"The Wright Flyer (often retrospectively referred to as Flyer I and occasionally Kitty Hawk) was the first powered aircraft designed and built by the Wright brothers. It was the first successful powered, piloted, controlled heavier-than-air aircraft. The Wright Flyer was a canard biplane configuration. The Wright Flyer was based on the Wrights' experience testing gliders at Kitty Hawk between 1900 and 1902. The Wrights built the aircraft in 1903 using 'giant spruce' wood as their construction material. Since they could find no suitable automobile engine for the task, they commissioned their employee Charlie Taylor to build a new design from scratch. A sprocket chain drive, borrowing from bicycle technology, powered the twin propellers, which were also made by hand. In 1904, the Wrights continued refining their designs and piloting techniques in order to obtain fully controlled flight. Major progress toward this goal was achieved in 1904 and even more decisively with the modifications during the 1905 program, which resulted in a 39-minute, 24 mile nonstop circling flight by Wilbur on October 5. While the 1903 Flyer was clearly a historically important test vehicle, its near-mythical status in American imagination has obscured its place as part of a continuing development program that eventually led to the Wrights' mastery of controlled flight in 1905. In 1910 the Wrights first made attempts to exhibit the Flyer in the Smithsonian Institution but talks fell through with the ensuing lawsuits against Glenn Curtiss and the Flyer may have been needed as repeated evidence in court cases. In 1916, Orville brought the Flyer out of storage and prepared it for display at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. (Wilbur had died in 1912.) He replaced parts of the covering, the props, and the engine's crankcase, crankshaft, and flywheel. The crankcase, crankshaft and flywheel had been sent to the Aero Club of America for an exhibit in 1906 and were never returned to the Wrights. A number of individuals and groups have attempted to build reproductions of the Wright Flyer for demonstration or scientific purposes."
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"The Sikorsky VS-44 was a large four-engined flying boat built to compete in the transatlantic air travel trade carrying 40 or more passengers across the Atlantic Ocean. Sikorsky’s standard of luxury boasted full-length beds, dressing rooms, a full galley, a snack bar, a lounge, and fully controlled ventilation. American Export Airlines (AEA) ordered for three VS-44s. They were named Excalibur, Excambian, and Exeter. World War II began and put civilian transatlantic air service on hold. Now under a Navy contract and with the Navy designation JR2S-1, AEA's three VS-44s continued flying between New York, New York and Foynes, Ireland, carrying passengers, freight and war materiel. Excalibur, the first VS-44, crashed on takeoff in 1942. After the war, the two remaining VS-44s continued to fly for the airline, which had been renamed American Overseas Airlines (AOA). AOA sold Excambian in 1949 to Tampico Airlines. In 1946 Exeter was sold to TACI of Montevideo, Uruguay. It crashed on August 15, 1947 while landing in River Plate off Montevideo. In 1976, Excambian was donated to the Naval Aviation Museum at Pensacola, Florida and eventually put on permanent loan to the New England Air Museum (NEAM) in Connecticut. NEAM restored Excambian to its WWII livery with volunteer help from some of the former Sikorsky workers who had built the original VS-44. "
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"The Aerospatiale-BAC Concorde supersonic transport (SST) was first flown by Andre Turcat in 1969. The aircraft was initially referred to as ""Concorde"", with the French spelling, but the name was changed officially by Harold Macmillan to ""Concord"". Concorde pioneered a double-delta shaped wings, variable inlet ramps, supercruise capability, thrust-by-wire engines and a droop-nose section for improved landing visibility. In February 1965, there were two Concordes prototype built. The first was the 001, which was built by Aerospatiale at Toulouse and 002, built by BAC at Filton, Bristol. On September 4, 1971, Concorde embarked on a sales and demonstration tour, as the flight programme progressed. While the Concorde 002 toured the Middle and Far East on June 2, 1972. These trips resulted to 70 aircraft orders, but a number of incidents occurred that resulted to a sudden number of order cancellations such as the oil crisis in 1973 and the sonic boom, takeoff-noise and pollution. The Concorde service commenced in 1976 and still in service for about 27 years. The airliner flew regular transatlantic flights from British Airways and Air France to New York JFK and Washington Dulles in just less than half the time compared to other airliners. In 1971, the US had cancelled its supersonic transport (SST) programme. Concorde's scheduled flights started on January 21, 1976 on the London-Bahrain and Paris-Rio (via Dakar) routes. New York banned Concorde locally, the time When the Us ban on JFK Concorde operations was lifted in February 1977. From 1974 onwards, European Airlines flew both demonstration and test flights. There were 20 Concordes built in total, six for development and 14 for commercial service. "
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"The Saab 340 “American Eagle” is a two-engine turboprop passenger aircraft designed and initially produced by a partnership between Saab and Fairchild in 65:35 ratios. Under the initial plan Saab built the aluminium fuselage and plastic vertical stabilizer, and also performed final assembly in Linköping, Sweden while Fairchild was responsible for the plastic wings, empennage, and wing-mounted nacelles for the two turboprop engines. After Fairchild ceased this work, production of these parts was shifted to Sweden. Within the 65/35 Saab - Fairchild partnership split Saab was responsible for the fuselage, fin and final assembly, while Fairchild was responsible for the wings, engine nacelles and empennage. The two companies selected the General Electric CT7 (a commercial development of the T700 which powers Sikorsky's S70 series of military helicopters) to power the new airliner. The resulting SF340 design was launched in September 1980 with the aim of capturing 25 to 30% of its market. The American Eagle flew for the first time on January 25, 1983. As of October 2005, there were 430 Saab 340's in service with 56 operators in 25 countries. In August 2006 a total of 361 Saab 340 aircraft (all variants) remain in airline service around the "
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"More than a million spectators were cheering as RAF Flight officer H.R.D. Waghorn set down his Supermarine S-6 in southern England's Solent Channel on September 10, 1929. Waghorn had just flown an average of 328 mph around the triangular course to defeat his Italian rivals and capture Britain's second straight Schneider Trophy win. France, Italy and the U.S. had all won the Schneider trophy in the past, as had Britain. But none of the four had managed to win three out of five consecutive races, as required for retiring the trophy. Now Britain stood within reach of the elusive goal and, shortly after Waghorn's victory, Prime Minister McDonald vowed that England would do her level best to win the next race in 1931. But a few months later, McDonald's Air Ministry stunned the Aero Club of Britain -- sponsors of the country's Schneider Trophy entries -- by announcing the government would give no financial support to future Schneider trophy efforts. Without this financial support, the Aero Club could not develop a new racer to compete with heavily subsidized French and Italian challengers expected in 1931. The British public was outraged. Their country's prestige was at stake. Soon several million pounds were raised to support the home team. Disaster struck the Italian and French teams. Mid-summer crashes claimed a top plane and top pilot from each. Crippled by these losses, both countries withdrew from the race a week before it was scheduled to be run. On Sunday, September 13, 1931, RAF Lieutenant John Boothman flew the S-6B, unopposed, over the Solent Channel course at an average speed of 340 mph. With courage, skill and a little bit of luck, England had retired the Schneider Trophy. Was it worth all the money, work and heartache to claim a fairly ugly, now almost forgotten trophy? The British think it was. Because five years after the 1931 race, Reginald J. Mitchell introduced a new Rolls Royce powered interceptor fighter incorporating many lessons he had learned designing Schneider Trophy seaplanes. Someone gave Mitchell's fighter a nickname, which stuck: ""Spitfire."" "
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"The Sabreliner, manufactured by North American, is a mid size corporate jet. The airplane was successfully developed for both military and civil use. North American Aviation began work on the Sabreliner as a private venture but it was formally launched in August 1956 in response to the US Air Force's UTX (Utility Trainer Experimental) requirement for a utility jet aircraft capable of performing transport and combat readiness training missions. A civil configured prototype (designated NA264) flew for the first time on September 16 1958 powered by General Electric YJ85 turbojets. On June 29 1977, The Model 65 had its first flight. The Sabreliner 65 has an eight passenger interior with two forward facing chairs in the rear of the cabin, four club seating chairs in the mid-cabin, one place side facing divan on forward left hand side of cabin, luggage area located on the right side of forward cabin. In 1981, the last production Model 65, S/N 465-076, was delivered to Acopian Technical. "
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"S-43 is an amphibious aircraft manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft in the 1930s. It was also known as the Baby Clipper in airline service. The S-43 was a smaller version of S-42 flying boat. The S-43 was used primarily by Pan American World Airways. Pan American Airways used the S-43 in Caribbean and South American routes. The S-43 was also operated by other airlines including Norway, West Africa, Russia, China, Hawaii and Philippine islands. There were 15 S-43s used primarily by the Navy as utility transports and some were also assigned to the Army and the Marines. The S-43 incorporates two Pratt & Whitney R-1690-52 radials with 750 hp each. It has a crew of two pilots and a seating capacity of 15 passengers. It has a maximum speed of 190 mph and a range of 775 miles. "
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"The American Sikorsky S-42 is regarded as the first truly American seaplane and was based on the earlier Sikorsky S-40. It was described as the ""most beautiful aircraft of its time."" Igor Sikorsky and Charles Lindbergh, both consultants of Pan American Airways consultant at that time, laid out plans for a new and larger flying boat. During the inaugural flight of the S-40 on November 19, 1931, the two visionaries began preliminary sketches on the back of a menu in the S-40's lounge. The Pan American President, Juan Trippe, had a similar vision of an aircraft that could span oceans. The new design provided for an increased lifting capacity, permitting to carry fuel for a 2,500 mile nonstop flight against a 30 mile-an-hour, at a cruising speed far in excess of the average operating speed of any flying boat at that time. The S-42's maiden flight was on March 30, 1934 and was also known as the Flying Clipper and the Pan Am Clipper. On October 10, 1931, the first S-40 was delivered to Pan Am and was flown to the Anacostia Naval Air Station at Washington D.C., christened by Mrs. Herbert Hoover. There's a total of ten S-42s built and manufactured by the Vought-Sikorsky Aircraft Division of the United Aircraft Corporation in Stratford, Connecticut. S-42 has crew capacity for four. It has a maximum speed of 188 mph and a range of 1,930 miles. All Sikorsky S-42s were either scrapped or destroyed in accidents. "
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"The Spirit of St. Louis is a custom-built airplane which was flown by Charles Lindbergh. The Spirit of St. Louis is officially known as the Ryan NYP, designed by Donald A. Hall of Ryan Airlines in San Diego, California. Lindbergh wanted to increase fuel efficiency and he has the opinion that single-engine planes could travel farther and it led to the design of the Spirit of St. Louis, which was one of the most streamlined aircraft at that time. Donald A. Hall decided that the tail and control surfaces would not be altered from his original Ryan M2 design. It resulted to a less stable aircraft, by which the experienced Lindbergh nevertheless approved. There was a dispute about the preference of design since the estimated 40-hour flight would be very challenging in terms of pilot fatigue. Hall and Lindbergh weighed the advantages and disadvantages of the setup, determining that an unstable aircraft would help keep Lindbergh awake and this resulted in a plane with unstable flight characteristics, with a tendency to curve, dip and bank at random times and the cockpit was also purposely uncomfortable, but it was custom-fitted to Lindbergh's tall and lanky frame. Lindbergh also insisted the elimination of unnecessary weight such as radio since it was unreliable at that time. On May 20 and 21, 1927, Spirit of St. Louis, piloted by Lindbergh, made the first non-stop solo transatlantic flight, making him an instant celebrity and media star. He won the $25,000 Orteig prize. Lindbergh subsequently flew the Spirit of St. Louis to Belgium and England before going back to the United States upon order by President Calvin Coolidge. Lindbergh flew the Spirit of St. Louis on promotional and goodwill tours across the United States and Latin America. Spirit of St. Louis' final flight was on April 30, 1928, having flown from St. Louis to Bolling Field, Washington, D.C., wherein Lindbergh presented the historic aircraft to the Smithsonian Institution. The Original Spirit of St. Louis is currently displayed at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, in the main atrium on the same side as the Bell X-1 and SpaceShipOne. Many static and flying replicas have been made. There were three replicas of the Spirit of St. Louis converted from Ryan B-1s for the 1957 film The Spirit of St. Louis starring James Stewart"
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"In 1932, Roscoe Turner acquired a new aircraft, the Wedell-Williams Racer, which was designed and built by one of the era's leading pilots. The racer gave Turner the edge he needed to start capturing some of aviation's most prestigious prizes, or at least, to be poised to capture them. That year, Turner finished third in the Bendix and Thompson races and in the Shell Speed Dash, one of the National Air Races in Cleveland. He also set a new transcontinental record from New York to Los Angeles and received the Harmon Trophy for being the best American aviator of 1932. The Gilmore ""Red Lion"" was the work of Jimmy Wedell. The Model Number 44 with a smooth cowl contour. The Gilmore Oil Company sponsored Rosco Turner in the 1932 Air Race where he placed third. Later, with a new sponsor the ""Red Lion"" was replaced by 20th Century Fox and colorful paint scheme was a thing of the past. The engine and cowl replaced by a more conventional cowl with rocker cover fairings. The ""Red Lion"" was a classic among the racing fleet of that time."
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The R3C-2 is a racing aircraft built in land and seaplane form manufactured by Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company for the Schneider Trophy race. The R3C was introduced in 1925. James Doolittle won the trophy with a Curtiss R3C-2 but the other two Curtiss R3C-2s, piloted by George Cuddihy and Ralph Oftsie did not reach the finish line. The next day, Doolittle set a new world record. The primary user of the R3C is the United States Army. The R3C-2 incorporates a Curtiss V-1400, 619 hp. The R3C-2 has a crew of 1 and has a maximum speed of 248 mph.
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Pitts thought of everything when it designed the Pitts Special, a single seat aerobatic biplane. For example, it comes equipped with a clear Plexiglas floor in the cockpit for improved vision when flying upside down.
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"Piper J-3 Cub is a small and light aircraft built and manufactured by Piper Aircraft and designed by C. G. Taylor. After Piper moved his company from Bradford to Lock Haven, the J-3 replaced the J-2. The Piper J-3 Cub quickly became popular when First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt took a flight in aJ-3 Cub, posing for a series of publicity photos, promoting the CPTP. The Piper J-3 Cub's maiden flight was 1938. Piper J-3 Cub was a favorite among pilots and non-pilots and there are still thousands currently in use. In the late 1940's J-3s were replaced by the PA-11 and then the Piper PA-18 Super Cub, introduced untl 1981. There's a total of 19,703 Piper J-3 cub built. "
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"The P180 Avanti II is Piaggio Aero’s flagship product. It is the world’s fastest turboprop business aircraft. It offers customers the speed of a light jet aircraft, the comfort of a large, quiet, midsize cabin, and fuel efficiencies that are nearly 40% higher than most business jets and 25% higher than the most efficient twin turboprops. The P180 Avanti II is the culmination of an effort by Piaggio Aero engineers to design, without compromise, an aircraft to meet the objectives of jet-like speed, a wide-body, stand-up cabin, and turboprop efficiency. After an intensive aerodynamic analysis and thousands of hours of wind tunnel testing, Piaggio engineers concluded that these goals could not be achieved utilizing conventional aircraft configurations. "
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"The Beechcraft (now Raytheon) Premier I, a light jet aircraft, first flew on December 22, 1998 flown by Charlie Volk and Warren Gould. It was the first all new product of the Raytheon Aircraft Beech/Hawker combine to fly, and is an all-new entry-level corporate jet designed to compete head on with Cessna's highly successful CitationJet/CJ1 series. Construction of the first Premier I began in late 1996 and rollout was on August 19 1998. The Premier 1 received FAA certification, including single pilot approval, in 2001. It also received FAA RVSM (Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum) certification in May 2003. Upgrade kits for RVSM capability are available for aircraft already delivered. The Premier I is the first composite-fuselage corporate jet to be FAA certified. The Premier I has high-speed cruise of more than 520 miles per hour. A standard-equipped aircraft with full fuel, a pilot and four passengers has a range of more than 1,650 miles and is certified to operate up to 41,000 feet. Last year Raytheon Aircraft was awarded the National Society of Professional Engineers' (NSPE) 2000 New Product Award in the mega size company category for its development of the Premier I. The all new Premier I Raytheon Aircraft is constructed with a high-strength composite, carbon fiber/epoxy honeycomb fuselage, completely produced by computer-controlled, automated machines, giving the aircraft a medium-jet sized cabin at light jet acquisition and operating costs. Last May 2005, Raytheon has announced an upgrade, from Premier I the Premier IA, which received certification in October 2005. The aircraft has an improved interior, seating and avionics suite and 'acoustical liner' to reduce cabin noise levels. "
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