 hile
flying in Germany in the fall of 1909, Orville Wright added a fixed
horizontal surface behind the twin tail rudders of a standard Model A,
improving the longitudinal or pitch stability of the aircraft. Orville
next replaced the fixed rear surface with a flexible elevator, giving the
airplane an elevator in the front and rear , a configuration very much
like Curtiss and Farman aircraft at the time.
The Wrights experimented with this configuration through the early part of 1910. They began to reduce the size of the canard and eliminated one of the canard surfaces. As the canard shrank, the aircraft became more stable. In mid-1910, the Wright eliminated the canard altogether and created the Model B -- the first Wright aircraft with a traditional tail. References:
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 Orville tests a Model A-B with a dual elevator -- one in front, another in back. |