Gallaudet Hydroplane

{{Infobox aircraft | name = Gallaudet hydroplane | logo = | logo_size = | image = | alt = | caption = | long_caption = | other_names = | aircraft_type = | aim = | outcome = | related = | national_origin = United States of America | manufacturer = Gallaudet Aircraft Corporation | design_group = | designer = Edson Fessenden Gallaudet, H.A. Lewis<ref>{{cite book|title=Technology's war record: an interpretation of the contribution|author=Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Alumni Association. War Records Committee|page=704}}</ref> | builder = | issuer = | status = | owners = | primary_user = | more_users = | service = | major_applications = | proposals = | prototypes = | number_built = | construction_number = | civil_registration = | military_serial = | radio_code = | requirement = | aircraft_carried = | flights = | total_hours = | total_distance = | construction_date = | introduction = | retired = | first_flight = | initiated = | in_service = | last_flight = | expected = | developed_from = | variants = | developed_into = | preservation = | fate = | predecessors = | successors = | concluded = }}

The '''Gallaudet Hydroplane''' ({{aka}} '''Gallaudet Wing-Warping Kite''' or '''Hydro-Bike''') is an early aircraft employing the use of wing-warping for roll control.<ref>{{cite web|title=Flying Machines|url=http://www.flyingmachines.org/gallau.html|accessdate=28 December 2011}}</ref>

==Development==

The Gallaudet Hydroplane was built in Norwich, Connecticut, by Edson Fessenden Gallaudet. The principle of wing-warping was independently applied to this kite/aircraft/glider several years before the Wright Brothers applied it to their Wright Flyer. (along with Jean-Marie LeBris, John J. Montgomery, Clement Ader, D.D. Wells, and Hugo Mattullath).<ref>{{cite journal|title=Oldies and Oddities: Where Do Ailerons Come From?|journal=Air & Space Magazine|date=September 2009|author=Tom Couch}}</ref><ref>Harwood, Craig S. and Fogel, Gary B. ''Quest for Flight: John J. Montgomery and the Dawn of Aviation in the West,'' University of Oklahoma Press 2012.</ref> The Wrights later applied for a patent on wing-warping, which led to the widespread use of the aileron control method to avoid the Wright's airplane patents. Gallaudet generically employed the name hydroplane to many of his future seaplane designs. In 1908, Gallaudet would form the Gallaudet Engineering Company, (later the Gallaudet Aircraft Corporation). Later hydroplane models were built for the United States Navy.<ref name="a1" >{{cite news|newspaper=The News|title=Trying Out Norwich Built Hydroplane on the Thames|date=3 August 1916}}</ref>

==Design== The 1897 Gallaudet Hydroplane glider featured twin floats, a central pyramidal support frame, and flexible wooden wing ribs (employing wing warping) with fabric-covering.<ref>{{cite web|title=Galludet Glider|url=http://flyingmachines.ru/Site2/Crafts/Craft30387.htm|accessdate=28 December 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Washington D.C. Gallaudet|url=http://oes.gallaudet.edu/washingtondc/History_Culture/|accessdate=28 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426080106/http://oes.gallaudet.edu/washingtondc/History_Culture/|archive-date=26 April 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1913, Gallaudet filed U.S. Patent# 1,214,536 for the Hydroplane. The single-place open cockpit aircraft featured most of the engine enclosed in the fuselage. The fuselage tapered upwards to the rear with a small attached rudder. A single landing wheel protruded partially from the center of the fuselage for ground landings.<ref>{{cite book|title=Official gazette of the United States Patent Office, Volume 235|author=United States. Patent Office|page=20|date=6 February 1917}}</ref>

==Operational history== The Gallaudet Hydroplane was on display at the East Hall of the Arts and Industries Building of the Smithsonian Museum.<ref>{{cite web|title=Gallaudet Hydroplane|url=http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_433|accessdate=26 December 2011}}</ref>

Test flights for later hydroplanes built for U.S. Navy acceptance were performed at Gales Ferry, Connecticut in 1916.<ref name="a1" />

==Specifications (Hydroplane) == {{Aircraft specs |ref=Smithsonian |prime units?=kts  |genhide=

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==See also== {{aircontent  |see also= |related= *Gallaudet D-4 |similar aircraft= |lists= }}

==References== {{reflist}}

Category:Floatplanes Category:Glider aircraft Hydroplane