| D.5 | |
|---|---|
| |
| Role | Experimental aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Short Brothers |
| Designer | J. W. Dunne |
| First flight | 1910 |
| Number built | 1 |
| Developed from | Dunne D.4 |
| Developed into | Dunne D.8 |
The Dunne D.5 was a British experimental aircraft built in 1910. A tailless swept-wing biplane, it was designed by J. W. Dunne and built by Short Brothers at Leysdown for his company, the Blair Atholl Aeroplane Syndicate Ltd. Like its military predecessors it was driven by twin pusher propellers, but it had a considerably more powerful engine.
The D.5 first flew in the summer of 1910, thus becoming his first powered aeroplane to fly. Dunne had long ago literally dreamed of this flight. The D.5 was later certified as the first fixed-wing aircraft ever to achieve natural stability in flight, with one of the official witnesses being Orville Wright.