Edson Gallaudet was a grandson of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, specialist in education of the deaf and co-founder of what evolved into Gallaudet University in Washintgon, D.C. He earned a Ph.D. in electrical engineering in 1896 and was a physics instructor at Yale from 1897 to 1900.
The Gallaudet Kite of 1898 was built by Edson Fessenden Gallaudet, an engineer (PhD) and then working as a physics instructor at Yale, this hydro-bike kite was built to test wing-warping controlled by a system of gears and rods. Its wingspan was 11 and ½ feet, its length just over eight feet.
The original is currently on display at the Early Flight Gallery in the National Air and Space Museum.
Gallaudet worked for several engineering firms from 1900 until 1908. Then he founded Gallaudet Engineering Company in Norwich, Connecticut, and evidently wasted no time. His first airplane came a year later, with others to follow.
1908: (Edson) Gallaudet Engr Co Inc, Norwich CT., USA
His 1912 A-1 Bullet was a sleek monoplane of pusher layout. The motor, a 100-hp Gnome rotary, was enclosed in the fuselage and drove its three-blade rear-mounted prop through a lengthy driveshaft.
In 1916, Gallaudet’s D-1 floatplane optimized ship-catapult launching with its uniquely positioned propulsion. Dual Duesenberg 125-hp 4-cylinder engines were side by side amidships in the D-1’s fuselage. A four-blade propeller was in the middle as well, driven by a 6:5 spur gear and seemingly splitting the fuselage in two.
The U.S. Army bought four of its D-2 variants. A pair of D-4s followed, with the observer given the forward cockpit for a better view. The D-4 swapped dual Duesenbergs for single Liberty power. A prototype crashed in flight testing; the second one was accepted by the U.S. Navy for observation duties.
Gallaudet then turned his company’s attention to constructing Curtiss HS-2L flying boats, many serving in anti-submarine patrols during World War I.
Following delivery of the D-1 in January 1917, the firm reorganized as Gallaudet Aircraft Corporation, and moved to Greenwich, Rhode Island. Later built 5-seat biplane tourer, the Liberty Tourist, and rebuilt 25 DH-4s for U.S. Army.
A 1919 catalog for the Gallaudet Aircraft Corporation lists the Chummy Flyabout. This was a two-place land-based monoplane, again with Gallaudet-unique propulsion. Two Indian motorcycle engines, each producing from 18 to 20 hp, were mounted in the nose and drove a pair of pusher props.
Later, in 1923, Gallaudet designed and built an aircraft of all-metal construction.
Gallaudet retired in 1924, keeping scientific memberships and a low profile until his death at age 74 in 1945. His company evolved into Consolidated Aircraft, renowned for the B-24 Liberator heavy bomber and PBY Catalina flying boat.
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