Curtiss Model E
| Model E | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| The A-1, the United States Navy's first aircraft | |
| Role | Utility aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Curtiss Aeroplane Company |
| Designer | Glenn Curtiss |
| First flight | 25 February 1911 |
The Curtiss Model E was an early aircraft developed by Glenn Curtiss in the United States in 1911.
Essentially a refined and enlarged version of the later "headless" Model D, variants of the Model E made important steps in pioneering the development of seaplanes and flying boats in America. Like its predecessor, the Model E was an open-framework biplane with two-bay unstaggered wings of equal span. In landplane configuration, it was fitted with tricycle undercarriage, and as a seaplane with a large central pontoon and outriggers under the wings. Most examples of the Model E followed the pattern of the "headless" Model Ds, with elevators and horizontal stabilizer carried together in the cruciform tail unit. The large ailerons were mounted in the interplane gap, their span continuing past the wings themselves, and as before were controlled by a shoulder yoke accommodating sideways "leaning" movements by the pilot to operate them. The Model E was designed and built as a two-seater, although in practice some of the lower-powered versions were converted to single-seaters.
The Model E achieved fame through examples purchased by the United States Navy. A $4,400 Model E-8-75 floatplane became the Navy's first aircraft when ordered on 8 May 1911 and received the designation A-1, as well as the nickname "Triad" hydroaeroplane since it could operate from land and sea and in the air. Theodore Ellyson became the Navy's first pilot when he took off from Keuka Lake near Hammondsport, New York on 30 June. In all, the Navy was to purchase some 14 Model Es, designating their earliest examples from A-1 to A-4, then redesignating these together with new purchases in the AH-1 to AH-18 block of serials. These aircraft achieved a number of firsts for the Navy, including the first cross-country flight in a seaplane, a world seaplane altitude record of 900 ft (274 m) a much later national seaplane altitude record of 6,200 ft (1,890 m), and, significantly for later naval operations, the first catapult launch of a seaplane.
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