The Baldwin Red Devil was a series of early

pusher configuration In an aircraft with a pusher configuration (as opposed to a tractor configuration), the propeller(s) are mounted behind their respective engine(s). Since a pusher propeller is mounted behind the engine, the drive shaft is in compression in nor ...

aircraft employing steel tube construction. The aircraft were designed by

Thomas Scott Baldwin Thomas Scott Baldwin (June 30, 1854 – May 17, 1923) was a pioneer balloonist and U.S. Army major during World War I. He was the first American to descend from a balloon by parachute. Early career Thomas Scott Baldwin was born on June 30, 18 ...

Development

After building several aircraft, Baldwin had C. and A. Wittemann of

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build an aircraft similar to the basic

Curtiss Pusher The 1911 Curtiss Model D (or frequently "Curtiss Pusher") was an early United States pusher aircraft with the engine and propeller behind the pilot's seat. It was among the first aircraft in the world to be built in any quantity, during an era ...

. The aircraft used fabric covered steel tubing instead of wood construction. A , Hall-Scott V-8 provided enough power for flights. The aircraft was named "Red Devil III", and subsequent designs would be named "Baldwin Red Devil". Each of the Red Devil's tubing were painted a bright red, with yellow contrasting wings.

Design

The airplane was powered by water cooled Hall-Scott V-8 engine of , The aircraft was covered with vulcanized fabric that was tacked to the ribs rather than rib-stitched. The landing gear was made from steel tubes with hickory wood inserts. Control cables were routed through copper tubing. It had a left foot controlled throttle and a right foot controlled magneto kill switch.

Operational history

The "Red Devil III" was test flown by Baldwin over Mineola Field. The first flight resulted in a wreck into a telegraph pole, with no major injuries. The Baldwin School offered flying lessons in the aircraft for $500 (1911 dollars), if the student proved they had life insurance for flight. It was the student's responsibility to also find an insurance broker to provide the policy, because there were no flight training policies available at that time. Baldwin previously had toured the country in Curtiss aircraft and his own designs. By the time he had produced the "Red Devil", he had more bookings then he could handle, the "Red Devil" would be advertised in several towns in close proximity, then substitute pilots and aircraft would be flown with full crowds of spectators. In one display in St. Louis he flew the "Red Devil" under the Eads and

McKinley Bridge The McKinley Bridge is a steel truss bridge across the Mississippi River. It connects northern portions of the city of St. Louis, Missouri with Venice, Illinois. It opened in 1910 and was taken out of service on October 30, 2001. The bridge was r ...

s in St.Louis. On October 12, 1913,

Tony Jannus Antony Habersack Jannus, more familiarly known as Tony Jannus (July 22, 1889 – October 12, 1916), was an early American pilot whose aerial exploits were widely publicized in aviation's pre-World War I period. He flew the first airplane from ...

flew actress

Julia Bruns Julia Eliza Bruns (1895 – December 24, 1927) was an American stage and silent film actress and model. Bruns came to prominence for her work as a model. Her image was illustrated by artist James Montgomery Flagg in 1917. She appeared on num ...

in a Red Devil in a

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Derby.

Variants

A Red Devil is on display at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

Udvar-Hazy Center The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, also called the Udvar-Hazy Center, is the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM)'s annex at Washington Dulles International Airport in the Chantilly area of Fairfax County, Virginia. It holds numerous e ...

(UHC) of the

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. This example has a different configuration without a forward mounted elevator. The aircraft was purchased in 1950 from an established display at

Roosevelt Field Roosevelt Field is a former airport, located east-southeast of Mineola, Long Island, New York. Originally called the Hempstead Plains Aerodrome, or sometimes Hempstead Plains field or the Garden City Aerodrome, it was a training field (Hazel ...

, in

Mineola, Long Island Mineola is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in and the county seat of Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 18,799 at the 2010 census. The n ...

, New York by Paul E. Garber along with a Bleriot XI, and Nieuport 10 for $2500.

Specifications (Baldwin Red Devil)

References