Wright Model A

Wright Model A/Military Flyer
Wright Military Flyer at the Smithsonian National Air and at Space Museum
General information
TypeDemonstrator/trainer
ManufacturerWright Company
Number builtc. 60
History
First flight1908
VariantsWright Model B
Three-quarter left front view from below of the Wright Type A Military (Signal Corps No.1) hanging on display in the darkened Early Flight exhibit, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

The Wright Model A is an early aircraft produced by the Wright Brothers in the United States beginning in 1906. It was a development of their Flyer III airplane of 1905. The Wrights built about seven Model A's in their bicycle shop during the period 1906–1907, in which they did no flying. One of these was shipped to Le Havre in 1907 in order to demonstrate it to the French. The Model A had a 35-horsepower (26 kW) engine and seating for two with a new control arrangement. Otherwise, it was identical to the 1905 airplane. The Model A was the first aircraft that they offered for sale, and the first aircraft design to enter serial production anywhere in the world. Apart from the seven machines the Wrights built themselves in 1906–1907, they sold licences for production in Europe with the largest number of Model A's actually being produced in Germany by Flugmaschine Wright GmbH, which built about 60 examples.[1]

The 1909 Military Flyer was a one-of-a-kind Model A built by the Wright Brothers. With wings shortened two feet, higher skid undercarriage and the same engine salvaged from the 1908 Wright Military Flyer wrecked at Fort Myer, it differed from the standard Wright A in size and had a faster speed. The aircraft was demonstrated at Fort Myer, Virginia, beginning June 28, 1909[2] for the Aeronautical Division of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, which offered a contract of $25,000 ($847,778 in 2022 dollars[3]) for an aircraft capable of flying at 40 miles per hour (64 km/h), with two people on board, and a distance of 125 miles (201 km). After rigorous trials the Signal Corps accepted the airplane as "Signal Corps (S.C.) No. 1", August 2, 1909,[2] and paid the brothers $30,000[4] ($1,017,333 in 2022 US dollars[3]).

  1. ^ Das Flugzeug "Model A" von Wilbur und Orville Wright Archived 2013-11-04 at the Wayback Machine, Deutsches Museum (German) (shows German advert for Wright Flugmaschinen, flying lesson included with purchase) "In der in Johannisthal bei Berlin ansässigen Firma "Flugmaschine Wright GmbH" wurden Wright-Flugzeuge in Lizenz gebaut. Die im Herbst 1909 gegründete Firma war nach der Flugmaschinenfabrik von August Euler die zweite Flugzeugfabrik in Deutschland, in der Flugzeuge in Serie gefertigt wurden. Sie produzierte bis 1913 etwa 60 Wright-Doppeldecker verschiedener Versionen"
  2. ^ a b "U.S. Army Aircraft 1908–1946" by James C. Fahey, 1946, 64 pp.
  3. ^ a b 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  4. ^ "On Great White Wings" by Fred E. C. Culick and Spencer Dunmore (Airlife Publishing Ltd. Shrewsbury, England, 2001, ISBN 1-84037-333-4), 176 pp.