Wright Model A
The Wright Model A is a biplane of the Wright brothers. It was the first model of the Wright Brothers, which was originally scheduled for sale.
History
The Wrights built a total of seven machines themselves given at least 22 machines were at their licensees in France and Germany. In September and October 1909 Orville Wright demonstrated the machine in Berlin. For the first time on August 29, 1909, the machine on the Tempelhof Field. In Berlin -Johannisthal the flying machine Wright GmbH was founded, which also operated a flight school. The Wright in Berlin flown machine has been left to the Deutsches Museum, where it is located today.
Construction
Like its predecessor, the Wright Flyer III, there is a plane in duck design at back rudder. For roll control a wing warping has been used. The water-cooled four-cylinder engine driving through own production chains to two propellers. Started the aircraft was on a rail; The chassis consisted of two skids.
Use
Wilbur led the aircraft prior to a trip to Europe on 8 August 1908 on the racecourse in Hunaudières near Le Mans in France. Later he began accordance with the contract on the military training area Anvours for its licensees to train pilots. On 18 December 1908, he reached there about 100 m altitude and a flight time of 2 hours and 20 minutes, the world records showed. With a passenger he could make on December 31, 1908 one hour and nine minutes flight time claims and so won the worth 20,000 francs Michelin price.
From the 3rd of February he continued the training of pilots in Pau. There, the Frenchman Paul Tissandier on May 20, 1909 to win the world speed record for land planes of 54.81 km / h. During a demonstration in Italy in April 1909 a cameraman flew as a passenger in order to film the first time from an airplane (→ Wilbur Wright and his flying machine ).
In the U.S., the model has been successfully demonstrated Virginia in Fort Myer. The terms of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, which called for two people at 40 mph to transport ( 64.4 km / h ) over a distance of 125 miles ( 201 km), could be fulfilled. The Corps then paid $ 30,000 for the aircraft. It is now largely renovated in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC issued.