Pioneer Era Aeroplane Plans
(OK, so these aren't actually golden age aircraft, but they are interesting....)
The Early Birds of Aviation, Inc., first known as The Early Birds Club. This legendary group was founded in Chicago in December of 1928, shortly after the International Aeronautical Show and air races held there, to preserve the history of aviation and, in particular, the history of aviation before the Great War. A large number of pioneer aviators and aeronauts attended the event in Chicago and "Pop" Dickinson, ever willing to advance the cause of aviation, encouraged the idea that they, the pioneers of flight, should formally organize. Membership was limited to those who could provide evidence that they had soloed in any aerial craft, lighter-than-air or heavier-than-air, prior to December 17, 1916, the thirteenth anniversary of the first flights of an aeroplane, by Wilbur and Orville Wright at Kill Devil Hill, North Carolina.
This web site offers twenty-two Pioneer Era
aeroplane plans representing the aeroplanes which were most used and most well-known in
the U.S. during the period.
These 3-view and 2-view Pioneer Era Aeroplane plans are taken from a number of period
sources. Extraneous enlarged detail views of structural elements originally
incorporated into the 3-view (or 2-view) drawings have been deleted for the sake of
clarity.
Plans Available:
Antoinette Type VII Monoplane
Baldwin Red Devil
Benoist Biplane
Benoist Type XII Tractor Biplane
Benoist Type XIV Flying Boat
Bleriot XI Monoplane (including A.A.S.H. and Queen versions)
Burgess-Dunne Tailless Aerohydroplane (including land version)
Curtiss Flying Boat
Curtiss Model D Biplane
Curtiss Model D Headless Biplane (including semi-headless version)
Curtiss Model D Hydroaeroplane
Santos-Dumont Demoiselle Monoplane Deperdussin Passenger Monoplane
Farman Biplane
Gage Headless Pusher Biplane
Gage-McClay Tractor Bi-Plane
Jannus Flying Boat
Morane-Borel Monoplane
Nieuport Monoplane
Paterson Twin-Tractor Biplane
Sparling Biplane
Voisin Biplane
Wright Model B Biplane (including Wright Model EX and Model R Roadster)
visit the site: http://www.pioneeraeroplanes.com/
EXAMPLE:The 1911 Baldwin Red Devil Biplane
The Baldwin Red Devil Biplane, powered by a Hall-Scott 8 engine, was largely built of steel tubing, which replaced the usual wooden structure of most biplanes of the period. It's design, by Thomas Scott Baldwin, followed the Curtiss Model D in general configuration, although the tail surfaces resembled those of the Farman Biplane.
The original Baldwin Biplane featured an unusual vertical control surface on the top center of the upper wing. Baldwin Red Devils deserved their name, for they were covered in Baldwin rubberized red silk and every other surface was painted red (including, according to one contemporary source, even the tires).
The definitive version appeared in May 1911, built by the C. & A. Witteman Company of Staten Island, New York. "Uncle" Tom Baldwin flew his biplane often on Long Island and on a tour of Asia. Other aviators who flew the Red Devil and were associated with Tom Baldwin included Tod Schriver, Cecil Peoli, Bud Mars, and William "Billy" Badger (who "Went West" at the Chicago International Aviation Meet in August of 1911 at the controls of a Red Devil).
The Baldwin Red Devil Biplane at Mineola, Long Island, New York
The Baldwin Red Devil Biplane at Mineola, Long Island, New York
