What Is The First Military Airplane In The World?

Photo Wright Brothers

In 1908, the U.S. Army Signal Corps sought competitive bids for a two-seat observation aircraft. Winning designs had to meet a number specified performance standards. Flight trials with the Wrights' entry began at Fort Myer, Virginia, on September 3, 1908.

After several days of successful flights, tragedy occurred on September 17, when Orville Wright crashed with Lt. Thomas E. Selfridge, the Army's observer, as his passenger. Orville survived with severe injuries, but Selfridge was killed, becoming the first fatality in a powered airplane.

When was Wright Military Flyer made?

The Wright brothers developed their first successful powered airplane in 1903, and it didn’t take long for the U.S. military to know it wanted in on the action. A few years later, that became reality. Here’s the story of the military’s first airplane.

What did Wright Military Flyer take off for the first time?

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By 1907, the Army Signal Corps was preparing itself for flight — although it wasn’t yet sure by what means. It created an Aeronautical Division that consisted of three first lieutenants willing to work in the budding field of aviation.

Two years later, on Aug. 2, 1909 — 110 years ago — the military began its grand aviation adventure when the Wright brothers delivered their first plane to the Signal Corps. The Army paid $30,000 for the aircraft, a Wright A Flyer. It was given the name Signal Corps No. 1, but was generally just known as the Wright Military Flyer.

How did it work?

Photo National Museum

According to Air Force Magazine, the plane carried two people and had skids instead of wheels. It was launched from a monorail track and was powered along by propellers, sometimes with the help of a catapult on days where there was no wind. When it reached takeoff speed, the pilot pulled back on the elevator lever, and the plane would rise into the air.

Records show there were no instruments other than an eight-inch piece of string tied to the crossbar between the two skids. The string served as a crude turn-and-bank indicator, depending on which direction it blew.

Success

In late July 1909, Orville Wright and another first lieutenant from the Aeronautical Division, Benjamin Foulois, took the plane for a speed test on its final qualifying flight. It successfully flew south about 5 miles before turning back. The craft reached an altitude of 400 feet and averaged 42.5 miles per hour.

Three days later, the plane belonged to the U.S. Army.

Soon thereafter, the flying program moved to a field in College Park, Maryland, and it resumed in October 1909, with the Wright brothers training a few more men on how to fly. On Oct. 26, 2nd Lt. Fred Humphreys became the first Army officer to fly solo.