Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Horatio Claude Barber (1875–1964) was an early

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...

pioneer and

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

flight instructor A flight instructor is a person who teaches others to operate aircraft. Specific privileges granted to holders of a flight instructor qualification vary from country to country, but very generally, a flight instructor serves to enhance or evaluate ...

. In 1911 he flew the first cargo flight in Britain, transporting

electric light bulb An electric light, lamp, or light bulb is an electrical component that produces light. It is the most common form of artificial lighting. Lamps usually have a base made of ceramic, metal, glass, or plastic, which secures the lamp in the soc ...

s from Shoreham to

Hove Hove is a seaside resort and one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove, along with Brighton in East Sussex, England. Originally a "small but ancient fishing village" surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th cen ...

. He was also the first person in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

to gain an aeronautical degree.

Biography

Barber was one of the first aviation pioneers and within a few years of the first powered flight he leased a

railway arch Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

Battersea Battersea is a large district in south London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and extends along the south bank of the River Thames. It includes the Battersea Park. History Batter ...

to design and produce aircraft. In 1909 he moved to Lark Hill on

Salisbury Plain Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies wi ...

and formed the Aeronautical Syndicate Limited to produce his designs. In early 1910 he began to fly his designs and in late September 1910 he became the first occupant of

Hendon Aerodrome Hendon Aerodrome was an aerodrome in London, England, that was an important centre for aviation from 1908 to 1968. It was situated in Colindale, north west of Charing Cross. It nearly became a central hub of civil aviation ("the Charing Cros ...

, newly established by the London Aerodrome Co, where he leased three hangars. His

ASL Valkyrie The ASL Valkyrie was a canard pusher configuration aircraft designed by the Aeronautical Syndicate Ltd in 1910. Examples were widely flown during 1911 and were used for instructional purposes at the ASL flying school, which was the first occup ...

design started test flying from there in October 1910, Barber using the aircraft to gain his Aero Club Certificate (No. 30) in November of that year."The Royal Aero Club of the United Kingdom OFFICIAL NOTICES TO MEMBERS"
''Flight'' 26 November 1910 p. 997 The company gave four Valkyries to the government and one aircraft and military pilot were lost in an accident in September 1911. Barber carried on with some experimental work, producing a tractor biplane called the ASL Viking early in 1912, but in April 1912 he dissolved the Syndicate, having failed to achieve any commercial success. The company's aircraft and equipment were sold, mostly to

Frederick Handley Page Sir Frederick Handley Page, CBE, FRAeS (15 November 1885 – 21 April 1962) was an English industrialist who was a pioneer in the aircraft industry and became known as the father of the heavy bomber. His company Handley Page Limited was ...

. Barber continued to work as an aeronautical consultant, with an office at 59 Pall Mall in London. In 1912 he tried to insure himself against any liability from passengers of his aircraft, this was unknown at the time and Lloyd's asked him to write his own

policy Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an organ ...

, the first aircraft insurance policy. Barber served in the First World War in the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

(RFC) and later the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

(RAF). He was one of the first flying instructors at Shoreham and he also invented a number of training aids. In 1917 he published a book ''The Aeroplane Speaks'' and in 1927 ''Aerobatics''. After the war he continued his involvement in aircraft insurance. He died in 1964.

Legacy

A replica of his Valkyrie design is on display at

Fantasy of Flight Fantasy of Flight is an aviation museum in Polk City, Florida. It opened in November 1995, to house Kermit Weeks' collection of aircraft that, until Hurricane Andrew damaged many in 1992, were housed at the Weeks Air Museum in Tamiami, Florida ...

in Polk City, Florida.

References

Early Aviators
*

External links

* *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barber, Horation Claude 1875 births 1964 deaths British World War I pilots English aviators Royal Air Force officers Royal Flying Corps officers British Army personnel of World War I Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Members of the Early Birds of Aviation