Engineering:Wright Model L
| Model L | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Military reconnaissance aircraft |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Wright Company |
| History | |
| First flight | 1916 |
The Wright Model L was a prototype high-speed reconnaissance aircraft built by the Wright Company in 1916 to meet a specification by the U.S. military.[1] It bore no resemblance to previous Wright designs.[1][2][3][lower-alpha 1] Already obsolete compared to European military aircraft of the time,[4][5] it attracted no orders, and only the single prototype was built.[5]
By the time it was brought to market, Orville Wright had already left the company.[1][3] It would be the last aircraft built by the Wright Company before it merged with the Glenn L. Martin Company,[5] and the last Wright aircraft built at Dayton.[5]
Design
The Model L was a two-bay unstaggered biplane with equal-span wings.[6] The pilot sat in an open cockpit.[6] A piston engine was mounted in the nose, which drove a tractor propeller mounted directly to it.[4][5] It had a conventional tail[4] and was fitted with fixed, tailskid undercarriage.[1] Directional control was provided via ailerons.[4][5] Aviation historian Richard P. Hallion described it as the "antithesis" of established Wright design.[4]
Specifications
Data from Hallion 2019, p.72
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Length: 24 ft 2 in (7.37 m)
- Wingspan: 29 ft 0 in (8.84 m)
- Height: 10 ft 6 in (3.20 m) (estimated)
- Wing area: 360 sq ft (33 m2) (estimated)
- Empty weight: 1,577 lb (715 kg)
- Gross weight: 2,049 lb (929 kg) (approximate)
- Powerplant: 1 × Wright 6-60 six-cylinder, water-cooled, inline engine, 60 hp (45 kW)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 62.5 mph (100.6 km/h, 54.3 kn) (estimated)
Notes
References
- ↑ The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (1985, p.3098) describes the aircraft as a single-seat development of the Wright Model F. This is inconsistent with the various other sources cited here, as well as with photographs of the two types.
Bibliography
- Hallion, Richard P. (2019). The Wright Flyers 1899–1916. Oxford: Osprey.
- The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft. London: Aerospace Publishing.
- MacFarland, Marvin W. (1953). The Papers of Wilbur and Orville Wright, Including the Chanute-Wright Letters and Other Papers of Octave Chanute: Volume Two 1906–1948. New York: MacGraw–Hill.
- Roach, Edward J. (2014). The Wright Company: From Invention to Industry. Athens, OH: Ohio University Press.
- Taylor, Michael J. H. (1993). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions.
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