This modified version of the Wright "B" Flyer, was the
first model produced in quantity by the Wright Brothers. It is
representative of Signal Corps Aeroplanes No. 3 and No. 4, purchased by
the Army in 1911 and used for training pilots and in aerial experiments.
At College Park, Md., in Oct. 1911, a Wright "B" was used for the first
military trials of a bombsight and bomb-dropping device.
The major modifications of this airplane are the
installation of an eight-cylinder Rausenberger engine in place of the
orginal four-cylinder Wright engine and the addition of ailerons on the
trailing edges of the wings in place of the Wright's lever control system.
This airplane was used for flight instruction
by Mr. Howard Rinehart at Mineola, N.Y., in 1916. It appears here almost
exactly as it did when it was last flown by Lt. John A. Macready during
the International Air Races at Dayton, OH., in Oct. 1924.
specifications
Span: 39 ft.
Length: 28 ft.
Height: 8 ft. 9 in.
Weight: 1,400 lbs. loaded
Armament: None
Engine: Eight-cylinder Rausenberger of 75 hp.
Cost: $5000
performance
Maximum speed: 45 mph.
Maximum endurance: 2 hr.