Curtiss Model D

The 1911 Curtiss Model D (or frequently, "the Curtiss pusher") was an early United States pusher aircraft with the engine and propeller behind the pilot's seat. It was among the very first aircraft in the world to be built in any quantity—all of which were produced during an era of trial and error development and equally important parallel technical development in internal combustion engine technologies.

It was also the type of aircraft to make the first take-off from the deck of a ship, the USS Birmingham, and the first landing, on the USS Pennsylvania several days apart.

Originally it was fitted with a foreplane for pitch control, however this was dispensed with when it was accidentally discovered to be unnecessary. The new version without the foreplane was known as the Headless Pusher. Like all Curtiss designs, the aircraft utilized ailerons to control rolling in flight instead of the Wright brothers' patented wing warping technology, derived from the 1908 June Bug.

Development
The Model D was a biplane fitted with a wheeled tricycle undercarriage. The construction was primarily of spruce, with ash used in parts of the engine bearers and undercarriage beams, with doped linen stretched over it. The outrigger beams were made of bamboo. Prevented by patents from using the Wright brothers' wing warping technique to provide lateral control, Curtiss used ailerons instead. In the end, this proved to be a superior solution. Almost all Model Ds were constructed with a pusher configuration, with the propeller behind the pilot. Because of this configuration, they were often referred to as a "Curtiss pusher". Early examples were built in a canard configuration, with elevators mounted on struts at the front of the aircraft in addition to a horizontal stabilizer at the rear. Later, the elevators were incorporated into the tail unit, and the canard surface arrangement dispensed with, resulting in what became called the Curtiss "headless" pushers.

In addition to amateur aviators, a Model D was purchased in April 1911 by the Aeronautical Division of the U.S. Army Signal Corps as a trainer (S.C. No. 2), and by the Navy as an airborne observation platform. A number of them were exported to foreign militaries as well, including the Russian Navy. On November 14, 1910, Eugene Ely took off from the USS Birmingham (CL-2) in a Model D. This was the first time an aircraft had taken off from a ship. On January 18, 1911, Eugene Ely landed a Model D aboard the USS Pennsylvania (ACR-4). This was the first aircraft to land on a ship.

Upon his election to Congress in November 1915, Orrin Dubbs Bleakley became the first government official to fly from his home state to DC. The trip was made in a 75 hp (56 kW) Curtiss biplane from Philadelphia, piloted by Sergeant William C. Ocker, on leave from the United States Aviation Corps at the time. The trip took 3¼ hours, including an unscheduled stop in a wheat field in Maryland.

Variants

 * Model D-4: with one 40 hp (30 kW) Curtis four-cylinder inline engine


 * Model D-8: Signal Corps Number 2, one 40 hp (30 kW) Curtis Vee engine, top speed of 60 mph (97 km/h) at sea level


 * Model D-8-75: with one 75 hp (56 kW) Curtis eight-cylinder Vee engine


 * Burgess Model D:single prototype built under licence by Burgess Company of Marblehead, Massachusetts

Existing aircraft and reproductions
A number of Curtiss Pusher original and reproduction aircraft exist, and reproductions of the design date as far back to the era when the original aircraft was in production, mostly built by private parties.

The Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome has had a flyable reproduction Model D pusher in their collection since 1976, and has been powered with a Hall-Scott V8 engine earlier in its weekend air show appearances, and most recently has been powered with a Curtiss OX-5 V8 engine.

The College Park Aviation Museum built a replica of the Curtiss Model D once flown in 1911 at College Park Airport in Maryland.

There is a Model D with an O-300 (145 hp) Cont. Engine at the Owls Head Maine Transportation Museum also.

A Model D replica is exhibited at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

1910 & 1912 headless Curtiss Pusher (Replicas) are at the Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum located at Hood River Oregon

A replica based on the Curtiss Pusher, considered the oldest aircraft made in Connecticut, on display at The New England Air Museum, Windsor Locks, Connecticut.

Operators

 * United States Army
 * Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps
 * S.C. No.2 (1911-1914)
 * United States Navy
 * United States Navy