Feng Ru, also known as Fung Joe Guey, was a pioneering Chinese aviator and aircraft designer. Born in Enping, Guangdong, in 1883, he moved to California at age twelve and settled in Oakland after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, where he established an aircraft manufacturing company. He built his first plane within two years and, on 22 September 1909, became the first Chinese man known to fly in America. He later returned to China at Sun Yat-sen's request to support the revolution against the Qing dynasty. He died on 26 August 1912 when his plane crashed during a public demonstration at Yantang Airfield in Guangzhou.
Facts
FAQs
Is Feng Ru credited with the first flight on the West Coast of the United States?
Oakland researchers say yes, but American aviation texts tend to credit other pilots, so the claim remains contested.
Not in most American aviation books, although Oakland researchers argue he should be. Feng flew his own biplane near Oakland in 1909, staying up for about twenty minutes before a propeller bolt snapped and he fell to the ground bruised but alive. A local librarian who searched archives for an earlier successful flight found documentation of failures but nothing earlier that succeeded. Even so, American aviation texts tend to award the West Coast first to other pilots, so the claim remains contested.
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Sources
1. Feng Ru (Wikipedia)
Lead, first sentence
was a pioneering Chinese aviator and aircraft designer.
Lead, alternate name
also known as Fung Joe Guey
Lead sentence
Feng Ru (simplified Chinese: 冯如; traditional Chinese: 馮如; pinyin: Féng Rú; Jyutping: Fung4 Jyu4; 1883-1912), also known as Fung Joe Guey (Chinese: 馮珠九), was a pioneering Chinese aviator and aircraft designer.
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