Very few people know the significance of 1911-12 to Indian aviators. Less than a decade after the Wright brothers were credited with building and flying the world’s first motored airplane, an Indian Sri Rama Venkata Subba Setty (S. V Setty ) designed and piloted a plane in the UK.
Unfortunately, proof of this feat along with other achievements by Setty was obliterated in a fire. And yet, there is enough proof to hail him as India’s first aviator.
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Sri Rama Venkata Subba Setty – Early life
Sri Rama Venkata Subba Setty was born to a humble family in Mysore on 12 December 1879. After high school, he went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree from Maharaja’s College. Wanting to study more, he enrolled himself in an engineering college in Guindy. He transferred from here twice. First to Thomason College and finally to Roorkee.
With a double degree in hand, Setty started working as an assistant engineer with the Mysore Public Works Department. In 1909 he left the position and took up a scholarship for a diploma in electrical engineering from Faraday House, UK. While in the UK, he worked alongside his studies and became an associate member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers.
S. V Setty – The Aviator
In the UK, Setty found himself drawn to aeroplane design and aviation. He extended his stay in the country and started working with A.V. Roe and Company (AVRO) as a draughtsman and trainee pilot in 1911.
Within a year, he had designed and built an aircraft. His maiden flight crashed leading to a redesign of some components of the airplane. Setty flew this aircraft again on 12 March 1912 to become the first Indian pilot. Though the flight was not very high-powered, it was successful.
The aircraft would later be named the Avro Duigan and become the basis for the Avro 500 series. Setty also designed a second plane, the Avro 504 which became a dreaded bomber in WWI. The Avro 500 design also later evolved to become the first trainer aircraft.
Unfortunately, financial troubles forced Setty to head back home. He began working with the Mysore government to design and manufacture aircrafts. However, this dream was cut short when the British government in India imposed a ban on the same.
Sri Rama Venkata Subba Setty – Later Years And Legacy
In 1913, Setty headed the establishment of a technical school in Bangalore. He was also a founder professor at the University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering. At the young age of 38 years, Sri Rama Venkata Subba Setty passed away in the 1918 influenza epidemic.