Curtiss Model D
The Model D was an early US aircraft, and among the first aircraft in the world to be built in any quantity. It was based on Glenn Curtiss' Golden Flyer design of 1909, itself derived from his June Bug of 1908. The Model D could be bought with one of several Curtiss engines: 40, 60 or 75 horsepower. It was the basis for one of Curtiss's most famous achievements - the first amphibian airplane capable of landing on and taking off from land or water.
Development
Fitted with a wheeled, tricycle undercarriage, the aircraft was primarily constructed with spruce, with ash used in parts of the engine bearers and undercarriage beams, with doped linen stretch over it. The outrigger beams are made of bamboo. Prevented by patents from using the Wright Brothers' wing warping technique to provide lateral control, Curtiss used ailerons instead. In the end, this proved to be a superior solution. A pilot flying the Curtiss operated the ailerons with his shoulders, and the front elevator and rear rudder with the wheel mounted on a column in front of him. Also, rather than sitting next to the pilot, the observer sat behind the pilot.
Almost all Model Ds were constructed with a pusher configuration, where the propeller is facing backwards, behind the pilot. Because of this configuration, they were often referred to as a "Curtiss pusher". Early examples were built in a canard configuration, with elevators mounted on struts at the front of the aircraft in addition to a horizontal stabilizer at the rear. Later, the elevators were incorporated into the tail unit.
Curtiss Tractor
In 1911 the U.S. Army Signal Corps purchased its second airplane, a Curtiss Model D Type IV that was to be used as an airborne observation platform (it was accepted at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, on April 27, 1911). This military version of the Curtiss Model D could be easily disassembled and transported on Army wagons. A number of those aircraft were exported to foreign countries as well, including the Russian Navy. On 14 November 1910, Eugene Ely took off from the USS Birmingham in a Model D. This was the first time an aircraft had taken off from a ship. On January 8 1911, Eugene Ely landed a Model D aboard the USS Pennsylvania. This was the first aircraft to land on a ship.
Variants
- Model D-4 : with one 40 hp (30 kW) Curtis four-cylinder inline engine.
- Model D-8 : Signal Corps Aeroplane Number 2, one 40 hp Curtis Vee engine, top speed of 60 mph at sea level.
- Model D-8-75 : with one 75 hp (56 kW) Curtis eight-cylinder Vee engine.
- Burgess Model D : single prototype built under licence by Burgess Company of Marblehead, Massachusetts.
— — — = = — — —