Cody Floatplane
title: "Cody Floatplane" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["cody-aircraft", "biplanes", "single-engined-pusher-aircraft", "1910s-british-experimental-aircraft", "aviation-accidents-and-incidents-in-1913", "1913-in-england", "aviation-accidents-and-incidents-in-england", "aircraft-first-flown-in-1913"] topic_path: "geography/united-kingdom" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cody_Floatplane" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox aircraft"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Cody Floatplane |
| image | Aviation in Britain Before the First World War RAE-O473.jpg |
| caption | Cody Hydroplane on the Basingstoke Canal |
| aircraft_type | Floatplane |
| national_origin | United Kingdom |
| manufacturer | Samuel Franklin Cody |
| designer | Samuel Franklin Cody |
| status | Prototype only |
| number_built | 1 |
| first_flight | 14 July 1913 |
| :: |
| name = Cody Floatplane | logo = | logo_size = | image = Aviation in Britain Before the First World War RAE-O473.jpg | alt = | caption = Cody Hydroplane on the Basingstoke Canal | long_caption = | other_names = | aircraft_type = Floatplane | aim = | outcome = | related = | national_origin = United Kingdom | manufacturer = Samuel Franklin Cody | design_group = | designer = Samuel Franklin Cody | builder = | issuer = | status = Prototype only | 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 = 14 July 1913 | initiated = | in_service = | last_flight = | expected = | developed_from = | variants = | developed_into = | preservation = | fate = | predecessors = | successors = | concluded =
The Cody Floatplane (also referred to as the Cody Hydro-biplane) was designed and built by Samuel Franklin Cody as an entrant in the 1913 Daily Mail Circuit of Britain race, which offered a prize of £5,000. On 7 August 1913 the aircraft suffered a structural failure during flight trials and both Cody and his passenger were killed.
Design and development
The Cody Floatplane was a three-bay biplane of orthodox design for an aircraft of its time, with a single elevator operated by a bamboo push-rod mounted on booms in front of the wing and a single rudder and small horizontal stabiliser on booms behind it. Lateral control was effected by wing-warping. Power was provided by a 100 hp Green engine mounted on the wing centre section driving a 10.75 ft diameter Garuda propeller via a chain. Pilot and passenger were seated in tandem in front of the wing, using Cody's preferred metal seats, of the type used on agricultural machinery. The arrangement of the controls was unconventional by present-day standards: all the control surfaces were operated by a control column and wheel, and the throttle and engine ignition were controlled using foot pedals. It was fitted with one large central float with three steps and a pair of smaller stabilising floats positioned below the inboard interplane struts.
The machine was completed in July 1913, and made its maiden flight as a landplane on 14 July 1913. It was fitted with its floats and carried out flotation tests on the Basingstoke Canal at Mytchett on 30 July. The floats were then removed and replaced again by skids and wheels for more flight trials. Early on the morning of 7 August Cody carried out a 70-mile (113 km) test flight, with the plan of flying down to Calshot, Southampton, where the aircraft would be fitted with its floats to carry out test flights from water. He agreed, however, to give a flight to the Hampshire cricketer William Evans and took off at 10:30 am with Evans as a passenger. After about eight minutes the aircraft broke up in the air at a height of about 200 ft (60 m) with Cody and Evans, who were not strapped in, being thrown out of the aircraft. Both were killed. The Royal Aero Club accident investigation concluded that the accident was due to "inherent structural weakness", and suggested that Cody and Evans might have survived the crash if strapped in.
Specifications
|ref=British Aircraft 1808–1914 |prime units?=imp met(ric) first for all others. You MUST choose a format, or no specifications will show -- General characteristics
|genhide= |crew=one |capacity=one passenger |length m= |length ft=40 |length in=9 |length note= |span m= |span ft=59 |span in=6 |span note= |upper span m= |upper span ft= |upper span in= |upper span note= |lower span m= |lower span ft= |lower span in= |lower span note= |height m= |height ft= |height in= |height note= |wing area sqm= |wing area sqft=770 |wing area note= |aspect ratio= |airfoil= |empty weight kg= |empty weight lb= |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= |more general= Powerplant
|eng1 number=1 |eng1 name=Green Engine Co 6-cylinder |eng1 type=inline water-cooled |eng1 kw= |eng1 hp=100 |eng1 shp= |prop blade number=4 |prop name= |prop dia m= |prop dia ft=10 |prop dia in=8 |prop note=
Performance
|perfhide= |max speed kmh= |max speed mph=70 |max speed kts= |max speed note= |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= |range km= |range miles= |range nmi= |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= |lift to drag= |wing loading kg/m2= |wing loading lb/sqft= |wing loading note= |disk loading kg/m2= |fuel consumption kg/km= |fuel consumption lb/mi= |power/mass= |thrust/weight= |more performance= |avionics=
|see also= |related= |similar aircraft= |lists=
Notes
Bibliography
References
- Jarrett ''Air Enthusiast'' July/August 1999, p. 16.
- Jarrett ''Air Enthusiast'' July/August 1999, p. 17.
- ''Flight'' 20 September 1913, p. 1040.
- Lewis 1962, p 200
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::