The British and Colonial Aeroplane Company's Zodiac has been written off for more than a century as ‘the aeroplane that didn't fly’. So, why did it perform well in France, when success eluded it in England?
Sir George White, the Bristol-born stockbroker, philanthropist and pioneer of electric tramways was a man of energy, vision and vaulting ambition. Increasingly interested in the commercial opportunities afforded by aviation, in February 1910 he publicly announced his intention “to develop a British industry [in aviation] and make Bristol its headquarters”. Although history shows that he ultimately succeeded, his first foray into the field was a rather public failure, involving a licence-built French aeroplane that struggled to get off the ground.
In 1910, money began to pour into British aeronautics. Of the 34 British aviation concerns registered by the spring of that year, there was a combined capital of more than £320,600. Four of these firms belonged to Sir George and his family, the most famous being the Bristol Aeroplane Company, but the first he fully capitalised — to the tune of £25,000 — was its forerunner, the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company.
At the inaugural board meeting of 28 February 1910, Sir George too…
