Hello and welcome again to another episode of the "really?" show. I'm your host
Aaron Ross. Today's show aviation pioneer Feng Ru.
You're probably familiar with the first flight by the Wright brothers in Kitty
Hawk North Carolina in 1903. But do you know the story of the first flight in
the western United States? Feng Ru was born in China around 1883
at about 12 to 15 years old he married and immigrated to the United States with
his uncle. Like many immigrants he came to the u.s. to work. He found various
work in shipyards and with machinery. He was fascinated with engineering and in
his spare time studied it. He was utterly captivated by the Wright brothers 1903
Kitty Hawk flight. In 1906 following the great San Francisco earthquake he
relocated to Oakland. Shortly thereafter he began raising his version of start-up
venture capital from the Oakland Chinatown community and eventually
opened his own aircraft design and manufacturer company Guangdong Air
Vehicle Company. Feng Ru set up a small workshop shack and with a lot of hard
work completed his first airplane in 1909, of course he was his own test pilot
as well. During one of his early flights he crashed into his workshop setting it
on fire. Later he and his assistants moved to a hay field and to try to keep
his prototype a secret, posted guards around the hay field. Feng Ru even had
different machine shops on the East Coast make parts of his engine castings
so he could keep his design a secret. Finally he successfully built his own
airplane engine and made what was like two planes, one on top of the other. His
first successful flight was in Oakland California in late September 1909. He did
a wide circle but during the flight when a bolt that held the propeller to the
shaft broke. He crashed, he was bruised but survived the fall. He continued to
make test flights and built another airplane based on the designs of Glenn
Curtiss. His success had attracted the attention of
revolutionary Sun Yat-sen who had requested his help in the rebellion
against the Manchu Qing monarchy. What! Sun yat-sen wanted him to bring his
airplanes to China. Having received an endorsement from the Chinese consul in
San Francisco Feng Ru returned to China with six other Chinese Oakland
residents who were also investors in the company. They brought one of his biplanes
with them. Sun Yat-sen hoped the planes would be helpful in aiding rebels
fighting against the Ching dynasty Sun yat-sen was the founding father and
first provisional president of the Republic of China. Not the people's Republic of China, but the Republic of China
Later he would be known as the forerunner of democratic revolution in the People's
Republic of China. So as a Chinese immigrant Feng's accomplishments were
largely ignored by the aviation community in the United States. In China
he was given the rank of captain in Sun Yat-sen's army. Although little is known
about Feng's roll in the war. It is more than likely he was the first
aviator to ever fly a military mission. Feng then went on to manufacture the
first aircraft in China. Sadly shortly thereafter in August of
1912 Feng Ru died during an exhibition flight when his plane crashed into a
bamboo forest in front of an audience of 1,000 people. He was 29 years old. Sun
Yat-sen had him buried at the mausoleum of the 72 Huanghuagang martyrs and his
tomb reads "Pioneer of Chinese Aviation" Strangely enough the mausoleum has a
Statue of Liberty. Today in China Feng Ru's childhood home
is a museum. He has a school a public square and
science prizes named after him. Finally in 2009 Feng Ru was honored by the
Oakland California community where he piloted his first flight. His workshop
was located somewhere in Oakland's Laney college and there is a bust there in
honor of him. He is truly one of Aviation's early pioneers. Feng Ru is
remembered today for launching the United States West Coast's and China's
aviation industry. A lasting legacy that has grown ever stronger over the past
century. Well that's our show for today if you like the channel we would love it
if you would subscribe and you can leave a comment in the comment section. Thanks
again for watching, we'll see you next time.
Dang! All right!