The Wright-Bellanca WB-1 was designed by
Giuseppe Mario Bellanca
Giuseppe Mario Bellanca (March 19, 1886 – December 26, 1960) was an Italian-American aviation pioneer, airplane designer and builder, who is credited with many design firsts and whose aircraft broke many aviation records. He was inducted into t ...
for the
Wright Aeronautical
Wright Aeronautical (1919–1929) was an American aircraft manufacturer headquartered in Paterson, New Jersey. It was the successor corporation to Wright-Martin. It built aircraft and was a supplier of aircraft engines to other builders in the ...
corporation for use in record-breaking flights.
Development
The WB-1 was a high-winged monoplane with conventional landing gear and all-wood construction. The landing gear fairings were constructed to extend into wheel pants.
Operational history
The WB-1 was demonstrated at the 1925 Pulitzer Prize Air Races in New York. In the first day's flights, the WB-1 clocked in 121.8 mph in a closed course race. On day two, the WB-1 won, in a payload versus hp and speed efficiency contest, beating a
Curtiss Oriole
The Curtiss Oriole (Curtiss Model 17) was an American three-seat general-purpose biplane.
Design
The Oriole fuselage was constructed using laminated wood to form a monocoque body and was powered by either the Curtiss OX-5 V-8 or the Curtiss K-6 ...
and
Sikorsky S-31 __NOTOC__
The Sikorsky S-31 was a 1920s American sesquiplane designed and built by the Sikorsky Manufacturing Corporation and configured for aerial photography.
Design and development
The S-31 was a sesquiplane built for photographic work by the ...
. In 1926, pilot Fred Becker crashed the overloaded aircraft in a world-record endurance attempt. The aircraft cartwheeled and broke up on a landing attempt.
Specifications (WB-1)
See also
References
External links
San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives
{{Wright aircraft
Wright aircraft