Cody Aircraft Mark II RAE-O124 during World War I

Aviation in Britain Before the First World War
A medium close up of Cody as passenger in Cody aircraft mark II with a Native American in traditional dress at the controls. The Native American is probably a member of one of the Wild West stage shows that toured this country and Europe. For many years Cody and his family put on Wild West shows featuring trick shooting and horse riding and later on produced two Wild West melodramas that toured the country successfully for many years. The money that this generated was how Cody partly financed his aeronautical work. The Indian braves were apparently not so brave; when Cody started up the engine of the aircraft they bolted scared by the noise of the powerful engine and ended diving into the nearby Basingstoke canal in their attempts to escape!
Cody built this aircraft in 1910; the previous aircraft had been in several crashes and was suffering generally from constant usage. The design of this aircraft followed similar lines to the previous one though the wingspan was shorter by around six feet and the wing area around a third smaller.
The single propeller was originally intended to be powered by two 60 hp Green engines (mark IIA) though problems with synchronicity meant that this was never carried out. This did mean that the aircraft was underpowered though alterations to the engine and the removal of excess weight partly solved this problem (marks IIB to IID). When this engine was replaced with a 120 hp Austro-Daimler, the aircraft performed well, and in January 1912 carried Cody and four passengers. It was eventually crashed by Lieut. J N Fletcher on the 5th April whilst Cody was teaching him to fly. It was also in this aircraft that Cody won his first Michelin Trophy.

Note the mid wing balancing planes are protruding slightly over the wing tip. In other versions of this mark the balancing planes protrude much further. This reflects the constant tinkering that Cody carried out on his aircraft to obtain better performance and handling.