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THE WATKINS MONOPLANE 1909
This machine is a genuine survivor of the first decade of powered flight before the First World War. It was designed and built by C. HORACE WATKINS, who is usually described as "an engineer", in CARDIFF in 1909. He named his machine in Welsh ROBIN GOCH ("RED ROBIN")on account of its red-doped colour scheme. The Watkins Monoplane is a tractor aircraft, powered by a 3-cylinder engine, built by Mr. Watkins and set in front of the cockpit and fuel tanks. The wing is mid-mounted and the undercarriage consists of a pair of open spoked wheels on a spreader axle with a large and elaborate tail-skid; the latter mounted around two-thirds of the way along the fuselage. The wings are externally braced to a king-post forward of the cockpit and are fitted with large ailerons. The fuselage is open for its entire length behind the cockpit and terminates in monoplane horizontal surfaces plus fixed fin and rudder. The aircraft was certainly known to the pioneer airman GUSTAV HAMEL who visited Horace Watkins in 1910 and inspected Robin Goch. But the big question about this aircraft is, "did it ever actually fly?" Horace Watkins was adamant that he made several flights in the aircraft and, specifically, claimed the first flight over Cardiff at night. There is no independent verification of these claims from the newspapers and periodicals of the time.

Expert examination of the aircraft confirms that it is flyable, but is now far too valuable to be risked in the air. The dimensions are Wing Span, 32 feet, Length 21 feet 6 inches, All Up Weight 390 lbs. and a notional speed ranging from 25 m.p.h. to 70 m.p.h.

The aircraft's survival seems to be due to a recognition of its value long before it went on formal display. It now resides, as a suspended exhibit, at the NATIONAL WATERFRONT MUSEUM in SWANSEA in southern WALES