China's first aviator - Feng Ru

On September 21, 1909, Feng Ru, a Chinese overseas Chinese in the United States, flew a powered aircraft in a successful test flight on the flat open space near Mount Paymont in Oakland, USA, and achieved a flight altitude of 4.57 meters and a flight distance of 804 meters. On September 7, the American Observer newspaper "Golden Mountain Observer" reported on the experience of "the genius Chinese Feng Ru built his own aircraft and installed a homemade engine for test flight" under the title of "Wright in the East", and made a high evaluation that "in the field of aviation, Chinese leave white people behind". Feng Ruji developed and flew aircraft in one, so China's aeronautical historians called him China's first aviator.

Feng Ru was born on December 15, 1883 in Enping County, Guangdong Province. At the age of 12, he went to the United States as a child laborer, studied English at night, and later worked as a worker in a factory. During the day he worked hard in the factory, and at night he worked hard to study books on benzene mechanics, and after several years of intensive research, he had accumulated a lot of knowledge and experience in machine manufacturing. In 1906, Feng Ru raised funds with local overseas Chinese and relatives and friends in San Francisco to establish an aircraft manufacturing company.

In 1907, under the presidency of Feng Ru, the Guangdong Machine Factory was established in Auckland, creating Chinese unprecedented business - developing aircraft, and after two years of hard work, finally made a powered aircraft that could carry people in September 1909. Although the plane crashed during the first test flight, this did not discourage Feng Ru, but prompted him to continue to explore ways to improve, and after 6 failures, he finally made a good biplane for the seventh time, and made several air shows in Auckland from January to February 1911. During the performance, a new record of 105 km/h was set and 35 km was flown at an altitude of 1130 m. When Dr. Sun Yat-sen was also in the United States at that time, after visiting Feng Ru's air show, when he spoke to Feng Ru and the vast number of overseas Chinese compatriots next to Feng Ru's plane, the first sentence was: "We have outstanding talents in China," praised Feng Ru's flight achievements, and encouraged him to return to China to look forward to the motherland compatriots.

In March 1911, Feng Ru returned to his homeland. Soon, the Xinhai Revolution broke out, and Feng immediately threw himself into the revolution, eliminated the Guangdong Revolutionary Army, and was appointed as the captain of the army's aircraft fleet. Although this aircraft fleet was unable to participate in the northward battle due to poor preparations, it strengthened the momentum of the revolutionary army.

On the morning of August 0, 1912, When Feng Ru was performing an air show at the Yantang Grand Playground in Guangzhou, he was seriously injured due to a plane crash and crash, and unfortunately died after being rescued by the hospital.

After Feng Ru's sacrifice, the Army Department of the Guangdong Military Government issued an order commending his meritorious deeds in pioneering China's aviation industry, saying: "Feng Ru, with a clever posture, learned the art of flying, worked hard and intellectually, studied a few times in depth, did not expect the first test, was injured and died, and should be compensated by preferential treatment to comfort the former martyrs and the people who came." "And with the approval of the provisional president, according to the death of a major general-level officer, a silver dollar of 10,130 yuan was allocated to his family, and his deeds were appropriately paid to the National History Museum."

Feng Ru was only 29 years old at the time of his death and was buried in the Huanghuagang 72 Martyrs' Cemetery in Guangzhou, with the inscription engraved on the front as: The tomb of Feng Junru, the founder of China.