Wright Model E

Wright Model E
Wright Model E, over Simms Station near Dayton, Ohio, 1913
General information
Type	Biplane
National origin	United States of America
Manufacturer	Wright Company
Designer	Wright brothers
Number built	1
History
First flight	1913

The Wright Model E was the first in the series of Wright Flyers that used a single propeller. The aircraft was also the test demonstrator for the first automatic pilot control.

Design

The Model E featured 24 inch tires. It was flown with four and six cylinder Wright engines.

The model E was fitted with a prototype autopilot that used a wind driven generator and pendulums to drive the wing warping controls. The design was quickly eclipsed by a gyroscopic autopilot developed by Lawrence Sperry for the competing Curtiss Aeroplane Company.

Operational history

On 31 December 1913, Orville Wright demonstrated a Model E with an "automatic stabilizer" flying seven circuits around Huffman Prairie field with his hands above his head. The Model E demonstrations earned the Wright Brothers the 1913 Collier Trophy from Aero Club of America.

Albert Elton (1881–1975) purchased the sole Wright Model E for exhibition flights.

Specifications (Wright Model E)

General characteristics

• Crew: one
• Length: 27 ft 9 in (8.46 m)
• Wingspan: 32 ft (9.8 m)
• Wing area: 316 sq ft (29.4 m²)
• Empty weight: 730 lb (331 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 × aircraft engine
• Propellers: 2-bladed fixed pitch, 7 ft (2.1 m) diameter

References

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