Wright Model G

Wright Company · United States · first flew 1913 · light aircraft

The Wright Model G Aeroboat was a flying boat built in small numbers by the Wright Company in 1913. It was an unsuccessful attempt to compete with the Curtiss Model F.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Mid-mounted, straight
E — Engines	1 × piston, wing-mounted
F — Fuselage	8.74 m fuselage
T — Tail	T-tail

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

Three-bay unstaggered biplane with equal-span wings and a flying-boat hull
Single engine in the interplane gap driving two pusher propellers by chain drives
Horizontal stabiliser mounted on top of the fins: the first T-tail on an aircraft

Look for a three-bay biplane flying boat with pilot and passenger side by side in the hull. It has a pusher engine between the wings and a T-tail.

Specifications

The Wright Model G has a length of 8.74 m (29 ft).
It has a wingspan of 11.58 m (38 ft).
Its maximum speed is 97 km/h (60 mph).
Typical crew: 1-2.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

Orville Wright set Grover Loening to design it, and it first flew in 1913. Test pilots included Orville, Loening and Oscar Brindley on the Great Miami River.

Variants

The stabiliser was first mounted in a cruciform position on the fins, then moved above them, creating the first T-tail. The stabiliser floats moved from mid-span to the wingtips. The design led on to the Model H and Model HS.

Where you'll see it

The US Navy bought the first aircraft as AH-19 and tested it in 1914, but did not order more. At least two others were sold, and Orville Wright survived a crash in one on 20 August 1914.

Related aircraft

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