Dayton-Wright Racer

RB-1 Racer
Role	Racing aircraft
Manufacturer	Dayton-Wright
Designer	Orville Wright, Milton Bauman, Charles Grant
First flight	1920
Number built	1

The Dayton-Wright RB-1, also known simply as the Dayton-Wright Racer was a racing aircraft developed in the United States to participate in the 1920 Gordon Bennett Cup air race. Advanced for its day, the aircraft was a high-wing monoplane with a monocoque fuselage and cantilever wing (built of solid balsa wood covered in plywood and linen and that incorporated a mechanism to vary its camber in flight. The aircraft also featured retractable undercarriage operated by a hand-crank making it one of the first instances of undercarriage retraction for aerodynamic benefit alone.^[1] The pilot had no forward visibility, but was provided with side windows. Cockpit access was through a hatch in the top of the fuselage.^[2]

Dismantled and shipped to France, the RB-1 was flown by Howard Rinehart in the September 28 race, but was forced to withdraw from the competition due to mechanical failure in flight.^[2] It was returned to the United States, where it is preserved at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. Many of the aircraft's advanced features were incorporated into a prototype fighter design, the XPS-1.

Specifications

General characteristics

• Crew: One pilot
• Length: 22 ft 8 in (6.91 m)
• Wingspan: 21 ft 2 in (6.45 m)
• Powerplant: 1 × Hall-Scott L-6, 250 hp (187 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 190 mph (306 km/h)
• Range: 275 miles (440 km)

References

Notes

1. ^ http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1953/1953%20-%201608.html
2. ^ ^{a b} Wegg 1990, p.30.

Bibliography

• Wegg, John (1990). General Dynamics Aircraft and their Predecessors. London: Putnam. ISBN 0-85177-833-X. 
• O'Leary, Michael (November 2003). "Dayton-Wright RB-1". Air Classics. 
• Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. pp. 305. 
• aerofiles.com