D-1
D-1 at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, 16 January 1916
Role Observation aircraft
Manufacturer Gallaudet Aircraft Company
Designer Edson Gallaudet
First flight 17 July 1916
Number built 1 prototype
Developed into Gallaudet D-2

The Gallaudet D-1 was a prototype American biplane observation aircraft built by the Gallaudet Aircraft Company during World War I for the United States Navy. The aircraft was completed in 1916.

Background and description

The D-1 was designed to partially meet an requirement for a two-seat, twin-float, twin-engined biplane for maritime-patrol duties issued by the United States Navy in February 1915. Edson Gallaudet, chief designer for the Gallaudet Aircraft Company, had submitted a design using his revolutionary "Gallaudet Drive" in which the propeller revolved around a hub buried in the middle of the fuselage.[1]


Specifications (D-2)

Data from The Gallaudet Story: Part 8B: The D-1 Hydroplane for the Army;[2] American Military Aircraft, 1908–1919[3]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 2
  • Length: 33 ft (10 m)
  • Upper wingspan: 48 ft (15 m)
  • Height: 13 ft (4.0 m)
  • Wing area: 658 sq ft (61.1 m2)
  • Empty weight: 3,600 lb (1,633 kg)
  • Gross weight: 4,604 lb (2,088 kg)
  • Powerplant: 2 × Duesenberg water-cooled, straight 4 piston engine, 150 hp (110 kW) each
  • Propellers: 4-bladed fixed-pitch propeller, 9 ft 6 in (2.90 m) diameter

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 91 mph (146 km/h, 79 kn)
  • Endurance: 4 hours (at full speed)
  • Time to altitude: 5 minutes to 900 ft (270 m)

References

  1. ↑ Gordon, The Gallaudet Story, Part 8A, pp. 30–31
  2. ↑ Gordon, The Gallaudet Story: Part 8B, p. 18
  3. ↑ Casari, p. 333

Bibliography

  • Casari, Robert B. (2014). American MIlitary Aircraft 1908–1919. n.p.: Aeronaut Boooks. ISBN 978-1-935881-13-1.
  • Gordon, Robert (August 2004). "The Gallaudet Story: Part 8A: The D-1 Hydroplane for the Navy". WWI Aero: The Journal of the Early Aeroplane (185): 30–45. ISSN 0736-198X.
  • Gordon, Robert (November 2004). "The Gallaudet Story: Part 8B: The D-1 Hydroplane for the Navy". WWI Aero: The Journal of the Early Aeroplane (186): 12–21. ISSN 0736-198X.
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