The Wright brothers, celebrated as aviation pioneers, invented, built, and flew the world’s first successful airplane in 1903. Six years later, in 1909, Louis Blériot became the first person to fly a monoplane across the English Channel. That same year, Sriram Venkatasubba Setty, a 30-year-old Indian citizen from Mysore, Bangalore, came to England to study and made history. He became India’s first aviator and the designer behind one of the most iconic aircraft of World War I: the Avro 504. But due to a tragedy, the man who helped Britain fly was never able to build a plane for his own homeland.

Early Life and Education

Sriram Venkatasubba Setty, also known as S. V. Setty, was born in December 1879 in a modest household in Mysore. He completed his bachelor's degree in arts at Maharaja's College, Mysore, and later enrolled at the engineering college in Guindy, Madras. He was then transferred to Thomason College, later known as IIT Roorkee, where he completed his engineering degree. After graduation, he joined the Mysore Public Works Department as an assistant engineer. 

His life took a turn in 1909 when he earned a scholarship to Faraday House, a prestigious engineering college in London, to study electrical engineering. There, Setty received in-depth practical industrial training in power generation. At that time in England, it was impossible to be a mechanically minded young man and not dream of flying. Although he was financially insecure, and despite receiving no support from the Mysore state and facing constant opposition from his family, he joined A.V. Roe and Company (AVRO) in 1911. It was the only British firm dedicated to building aircraft at that time.

Setty as an Aviator

Setty’s work at AVRO was that of an apprentice and unpaid draughtsman. The greatest reward of the job was the opportunity to test and fly planes, which Setty made full use of. After surviving a crash while testing an Avro D prototype, he walked away unscathed and resolved to improve the design himself. He studied the flaws, came up with a new design, implemented it, and piloted the aircraft so skillfully that an Australian aviator, John Duigan, was so impressed he bought the plane on the spot.

With this, S. V. Setty became the first Indian to design, build, and fly an aircraft. His aircraft inspired the Avro E, which laid the foundation for the Avro 500. The Avro 500 ultimately led to the Avro 504, a plane that would go on to redefine aviation. Setty’s contribution was formally acknowledged by AVRO. In a certificate dated March 12, 1912, the company wrote:

"He has had considerable experience in the Flying School and has become very efficient in the tuning up of aeroplanes and engines. He has the makings of a very good pilot. He has also worked in the Drawing Office on some new types of machines, and we now consider him to have had sufficient experience to be left in entire charge of the erection of a machine of any type."

Also Read: What made NYC Democratic Mayoral Nominee Zohran Mamdani call Indian PM Modi a “War Criminal”? [Read At NewsGram]

Setty left England shortly after being awarded a gold medal for General Proficiency in Aeronautics, inscribed with the image of an Avro E.

Indian Journey

After returning to Bangalore, India, Setty began working toward his dream of building an Indian aircraft. Despite his vision and credentials, his plan was denied permission. In 1913, he was appointed superintendent of a new technical school in Bangalore. In 1917, this school became Karnataka’s first engineering college, which still flourishes today as the University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE).

A few years later, his dream came to an end following his untimely death at the age of 38. In 1918, tragedy swept through Bangalore as the Spanish flu struck without warning, claiming nearly a fifth of the city’s population.

Adding to the loss, a fire at the AVRO Chadderton plant in 1959 destroyed much of the early documentation, including records of Setty’s contributions. Today, only scattered references in aviation journals like Flight, the official organ of the Aero Club of the UK, remain as evidence of his remarkable flights and designs.

S. V. Setty lived a life defined by ambition, innovation, and quiet heroism. Though his name remains unfamiliar to most, his contributions to early aviation were groundbreaking. At a time when India was still under British rule, he dared to dream of flight and left a lasting legacy in British aeronautical design. While many records of his work were lost to time, his story lives on through the few who remember. Though he had passed away, his dream of building an Indian aircraft came true years later in 1940 with the establishment of India’s first aircraft factory, Hindustan Aircraft Limited, in Bangalore.