The race to be the first man in the UK to fly a powered aircraft brought two towering figures to the fore; the former cowboy and showman S. F. Cody, and the man who went on to form and run one of the UK’s major aircraft firms, A. V. Roe. Philip Jarrett takes us through the evolution of each man’s aircraft up to the first UK flight in 1908, before exploring how they both adapted their designs during the early days of the new era. The lecture is followed by a wide-ranging question and answer session that covers the pre-1914 days of aeronautics in the UK and beyond.

Philip Jarrett HONCRAeS addressed a meeting of the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Historical Groups on 15 April 2008 and the podcast was edited by Mike Stanberry FRAeS