' was a single-engined [[monoplane]] designed and built by the American-born but British-based aviation pioneer [[Samuel Franklin Cody]] in 1912. It was intended for entry into the [[1912 British Military Aeroplane Competition]], but was wrecked in a crash before the start of the competition.

==Design and development==

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 prize winning machines.<ref name="Bruce RFC p1">Bruce 1982, p.1.</ref><ref name="Flight Comp">''Flight'' 23 December 1911, p. 1109.</ref>

[[File:Cody aircraft mark IV RAE-O159.jpg|thumb|left|Rear view of the Cody IV, showing the tail surfaces]] The American showman and aviation pioneer Samuel Cody, who had developed a system of man-carrying kites from 1901, built his first aircraft, the [[British Army Aeroplane No 1]] at the [[Royal Aircraft Establishment|Army Balloon Factory]] at [[Farnborough, Hampshire|Farnborough]] in 1908, making its first flight, recognised as the first powered controlled flight in the United Kingdom on 16 October 1908.<ref name="Jarrett p8-9">Jarrett 1999, pp. 8–9.</ref> In order to compete for the prize money offered by the War Office, Cody decided to design and build a new [[monoplane]], while also entering his existing [[Cody Circuit of Britain biplane|biplane]] that had finished fourth in the 1911 [[Daily Mail Circuit of Britain Air Race]].<ref name="Bruce RFC p15">Bruce 1982, p. 15.</ref><ref name="Jarrett p15">Jarrett 1999, p. 15.</ref>

Cody's previous designs were [[pusher configuration|pusher]] [[Canard (aeronautics)|canard]] [[biplane]]s, but the new aircraft was a [[Tractor configuration|tractor]] high-winged monoplane powered by a single 120 hp (89 kW) [[Austro-Daimler 6|Austro-Daimler]] engine which had been fitted to an [[Etrich Taube]] which had crashed during the 1911 Circuit of Britain, which Cody had purchased after the race.<ref name="Bruce RFC p15"/> It had a deep fuselage that accommodated the crew of two side-by-side. The tail arrangement was unusual, with two [[Elevator (aircraft)|elevators]] and two rudders carried on four [[bamboo]] booms that led back from the fuselage, the all moving tail surfaces forming a box shape. Fabric was stretched between the tail booms giving a cruciform shape as seen in cross-section. Lateral control was by means of [[wing warping]], and the aircraft was fitted with a [[Tricycle gear|nosewheel undercarriage]].<ref name="Bruce RFC p15"/><ref name="Jarrett p15"/><ref name="Flight mono p581-2">''Flight'' 29 June 1912, pp. 581–582.</ref>

==Operational history==

The monoplane made its maiden flight on 21 June 1912,<ref name="Jarrett p15"/> but on 8 July a cow ran into the path of the aircraft during landing. The resulting crash badly damaged the aircraft and killed the cow, although Cody was not badly injured.<ref name="Bruce RFC p15"/> As the Circuit of Britain aircraft had already been wrecked in a crash, Cody used the engine from the monoplane together with what parts he could salvage from the biplane to construct a new aircraft, the [[Cody V biplane]], which won the Military Aeroplane Competition.<ref name="Bruce RFC p198-0">Bruce 1982, pp. 198–200.</ref>

==Specifications== {{Aircraft specs |ref=The Aeroplanes of the Royal Flying Corps (Military Wing)<ref name="Bruce RFC p15-6">Bruce 1982, pp. 15–16.</ref> |prime units?=imp  |genhide= |crew=2 |capacity= |length m= |length ft=37 |length in= |length note= |span m= |span ft=43 |span in=6 |span note= |height m= |height ft=12 |height in=6 |height note=<ref name="Flight mono p582">''Flight'' 29 June 1912, p. 582.</ref> |wing area sqm= |wing area sqft=260 |wing area note= |aspect ratio= |airfoil= |empty weight kg= |empty weight lb=1400 |empty weight note= |gross weight kg= |gross weight lb= |gross weight note= |max takeoff weight kg= |max takeoff weight lb= |max takeoff weight note= |fuel capacity= |lift kg= |lift lb= |lift note= |more general=  |eng1 number=1 |eng1 name=[[Austro-Daimler 6|Austro-Daimler]] |eng1 type=water-cooled six-cylinder inline engine |eng1 kw= |eng1 hp=120 |eng1 note= |power original= |prop blade number=2 |prop name=Chauviere <ref name="Flight mono p582"/> |prop dia m= |prop dia ft=11 |prop dia in=6

|perfhide= |max speed kmh= |max speed mph=70 |max speed kts= |max speed note= |max speed mach= |cruise speed kmh= |cruise speed mph= |cruise speed kts= |cruise speed note= |stall speed kmh= |stall speed mph= |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= |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= |ceiling m= |ceiling ft= |ceiling note= |g limits= |roll rate= |glide ratio= |climb rate ms= |climb rate ftmin= |climb rate note= |time to altitude= |sink rate ms= |sink rate ftmin= |sink rate note= |lift to drag= |wing loading kg/m2= |wing loading lb/sqft= |wing loading note= |disk loading kg/m2= |disk loading lb/sqft= |disk loading note= |power/mass= |thrust/weight= |more performance=  |armament= |guns= |bombs= |rockets= |missiles= |hardpoints= |hardpoint capacity= |hardpoint rockets= |hardpoint missiles= |hardpoint bombs= |hardpoint other= |other armament= |avionics= }}

{{aircontent  |see also= |related= |similar aircraft= |lists= }}

==Notes== {{reflist}}

==References== {{Commons category|Cody aircraft mark IV}} *Bruce, J.M. ''The Aeroplanes of the Royal Flying Corps (Military Wing)''. London:Putnam, 1982. {{ISBN|0-370-30084-X}}. *{{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/1912/1912%20-%200579.html The Cody Monoplane]". ''[[Flight International|Flight]]'', 29 June 1912. pp. 579–583. *"[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1911/1911%20-%201101.html The War Office Competition]". ''Flight'', 23 December 1911, p. 1109.

[[Category:Cody aircraft|Monoplane]] [[Category:1910s British experimental aircraft]] [[Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft]] [[Category:High-wing aircraft]] [[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1912]]