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The Wright Model F was a prototype military aircraft built by the Wright Company for the U.S. Army in 1914. It was the first Wright design to feature a fuselage.cite-ref-jea-1-0[1]cite-ref-iea-2-0[2]cite-ref-flight-3-0[3]cite-ref-roach104-4-0[4] The major structural elements of previous Wright designs had been connected by open frameworks.cite-ref-swanborough478-5-0[5] The application of metal armor to the underside of the fuselage, together with its unenviable performance,cite-ref-hallion68-6-0[6] earned the aircraft the nickname "Tin Cow".

• Design

• Development

• Operational history

• Operators

• Specifications

• Notes

• References

• Bibliography

The Model F was a three-bay, unstaggered biplane with equal-span wings. Its overall configuration was conventional, with a conventional tail carried at the rear of the fuselage.cite-ref-flight-3-1[3] The pilot and observer sat side-by-side in an open cockpit.cite-ref-flight-3-2[3] Power was supplied by a piston engine mounted in the nose, which drove two two-bladed pusher propellers mounted on the interplane struts and linked by chain drives.cite-ref-flight-3-3[3] It was fitted with fixed, tailskid undercarriage.cite-ref-flight-3-4[3]

The Model F was designed in response to a 1913 U.S. Army Signal Corps specification for a reconnaissance aircraft.cite-ref-hallion67-7-0[7] The specification called for the underside of the aircraft to carry a crew of two with a four-hour endurance, be protected by chrome-steel armor, and to be capable of carrying a machine gun.cite-ref-hallion67-7-1[7] Due to a lack of confidence in American-produced aero engines of the time, the specification also called for use of a foreign powerplant.cite-ref-hallion67-7-2[7] The contract was worth $9,500.cite-ref-roach104-4-1[4]

Wright responded with a design by Grover Loening that resembled the contemporary French designs,cite-ref-roach104-4-2[4]cite-ref-hallion6768-8-0[8] with a fuselage, and tail unit that consisted of a fin and horizontal stabilizer. Loenig also adopted the current "Deperdussin-style" controls that combined the aircraft's controls into a central control stick.cite-ref-hallion68-6-1[6] As originally designed, the aircraft was powered by tractor propellers.cite-ref-hallion67-7-3[7]

A series of revisions followed, which aviation historian Richard P. Hallion describes as "a dark comedy of errors".cite-ref-hallion68-6-2[6] At one stage of development, the aircraft was equipped both with "Deperdussin-style" controls, as well as the system of control wheels fitted to previous Wright designs, before the "Deperdussin-style" controls were removed completely.cite-ref-hallion68-6-3[6] The tractor propellers were moved to become pushers, and the seating arrangement was changed to be side-by-side.cite-ref-hallion68-6-4[6]

By the time the Model F was finally delivered, it was already a year late, Wright was delivering it at a financial loss, and Loening had quit the company in frustration.cite-ref-hallion68-6-5[6]

The Model F was accepted by the Army in March 1915, and given the serial number "39".cite-ref-swanborough478-5-1[5]cite-ref-hallion68-6-6[6] During testing it was described as "a lumbersome mass of rattling material" and given its "Tin Cow" nickname.cite-ref-hallion68-6-7[6] Test pilot Lt. Herbert Dargue said that it was "uncontrollable on the ground and out of date."cite-ref-roach105-9-0[9] Only two months later, the aircraft was withdrawncite-ref-roach105-9-1[9]cite-ref-hallion68-6-8[6] along with all the Army's other pusher designs.cite-ref-roach105-9-2[9] It had only flown seven times.cite-ref-roach105-9-3[9]

• United States Army Signal Corps

Data from Hallion 2019, p.68

• Crew: 2

• Length: 32 ft 10 in (10.01 m)

• Wingspan: 42 ft 0 in (12.80 m)

• Wing area: 485 sq ft (45.1 m2) (estimated)

• Powerplant: 1 × Beardmore-built Austro-Daimler six-cylinder, water-cooled, inline piston engine, 90 hp (67 kW)

• Maximum speed: 60 mph (97 km/h, 52 kn) (estimated)

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cite-note-jea-11. ↑ Taylor 1992, p.898

cite-note-iea-22. ↑ The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft 1985, p.3098

cite-note-flight-33. ↑ "The New Wright Biplane" 1914, p.1133

cite-note-roach104-44. ↑ Roach 2016, p.104

cite-note-swanborough478-55. ↑ Swanborough 1963, p.478

cite-note-hallion68-66. ↑ Hallion 2019, p.68

cite-note-hallion67-77. ↑ Hallion 2019, p.67

cite-note-hallion6768-88. ↑ Hallion 2019, p.67–68

cite-note-roach105-99. ↑ Roach 2015, p.105

• citerefhallion2019Hallion, Richard P. (2019). The Wright Flyers 1899–1916. Oxford: Osprey.

• The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft. London: Aerospace Publishing.

• "The New Wright Biplane". Flight. 6 (47). London: Flight: 1133. November 20, 1914.

• citerefroach2014Roach, Edward J. (2014). The Wright Company: From Invention to Industry. Athens, OH: Ohio University Press.

• citerefswanborough1963Swanborough, Gordon (1963). United States Military Aircraft Since 1909. London: Putnam.

• citereftaylor1993Taylor, Michael J. H. (1993). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions.