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John Cyril Porte

John Cyril Porte is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand John Cyril Porte rather than just read about it. In short: Lieutenant Colonel John Cyril Porte, (26 February 1884 – 22 October 1919) was a British flying boat pioneer associated with the First World War Seaplane Experimental Station at Felixstowe. Early life and career Porte was born on 26 February 1884 to Reverend John Robert Porte (1849–1922) TCD and Henrietta (née Scott) in Bandon, County Cork, Ireland.

John Cyril Porte — main illustration
John Cyril Porte — illustration

Key takeaways

  • John Cyril Porte belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect John Cyril Porte to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of John Cyril Porte from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Lieutenant Colonel John Cyril Porte, (26 February 1884 – 22 October 1919) was a British flying boat pioneer associated with the First World War Seaplane Experimental Station at Felixstowe.

Early life and career Porte was born on 26 February 1884 to Reverend John Robert Porte (1849–1922) TCD and Henrietta (née Scott) in Bandon, County Cork, Ireland. Reverend Dr. Porte served as Rector of St Peter's, Ballymodan, Bandon before moving to England with his family as Vicar of St Matthew's church, Denmark Hill in 1890. Rev. Porte's father, George Porte (1819–1892) was a Civil Engineer and master of Erasmus Smith School living in Dublin, a member of the Royal Irish Academy, Fellow of the Royal Geological Society of Ireland and founder member of the Dublin Microscopical Club. Porte joined the Royal Navy in 1898 age 14, passing through HMS Britannia before he was posted as a midshipman on the training brig HMS Pilot in late September 1902. He served on HMS Royal Oak before he was promoted to lieutenant in 1905. Porte transferred to the Royal Navy Submarine Service in 1906 receiving his training on HMS Thames before HMS Forth and duties on submarines, his first command was HMS B3, beginning 1 January 1908. He served under Murray Sueter, a pioneer of submarines, airships and aeroplanes who encouraged Porte to join that branch of the service. During 1908 he designed a glider in collaboration with Lieutenant Wilfred Baley Pirie (1888–1960). The glider tested 17 August 1909 from the north side of Portsdown Hill near Portsmouth. Launched using rails like the Wright Brothers, the event featured on the front page of Flight magazine. The aircraft was a staggered wing biplane flown by two pilots simultaneously using a system common to airships; one having control of the rudder and wing warping, the other control of the elevator. The use of staggered planes apparently preceded that of the Goupy. Both officers were attached to the submarine depot at Haslar. In 1910 he joined HMS Mercury for duties on a Holland-class submarine, taking over HMS C38 on 31 March 1910. It was during his service as a submariner that Porte contracted tuberculosis, being retired as unfit 25 October 1911 with the rank of Lieutenant, RN. Porte learnt to fly by the end of 1910 using a Santos-Dumont Demoiselle that he built in his spare time; he was also assigned to HMS President in London for a flying course and gained his flying certificate (No. 548) with the Aero Club de France 28 July 1911, flying a Deperdussin monoplane at Reims airfield. Six days prior, Porte took part in the Daily Mail Circuit of Britain from Brooklands with the first British built 60hp Anzani Deperdussin monoplane, but suffered an unfortunate accident shortly after takeoff. He proved to be a gifted and natural pilot. With Admiral Edmund Fremantle as chairman and Louis Béchereau as Technical Director of the Paris Deperdussin works acting as technical advisor, Porte was test pilot, and joint managing director of the British Deperdussin Company in April 1912 alongside Italian D. Lawrence Santoni, who was already well known in aviation circles and went on to found Savoia. They were the first to establish a British factory for the manufacture of a foreign aircraft; with Porte also as technical director and designer, Frederick Koolhoven joined them from France as chief engineer and works manager in the summer of 1912. Porte invested nearly all his money in the venture. He flew Deperdussin aircraft in the Military Aeroplane Trials at Larkhill and air races at Hendon Aerodrome, where he became a popular figure with the weekend crowds, by now achieving a considerable reputation as a skilled pilot. About November 1912 Porte was a director of British Anzani alongside Captain John Crosby Halahan, a former Royal Dublin Fusiliers and Royal Flying Corps (RFC) officer, Waldo Ridley Prentice and Claude Scholfield, with Santoni as chairman. Halahan was appointed manager of the Deperdussin Flying School at Hendon in 1913. Porte tested the British Deperdussin Seagull float plane successfully at Osea Island about June 1913; around this time he was recovering from a serious operation to his jaw. During the collapse and liquidation of Deperdussin from about August 1913, Porte lost all his investments. Following he was employed by White & Thompson as a designer and test pilot. He married Minnie 'Betty' Miller at St James's Church, Piccadilly on 16 August 1916.

Transatlantic challenge

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

John Cyril Porte illustration
John Cyril Porte: London early 1914, the Woman's Aerial League silver trophy and $5,000 prize.
London early 1914, the Woman's Aerial League silver trophy and $5,000 prize.
John Cyril Porte: In the Curtiss factory with the second prototype designed under Porte's supervision;[22][4][23] appearing in The Sun 18 June 1914, "The latest photographs of the Wanamaker seaplane. Lieut. Porte standing by the machine."
In the Curtiss factory with the second prototype designed under Porte's supervision;[22][4][23] appearing in The Sun 18 June 1914, "The latest photographs of the Wanamaker seaplane. Lieut. Porte standing by the machine."
John Cyril Porte: A cutting from Moving Picture World 25 July 1914: Glen Curtiss, actress Norma Phillips (Our Mutual Girl)[24] and Porte with his characteristic straw hat in front of the Trans-Atlantic Flyer.[25]
A cutting from Moving Picture World 25 July 1914: Glen Curtiss, actress Norma Phillips (Our Mutual Girl)[24] and Porte with his characteristic straw hat in front of the Trans-Atlantic Flyer.[25]
John Cyril Porte: Bristol Scout C (C3028) from HMS Vindex atop Porte Baby (No.9800), RNAS Felixstowe, May 1916, Porte walking under the tailplane.
Bristol Scout C (C3028) from HMS Vindex atop Porte Baby (No.9800), RNAS Felixstowe, May 1916, Porte walking under the tailplane.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with John Cyril Porte

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what John Cyril Porte claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to John Cyril Porte before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about John Cyril Porte ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of John Cyril Porte

In research
John Cyril Porte appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses John Cyril Porte in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
John Cyril Porte is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1884 births, 1919 deaths, 20th-century British people, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for John Cyril Porte outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.
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How to study John Cyril Porte in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what John Cyril Porte means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain John Cyril Porte out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is John Cyril Porte in simple terms?

Lieutenant Colonel John Cyril Porte, (26 February 1884 – 22 October 1919) was a British flying boat pioneer associated with the First World War Seaplane Experimental Station at Felixstowe. Early life and career Porte was born on 26 February 1884 to Reverend John Robert Porte (1849–1922) TCD and Hen…

Why does John Cyril Porte matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study John Cyril Porte?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on John Cyril Porte.

Tags

  • 1884 births
  • 1919 deaths
  • 20th-century British people
  • 20th-century Irish military personnel
  • 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis
  • Aerial warfare pioneers
  • Air racers
  • Aviation inventors
  • British World War I pilots
  • British air racers
  • British aviation pioneers
  • British inventors

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