The Dayton-Wright FS was a two-seat trainer that first flew in 1917. This was the first aircraft manufactured by the

Dayton-Wright Company The Dayton-Wright Company was formed in 1917, on the declaration of war between the United States and Germany, by a group of Ohio investors that included Charles F. Kettering and Edward A. Deeds of Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company ( DELCO) ...

. The FS was originally known as the 'first shot' since it was the company's 'first shot' at making an aircraft. Harold Talbott, Sr., the company's president, decided later to abbreviate it to FS.

Design and development

Charles F. Kettering Charles Franklin Kettering (August 29, 1876 – November 25, 1958) sometimes known as Charles Fredrick Kettering was an American inventor, engineer, businessman, and the holder of 186 patents. For the list of patents issued to Kettering, see, Le ...

, the aircraft was a conventional tractor, tandem cockpit, two bay biplane powered by a Hall-Scott A-7a engine. Construction was of wood and fabric with the

engine cowling A cowling is the removable covering of a vehicle's engine, most often found on automobiles, motorcycles, airplanes, and on outboard boat motors. On airplanes, cowlings are used to reduce drag and to cool the engine. On boats, cowlings are a cove ...

and upper

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraf ...

surfaces made of sheet metal. Two aircraft were completed, known as the FS-1 and FS-2. In 1918, the FS-2 was modified with the addition of radio equipment for testing by Dayton-Wright and later in 1918, was refitted with a geared Wright-Hisso E.

Operational history

Both these aircraft were delivered to Howard Rinehart's flying school, The Wright Field Company. This company provided flight training to both civilian and military aviators, including 41 Canadian pilots for the RFC and

RNAS The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...

. These pilots would go on to win 19 combat decorations between them in the

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. By the end of 1918, the Standard J-1 had replaced the FS for training and the two aircraft were returned to Dayton-Wright where they were used for testing purposes.

Specifications (FS-1)

References

{{Dayton-Wright aircraft Dayton-Wright aircraft