Wright Model C
| Model C | |
|---|---|
| Wright Model C-H | |
| General information | |
| Type | Scout |
| Manufacturer | Wright Company |
| Designer | Orville Wright |
| Primary user | Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps |
| Number built | 8 |
| History | |
| Introduction date | May 18, 1912 |
| First flight | 1912 |
| Retired | February 24, 1914 |
The Wright Model C "Speed Scout" was an early military aircraft produced in the United States and which first flew in 1912. It was a development of the Model B but was specifically designed to offer the Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps a long-range scouting aircraft.
It featured a more powerful engine over the Wright B, and an endurance of around four hours. Still a two-seater, it added a complete second set of controls, meaning that either crew member could operate the aircraft. On some, the lever controls were replaced with two wheels mounted on a single yoke. Aerodynamically, the small finlets ("blinkers" in the Wrights' terminology) that had been used on the Model B's undercarriage were replaced by two vertical vanes attached to the forward end of the skids.
The aircraft had a short service life, from 1912 to 1914, because of a series of fatal crashes that destroyed six of the eight aircraft manufactured for the Army.