Arriving late for a political conference, the college student asks another student standing by the door, "How long has the candidate been talking now?"
"Half an hour."
"And what is he talking about?"
"That I wouldn't know, he hasn't said."
First flight in EnglandIn 1908, the first aeroplane flight in England was made by Samuel Cody, an American, who built his own machines and by trial and error took to the air at Farnborough. Sam Cody arrived in England at the age of 34 as a cowboy and Wild West showman. When he failed to pull the crowds he turned to other interests and activities, one of which was kites and large man-lifting kites. Cody patented a two-celled box kite (1901) with wings for lift. In 1903, Cody succeeded in crossing the English Channel in a canvas canoe, towed by one of his large kites. Cody was able to make a series of very short powered 'flights' over the period Sep to Oct 1908. On 16 Oct 1908, the fifth, which ended in a crash, was the first officially recorded powered flight - a length of 1,390 feet. |
