THE PRESERVATION OF CODY'S TREE. (Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough, Hants. Technical Note No. Chem 1236. November 1954). by Horridge, G. Adrian - (1954).

London: Ministry of Supply, (1954)., (1954).. Good. - Folio, 13 inches high by 8 inches wide. Softcover, bound in stapled printed tan wrappers titled in black on the front cover. The covers are creased and soiled with minor chipping to the corners. An early owner's annotation in ink on the front cover has been scratched out in pencil. 6 pages of text, including the title and table of contents, are followed by 6 pages of illustrations and a page with 4 "detachable abstract cards". The corners and edges of the pages are creased and the contents are slightly soiled. Good.

"Near the main entrance to the R.A.E. stands a dead pine tree supported by a concrete plinth. A bronze plate bears the inscription 'COLONEL S.F. CODY PICKETED HIS AEROPLANE TO THIS TREE AND FROM NEAR THIS SPOT ON 16TH MAY 1908 MADE THE FIRST SUCCESSFUL OFFICIALLY RECORDED FLIGHT IN GREAT BRITAIN'. The tail of the plane was tied to the tree while the engines were tested and before each take-off, to let the engines reach full speed. Measurements were made with a spring balance tied between the tree and the tail of the British Army Aeroplane No.1 and the pitch of the spade-like propeller blades was adjusted to give maximum thrust. The tree was killed about 1920 by oil spilt or out from engines. The interest of the director Sydney Smith (1918-26) led to the erection of a circle of iron railings round the tree and a wooden board with an inscription was fastened to the trunk. In 1949 the tree was so rotten that a concrete plinth was cast around the trunk. At the same time the existing square railings were put in place." - [Quoted from the "Historical note" on page 3].

"By 1953 the wood of Cody's Tree had become so rotten that it was falling to pieces under its own weight. It was decided to remove the tree, dry it, and impregnate with a transparent polyester resin. The strength of the tree is now due to the resin and steel bars in the covers of the branches. The tree is restored to its site and an annual coat of varnish will be sufficient to maintain it for many years." - [Quoted from the Summary].

The American-born British aviator Samuel Franklin Cody (1867-1913) trained as a cowboy and performed in Wild West Shows before starting his experimentations with kites in England. Though he claimed to be the son of the famous Buffalo Bill Cody, there was no relation and the aviator's real name was actually Cowdery. The British Army recruited him due to his experience with "man-lifting" kites and Cowdery went on to design Britain's first areoplane. Cody's plane had already been built when the Wright's Brothers demonstrated their flight and, six weeks later, Cody followed suit. Cody's October 16th, 1908 flight, taking to the skies in his British Army Aeroplae No.1, was the first official sustained and controlled flight of a heavier-than-air plane in Britain.

RARE.