Cody Army Aeroplane No.1 / Cody 1

The next step was to build a full-size piloted version of the glider. In December 1907, Cody began to build his first biplane at Farnborough, and since Nulli Secundus was rebuilding (to emerge as Nulli Secundus II the following summer) he was allowed to use her 50 h.p. Antoinette engine to power the machine of bamboo and wire. He arranged it to drive two pusher propellers; the result looked something like the Wright biplane.

It was in this aircraft that Cody made his first hops in May, 1908, on Laffan's Plain. On October 5 or 16th 1908 he made the first official flight in a piloted aeroplane in Great Britain - a measured distance of 496 yards at a height of 50-60 ft over Laffan’s Plain, Farnborough, and this was the first powered aeroplane flight in Britain; but Cody was American at the time, and did not take out naturalisation papers until 1909.

Cody Army Aeroplane No.1A

Cody 1 - Initial Prototype; fitted with Antoinette engine of 50 horsepower.
Cody 2 - Revised Cody 1 airframe
Cody 3 - Cody 2 prototype fitted with ENV Type F engine of 60 horsepower.

Engine: 1 x Antoinette, 50 hp
Length: 38.48ft (11.73m)
Wingspan: 52.00 ft (15.85m)
Height: 13 ft (3.96m)
Maximum Take-Off Weight: 2,950lbs (1,338kg)
Maximum Speed: 65mph (105kmh; 57kts)
Accommodation: 1