Wright Model G
| Model G Aeroboat | |
|---|---|
| |
| Role | Military flying boat |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Wright Company |
| Designer | Grover Loening |
| First flight | 1913 |
| Primary user | U.S. Navy |
| Developed into | Wright Model H Wright Model HS |
The Wright Model G Aeroboat was a flying boat built in small numbers by the Wright Company in 1913. It represented an unsuccessful attempt by Wright to compete with the ubiquitous Curtiss Model F.[1][2] One example was evaluated for U.S. Navy service,[3][4] and allocated a naval serial number, but this did not lead to a production order. The Model G was the first aircraft to be fitted with a T-tail.[5]
Design
[edit]The Model G was a three-bay unstaggered biplane flying boat with equal-span wings.[6] The pilot and a single passenger sat side-by-side in an open cockpit in the hull.[7] A piston engine was mounted behind the cockpit, in the interplane gap, which powered two two-bladed pusher propellers via chain drives.[7] Small stabilizer floats were mounted under the wings, initially at mid-span,[7] but later moved to the wingtips.[5] The horizontal stabilizer was originally mounted in a cruciform position on the fins, but later moved above them to create the first T-tail fitted to an aircraft.[5] The Model G was originally fitted with a system of control levers, similar to earlier Wright designs, but the last ones built had control wheels that were emerging as the standard for aircraft control.[2] The hull was built of metal.[7]
Development
[edit]The Wright Company had previously marketed seaplanes in the form of the Wright Model C-H floatplane. However, this machine's performance both in the air and on the water had proved disappointing.[8] At the same time, rival firm Curtiss had achieved considerable success with their Model F flying boat.[1][2] After an informal expression of interest from the U.S. Navy in evaluating a Wright flying boat, Orville Wright set designer Grover Loening to the task of designing the aircraft.[5] It flew for the first time in 1913, and was test-flown by Orville, Loening, and Oscar Brindley on the Great Miami River.[8]
Other than naval use, the Wright Company marketed it for recreational flying, and also hoped to sell it as a mailplane for use in Alaska and coastal areas.[8]
Development of the design continued as the Wright Model H and Model HS.[9]
Operational history
[edit]The U.S. Navy purchased the first Model G built[10] and assigned it the serial AH-19.[11] It was tested for the Navy by Harry Atwood on Lake Erie in May 1914, and then by Lt. Harry Maxfield.[10] Maxfield advised against purchasing the type,[10] and no further interest by the Navy ensued.[10][11][3]
Wright sold at least two other Model Gs: one to Atwood, and another to Ernie Hall.[10] Captain J. William Hazelton of the New York National Guard also owned a "Wright-type flying boat" around this time, which might have been a Model G.[10] He offered it to the Army for use in support of the Mexican Revolution, but the offer was not taken up.[10]
On August 20, 1914, Orville Wright and passenger Lt. Kenneth Whiting narrowly escaped drowning when a Model G piloted by Wright crashed into the Great Miami River after one of its wings failed in flight.[1]
Operators
[edit]Specifications
[edit]Data from Hallion 2019, p.69
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Capacity: 1 passenger
- Length: 28 ft 8 in (8.74 m)
- Wingspan: 38 ft 0 in (11.58 m)
- Height: 8 ft 0 in (2.44 m)
- Wing area: 432 sq ft (40.1 m2)
- Empty weight: 1,200 lb (544 kg)
- Gross weight: 1,800 lb (816 kg)
- Powerplant: 1 × Wright 6-60 six-cylinder, water-cooled, inline engine, 60 hp (45 kW)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 60 mph (97 km/h, 52 kn) (estimated)
Notes
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Hallion 2019, p.69
- ^ a b c Roach 2015, p.107
- ^ a b Taylor 1992, p.898
- ^ The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft 1985, p.3098
- ^ a b c d Hallion 2019, p.68
- ^ The 60 H.P. Wright Aero-Boat 1914, p.57
- ^ a b c d The 60 H.P. Wright Aero-Boat 1914, p.56
- ^ a b c Roach 2015, p.106
- ^ Roach 2015, p.109
- ^ a b c d e f g Roach 2015, p.108
- ^ a b Swanborough & Bowers 1990, p.536
Bibliography
[edit]- "The 60 H.P. Wright Aero-Boat". Flight. 6 (3). London: Flight: 56–58. January 17, 1914.
- Hallion, Richard P. (2019). The Wright Flyers 1899–1916. Oxford: Osprey.
- The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft. London: Aerospace Publishing.
- Roach, Edward J. (2014). The Wright Company: From Invention to Industry. Athens, OH: Ohio University Press.
- Swanborough, Gordon; Bowers, Peter M. (1990). United States Navy Aircraft Since 1911. London: Putnam.
- Taylor, Michael J. H. (1993). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions.