Wright Model B

{{Short description|American biplane}} {{Use American English|date=February 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}}  {{Infobox aircraft |name=Model B |image=File:Wright Model B Dahlgren Hall MD1.jpg |caption=Replica of Wright Model B in Dahlgren Hall, U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis |type=Sports plane |manufacturer=[[Wright Company]] |designer= |first_flight=[[1910 in aviation|1910]] |introduction= |retired= |status= |primary_user= [[United States Army]] |more_users= [[United States Navy]] |produced= |number_built=ca. 100 |variants= |developed_into=[[Wright Model EX|Model EX]] }} [[File:NASM - Wright Model B - reproduction.jpg|right|thumb|Wright Model B reproduction in [[Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center]].]] [[File:WrightModelB-Far08.jpg|right|thumb|Wright Model B reproduction on display at the [[Farnborough Airshow]] 2008]] [[File:17 14 068 model B flyer.jpg|thumb|Wright Modified “B” Flyer at the [[National Museum of the United States Air Force|USAF Museum]]]]

The '''Wright Model B''' is an early [[pusher configuration|pusher]] biplane designed by the [[Wright brothers]] in the United States in 1910. It was the first, and only, of their designs to be built in two-digit quantity. Unlike the [[Wright Model A|Model A]], of which 60 were licensed built in Germany, it featured a true [[elevator (aircraft)|elevator]] carried at the tail rather than at the front. It was the last Wright model to have an open-frame tail. The Model B was a dedicated two-seater with the pilot and a passenger sitting side by side on the leading edge of the lower wing.

[[File:ChandlerKirtlandLewisGun.jpg|thumb|Wright Model B Flyer after the first successful firing of a machine gun from an airplane in June 1912.]]

Besides their civil market, the Wrights were able to sell aircraft to the [[Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps]] (S.C. 3, 4, and 5<ref>The last was a Burgess-Wright Model F.</ref>) and to the [[United States Navy]] as hydroplanes (AH-4, -5-, and -6), in which services they were used as trainers. Furthermore, the Wrights were able to sell licenses to produce the aircraft domestically (to the [[Burgess Company|Burgess Company and Curtis]], which designated it '''Model F'''; not to be confused with the [[Wright Model F]], an unrelated Wright design), as well as in Germany. The deal with Burgess was the first license-production of aircraft undertaken in the United States and most of the approximately one hundred Model Bs produced were actually built by Burgess.

Development continued as the [[Wright Model EX|Model EX]]. Burgess also planned a refined version as the '''Model G''' (not to be confused with the [[Wright Model G]], an unrelated Wright flying boat), but this was never built.

==Variants== ;Model B :Two-seat sports biplane, powered by a 35-hp (26-kW) Wright piston engine. ;Model B-1 :Civil seaplane variant with two steel and aluminum pontoons. ;Model B-2 :Civil seaplane variant with a single float. ;Burgess-Wright Model F :This version was built under license by the Burgess Company. ;Burgess-Wright Model G :Unbuilt version, it was intended to be built by Burgess Company.

==Operators== ;{{USA}} * [[United States Army]] * [[United States Navy]]

==Surviving aircraft and replicas== At least two original Model Bs were extant in 2007. * An original Model B is on display at the [[National Museum of the United States Air Force]] in [[Dayton, Ohio]]. This aircraft was used for flight instruction by Mr. Howard Rinehart at [[Mineola, New York]] in 1916. It last flew during the International Air Races at [[Dayton]] in October 1924. It was placed on exhibit in the Museum in October 1962 by Eugene W. Kettering, Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Air Force Museum Foundation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Wright Modified "B" Flyer |url=https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/195881/wright-modified-b-flyer/ |website=National Museum of the United States Air Force |access-date=14 January 2020 |date=28 June 2016}}</ref> * An original Model B on display at the [[Franklin Institute]] in [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]], was purchased by [[Grover Cleveland Bergdoll]] in 1912 from Orville Wright. * A replica of the Burgess-Wright Model F is displayed at [[Hill Aerospace Museum]] in [[Ogden, Utah|Ogden]], Utah.<ref>{{cite web |title=Burgess-Wright Flyer |url=http://www.hill.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=5641 |website=Hill Air Force Base |access-date=14 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624045438/http://www.hill.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=5641 |archive-date=24 June 2016 |date=27 September 2007}}</ref> * Wright B Flyers Inc., a non-profit organization based at a museum-hangar at [[Dayton-Wright Brothers Airport]] in Dayton, Ohio, owns one replica and one look-alike Wright "B" Flyer. A third look-alike was lost in a crash in 2011. ** Wright "B" Flyer No. 001 ([[Aircraft registration|FAA registration number]] N3786B) is a flying look-alike nicknamed "Brown Bird". It was built in the late 1970s.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Brown Bird |url=http://www.wright-b-flyer.org/aircraft/brown-bird |website=Wright "B" Flyer Inc. |access-date=14 January 2020}}</ref> ** Wright "B" Flyer A "Valentine Flyer" (also called the "Yellow Bird") is a non-flying near-replica originally constructed by Tom and Nancy Valentine as a flying model for the [[TV-movie]] ''[[The Winds of Kitty Hawk]]'' in 1978. The aircraft has not flown since being damaged during filming. The "Yellow Bird" is a more accurate replica of the Model B than either 001 or 002.<ref>{{cite web |title=Valentine Flyer |url=http://www.wright-b-flyer.org/aircraft/valentine-flyer |website=Wright "B" Flyer Inc. |access-date=14 January 2020}}</ref> *Replicas on display: ** [[College Park Aviation Museum]], [[College Park, Maryland]]<ref>{{cite web |title=1910 Wright Model B Reproduction |url=http://www.collegeparkaviationmuseum.com/1634/1910-Wright-Model-B-Reproduction |website=College Park Aviation Museum |access-date=14 January 2020 |archive-date=January 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200114043609/http://www.collegeparkaviationmuseum.com/1634/1910-Wright-Model-B-Reproduction |url-status=dead }}</ref> ** [[United States Army Aviation Museum]], [[Fort Novosel|Fort Novosel, Alabama]] ** [[United States Naval Academy]], [[Annapolis, Maryland]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Object 38: Replica of Wright Brothers Model B Airplane |url=http://www.usna.edu/100Objects/Objects/object-38.php |website=United States Naval Academy |access-date=14 January 2020 |archive-date=January 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200114045610/https://www.usna.edu/100Objects/Objects/object-38.php |url-status=dead }}</ref> ** [[Virginia Aviation Museum]], [[Richmond, Virginia]] ** [[EAA Aviation Museum]], [[Oshkosh, Wisconsin]]<ref>[https://www.eaa.org/eaa-museum/museum-collection/aircraft-collection-folder/1911-wright-flyer-model-b-replica---n1911l 1911 Wright Flyer Model B Replica - N1911L]</ref> ** [[Oakland Aviation Museum]], [[Oakland, California]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Wright EX "Vin Fiz" Replica |url=https://www.oaklandaviationmuseum.org/aircraft-on-display#:~:text=Wright%20EX%20Vin%20Fiz%20(replica) |website=Oakland Aviation Museum}}</ref>

==Specifications== {{Aircraft specs |prime units? = imp |crew=One pilot |capacity=one passenger |length m=7.93 |length ft=26 |length in=0 |span m=11.89 |span ft=39 |span in=0 |height m=2.67 |height ft=8 |height in=9 |wing area sqm=44.6 |wing area sqft=480 |empty weight kg=363 |empty weight lb=800 |gross weight kg=567 |gross weight lb=1,250 |eng1 number=1 |eng1 name=[[Wright Vertical 4]] |eng1 kw=26 |eng1 hp=35 |max speed kmh=72 |max speed mph=45 |cruise speed kmh=64 |cruise speed mph=40 |range km=177 |range miles=110 }}

==See also== {{Portal|Aviation}} {{Aircontent| |related= * [[Wright Glider#1902 glider|Wright 1902 Glider]] * ''[[Wright Flyer]]'' * [[Wright Flyer II]] * [[Wright Flyer III]] * [[Wright Model A]] }}

==References== ;Notes {{reflist}} ;Bibliography * {{cite book |last= Taylor |first= Michael J. H. |title=Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation |year=1989 |publisher=Studio Editions |location=London |pages=898 }} * {{cite book |title=United States Air Force Museum |year=1975 |publisher=Air Force Museum Foundation |location=Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio}} * {{cite book |title=World Aircraft Information Files |publisher=Bright Star Publishing|location=London |pages=File 911 Sheet 03 }} * [http://www.fi.edu/wright/takedown/ Franklin Institute] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926233617/http://www.fi.edu/wright/takedown/ |date=2007-09-26 }} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20081211193803/http://www.wright-b-flyer.org/index.html Home of the Wright B Flyer] * [http://www.armyavnmuseum.org/museum/exhibits/wright.html U.S. Army Aviation Museum] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20081020074440/http://pgparks.com/places/historic/cpam/inside.html College Park Aviation Museum] * [http://www.wrightexperience.com/ Wright Experience] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20090116110321/http://www.hill.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=5641 Hill Aerospace Museum] *[http://www.wright-brothers.org/Information_Desk/Just_the_Facts/Airplanes/Model_B.htm ''Just The Facts'' 1910–1914 Wright Model B]

==External links== {{commons category|Wright Model B}} * [http://www.fi.edu/wright/1911/flight/index.html Footage of Wright Model B in flight in 1934] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929095434/http://www.fi.edu/wright/1911/flight/index.html |date=2007-09-29 }} * [http://www.wright-b-flyer.org/ Wright B Flyer Inc.]

[[Category:1910s United States sport aircraft]] [[Category:Single-engined twin-prop pusher aircraft]] [[Category:Wright aircraft|Model B]] [[Category:Biplanes]] [[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1910]]