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February 2012
BIGGLES BIPLANE CELEBRATES A CENTURY SINCE BE-2 FIRST FLIGHT

Wednesday 1st February 2012 marked one hundred years to the day that the original BE2 prototype made its maiden flight from the Royal Aircraft Factory at Farnborough, in the hands of its designer Geoffrey de Havilland.

A century on, the “Biggles Biplane” BE-2 replica is a flying tribute to the world’s first purpose-designed military aeroplane, which in 1912 represented the cutting edge of technology.

A few months after its first flight, the BE established a new altitude record of over 10,500 feet. More importantly, it was also the world’s first naturally stable aeroplane.

Earlier designs such as the Bleriot and Boxkite are unstable in all three axes and require constant pilot input to remain on an even keel. The BE was designed for aerial observation and its ability to fly hands-off allowed pilots to sketch military dispositions on a specially-developed drawing board in the cockpit, in the days preceding aerial photography.

Among other distinctive features of the BE-2 are its large diameter wheels and undercarriage skids. In the absence of airfields, these allowed it to meet an Army requirement to be able to land on rough, even ploughed, fields!

The success of the BE-2 type directly led to the formation of the Royal Flying Corps at Farnborough on 13 May 1912.

No.II (AC) Squadron was formed to operate the new-fangled aeroplanes, with No.I Squadron operating observation balloons. Thus the current No.II Sqn is the oldest aircraft squadron in the RAF.

Coincidentally, the Squadron continues to operate its Tornado jets from RAF Marham (a former BE2 base) on similar reconnaissance duties to those first envisaged for the BE2. In Iraq and Afghanistan, the aircraft have once again been “the eyes of the Army”, one hundred years on.