The second AEA aeroplane was White Wing, sponsored by Canadian F.W Baldwin, jointly designed by Baldwin and Curtiss. It was similar to Red Wing, except for the substitution of three wheels for the ice runners, and used the same Glenn Curtiss built engine.

“White Wing,” as a biplane with front elevator and rear stabilizers and rudder connected by wires to a four-axis steering wheel, and a rudimentary aileron system controlled by body motions of the pilot. Its three-wheel, rubber-tired undercarriage was Curtiss’ idea, a carryover from sidecar motorcycles.

An innovation was the addition of movable lateral control surfaces on all four wingtips that later came to be called ailerons. In principle, these had the same effect as the Wright’s wing-warping, but Curtiss claimed mechanical and control differences. The method of control reflected Curtiss’s motorcyle experience – a yoke embracing the pilot’s shoulders. When he wanted to bank for a turn, he leaned in the desired direction and the proper control movement was automatically applied.

After many reassessments and revisions, White Wing made four flights, the first on 18 May, 1908, with Baldwin at the controls. The distance covered was 85m at a height of 3m. The third flight was the longest, at 310m with Glenn Curtiss flying. White Wing crashed on 23 May after McCurdy had flown 167m.

Take-off weight: 274 kg / 604 lb
Wingspan: 12.87 m / 42 ft 3 in
Wing area: 37.9 sq.m / 407.95 sq ft

The first aeroplane of the AEA was the White Wing, designed and sponsored by Lt Thomas.E. Selfridge.

Named for its red fabric coloring, Glenn Curtiss built the engines for the Aerial Experiment Association Red Wing and the White Wing early in 1908.

Dubbed “Red Wing” after its amber fabric sealant, and it was finished in three months at Curtiss’ shop at Hammondsport. Ready for a trial run on March 10, 1908, Selfridge and Bell were on business in Washington DC, so the honors were handed to Baldwin. Powered by a 20-hp Curtiss motorcycle engine, Red Wing ran across the ice on its steel skids for about 250 feet, then lurched into the air to fly about 300 more feet at an altitude of six feet before finally stalling and crumpling into a heap.

Having no lateral control, it crashed on its first flight at Lake Keuka NY on 12 March 1908 after flying a distance of 318’11” (p: Baldwin).

The first public flight of an airplane in the US.

Aerodrome #1, Red Wing
Engine: Curtiss B8 air-cooled V-8 40hp pusher. Actual flight efficiency est. less than 20hp.
Wingspan: 43’4″
Length: 26’3″
Useful load: 185 lb
Seats: 1

An all steel tractor biplane flown in November 1911. The engine was a 70 hp N.A.G.

The first aircraft in 1912 was of wooden construction and modeled after the biplane of the Wright brothers. It had a wingspan of 17.5 m, powered by an eight-cylinder engine producing 75 hp; unladen weight was 850 kg and could attain a speed of 65 km / h.

Engine: 1 x 8-cylinder, 75 hp
Wingspan: 17.5 m
Empty weight: 850 kg
Max speed: 65 km / h.

The Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft decided in 1910 to start an aeroplane department (Abteilung Flugzeugbau) at Berlin-Hennigsdorf. At the beginning they had no knowledge of design and production methods for aircraft, so as other firms they started with analyzing a proven machine. They chose a Wright biplane. After analyzing it they realized the limitations of building aircraft in wood. To gain experience in designing and building metal machines they decided in 1910 to start with a research machine which was the responsibility of chief designer Oberingenieur Paul Stumpf. The design was an open-fuselage all-metal tube construction of large dimensions, with a span of 17.5 m. It was a single-seater, with the pilot placed in the open aft of the wings. In front of the wings a small platform construction held the 75 hp Körting engine, which drove a tractor propeller mounted in the middle of the wings via a chain. The factory identification was Z. 1, with Z for Zweidecker (Biplane).

Span: 57’5″
Weight empty: 1870 lbs
Speed: 40 mph