David Cook

Summary:

Bognor Birdman.

David Cook

Phil Chett 1173099001|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

Is this our David cook?

History of Bognor Birdmen
Between 1971 and 1978 the South of England's annual Birdman Really was held in the seaside resort of Selsey. With a distance of 46 metres to be covered and a prize of £3,000 to be won, intrepid flyers flocked to compete in the event. Despite fierce competition from the likes of Mary Poppins, Peter Pan and a naked jumper called John, the closest any came to the distance was 44 metres, achieved by David Cook in 1974.

Re: David Cook

terryasp 1173130581|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

Hi Phil
Yes it is our David Cook
They were so worried that he was going to win the Prize money that they changed the rules and tried to disqualify him, by saying that he had helpers to push him off the pier. When that didn't work they came up with another silly rule because one of the helpers while pushing David off (so the tail did not hit the edge of the pier) fell into the water. All this because it was believed they did not have the money to pay off the winner. It was all done as a publicity exercise for the holiday area and at that time nobody ever thought it could be achieved. When you consider that the competition took place on a pier so the breeze went under the pier hence no lift and not only that the sea breeze would have come in on the end of the pier while they were made to take off to the side.
David's approach way back in 1974 was to dive off the pier to gain as much speed as possible and to flare out just a few inches above the water. We believe he made it but they did not have a very acuate measuring device. Some guy on the beach just pointed to a spot out to sea. Its on film and worth a look if you get the chance. The whole event was organised by the TV personality Patrick Moore who use to tell us about the stars at night,
Have a nice Day
Terry Aspinall