Preston Watson: The Dundonian Who Became The Flying Scotsman
You learn something new everyday and for me it was learning about Preston Watson, an incredible Dundonian who achieved so much in his short life.
Preston Watson was a born and bred Dundonian. He is, on some accounts, said to have flown before the Wright brothers in July-August 1903 — but we’ll come back to that later.
Growing up in Dundee
Born in Dundee in 1880, he grew up in a prominent Dundee family. He had a younger brother, James, and he was the grandson of James Yeaman, who was the Lord Provost of Dundee and later Liberal MP for Dundee.
He studied at the High School of Dundee and became a well respected athlete but despite being a promising athlete, his interests were not running on the ground but looking to fly high in the sky.
Growing an interest in mechanics
Preston had a grown an interest in mechanics and it was in 1898 at the age of 18 where Preston believed he had successfully analysed the principles governing the mechanism of bird flight. With his growing interest in the field, he decided to go to University College Dundee, there he studied physics and dynamics.
Building pioneering aeroplanes
By 1901, after learning aerodynamics, Preston was determined in building and modifying aeroplanes. Preston built and adapted three planes from 1903 to 1913 all at a cost of £1,000, funded by his father.
One of Preston’s friends, Bob Melville, who worked at the East Leys Farm near Errol, allowed him to use his shed where he started to work on his first aeroplane.
The Wright brothers’ pioneering plane was controlled by warping and twisting the machines of their aeroplane — however for Preston when testing out his second aeroplane which he built, he recycled this technique from the Wright brothers however he fitted an extra rocking wing above the main wing, thus managing to lean the the plane and from one side or the other, the pilot could correct deviations from a straight line of flight and control the machine to make it turn the way he wanted.
This method was very efficient and it prompted Preston to send it’s specification to the Patent Office in December 1908. He then received a Patent in 1909 for that second aeroplane he built, dubbed ‘the rocking wing aeroplane’.
Volunteering at the outbreak of war and an untimely death
At the outbreak of the Great War, Preston volunteered for military service and he joined the Royal Air Naval Service in the early part of the war. Due to the war breaking out, his aeroplane was broke up as it was of experimental design and unsuitable for military purpose.
Preston, when training as part of the Royal Air Naval Service, was sadly killed in an accident when flying between Eastchurch in Kent and Eastbourne, East Sussex in England when his plane suddenly dived from a great height all the way to the ground — he was just 34 years old when he perished.
Preston was later buried at the Western Cemetery in Dundee with full military honours. His death was unfortunately untimely however he left a legacy which will last forever.
The first flyer?
Now back to what we were talking about earlier and one of the most notable theories about Preston Watson is that in some accounts, he is considered to be credited for flying the first plane.
Now everyone knows that the Wright brothers are credited for flying the first plane however over the course of history, many theories have suggested otherwise — with other accounts claiming otherwise, with Preston being one of them.
It was claimed that Preston flew over Eroll in July-August 1903, four to five months before the Wright brothers in December 1903.
However there have been some theories which have debunked this to be false and it is all to do with the account of Preston’s brother, James.
James cited that Preston did indeed fly over Errol in August 1903 in which he stated in an article featured in the Manchester Guardian newspaper in December 1953.
However, although the date of Preston’s first flight is not established, Charles Gibbs-Smith, then director of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London discredited these claims by James citing that there was no reliable evidence to suggest Preston flew a plane in 1903.
What is said to be the case is that Preston had built three aeroplanes, in 1909, 1910 and the last in 1913, of which only the last two got airborne under their own power.
Two grainy photographs dated c.1914 are the earliest showing one of his aircraft in flight. These pictures are found in the 15 May 1914 issue of Flight magazine.
But this debate whether he was the first to fly before the Wright brothers, I feel doesn’t matter because there is more incredible things which Preston has achieved.
Preston’s career was successful in many ways. He invented a new way of flying, a method still used in aeroplanes to this very day and he was among the first group of pioneers in the early years of aviation along with the likes of the Wright brothers, Alberto Santos-Dumont and Louis Blériot.
He was Preston Watson, the Flying Scotsman.
