The Wright Model B reproduction that currently stands in the gallery of the College Park Aviation Museum was constructed by Ken Hyde and others at the Virginia Aviation and Machine Company of Warrenton, Virginia. Our Wright B was built to the standards of the original, using the same materials, construction techniques, and finishes as those employed by Orville and Wilbur Wright. The only exceptions are a non-operating engine and the covering of a balloon cotton fabric as opposed to the original rubberized fabric.

The original 1910 Wright Model B was constructed of West Virginia white spruce wood coated with aluminum powder, which gave the wood a deceptively metal-looking finish. The dual rudder and elevator were located in the tail section of the aircraft, and the elevator was not hinged, but warped. The airplane was equipped with dual control. The pilot operated the elevator control in the left seat with his left hand while with his right hand he operated the rudder and wing-warping control, located between the two pilots. This arrangement created a problem: the pilot in the right-hand seat was forced to operate the rudder and wing-warping control with his left hand and the elevator control with his right hand. This resulted in what was referred to as right- and left-seat pilots. This problem was corrected in 1912 with the installation of an additional rudder/wing-warping control lever.

The Wright B aeroplane served for two years at our nation's first military aviation school at College Park and was used for training and experimental flights.

Empty weight: 950 lbs.
Wingspan: 38 feet, 6 inches
Take-off speed: 27 mph
Cruising speed: 40 mph
Engine: 30-35 horsepower 4-cylinder water-cooled Wright engine
Propellers: Twin counter-rotating 8 feet, 6 inch propellers (428 rpm)

Completed in 2002, this reproduction Blériot XI monoplane was built in the College Park Aviation Museum's own restoration shop. It was crafted by volunteers under the direction of restoration shop manager John Liebl, from drawings originally published by John Rozendaal in 1912.

Designed and built by Louis Blériot, the original Blériot Type XI was the first heavier-than-air craft to be flown across the English Channel. Blériot flew the aircraft from Calais to Dover on July 25, 1909. After its plans were published in 1912, the Blériot became one of the most copied aeroplane designs. Unlike the Wright B and the Curtiss Jenny, the Blériot features a monoplane (one set of wings) configuration. By showing the viability of his one wing design, Blériot encouraged other builders to follow in his footsteps. Today's airplanes share the same basic design as Blériot's creation.

After the National Aeroplane Company established operations at College Park Airport, it became the authorized agent for the manufacture and sale of Blériot aircraft in the Washington, DC region. In an effort to sell Blériots to the U.S. Army, the Moisant Company sent Bernetta Miller to showcase the aeroplane's capabilities to officials at the field. The Army was not convinced of the monoplane's safety, and it opted not to purchase any Blériots.

The "Jennys" were the workhorses of the U.S. Air Mail Service, although the machines flown here at College Park were the JN-4H model, as opposed to the earlier JN-4D on display in the museum.

This aircraft was built in 1916, but its history before its discovery in pieces near San Antonio, Texas remains unclear. The U.S. Army gathered up the remaining bits and the Virginia Aviation and Machine Company, Ltd restored the biplane in the 1990s. A monumental task, this meticulous restoration took over 12,000 man-hours to complete and retained up to 60% of original Jenny parts. Some of the parts are original Curtiss Jenny parts, but not original to this particular aircraft. Parts that had to be fabricated were made in strict accord with original Curtiss factory drawings.

On loan to the College Park Aviation Museum from the U.S. Army Center for Military History. IL1998.4

Wing Span: 43 feet, 7 3/8 inches
Overall Length: 27 feet, 4 inches
Overall Height: 9 feet, 10 5/8 inches
Net Weight Empty: 1430 lbs.
Useful Payload: 490 lbs.
Max. speed: 75 mph
Min. speed: 45 mph
Max. rate of climb: 200 fpm
Engine: Model OX-5, Vee, Four cycle, 8 liquid cooled cylinders
Fuel Consumption: 9 gph
Fuel Capacity: 21 gallons
Oil capacity Crankcase: 4 gallons

In the center of the museum's main gallery is a unique aircraft representing the spirit of experimentation that pervades the history of College Park Airport. The Berliner Helicopter, on loan from the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, is the culmination of the experiments in vertical flight by Emile Berliner and his son Henry. On February 24, 1924, this helicopter achieved an altitude of 15 feet, with a maneuvering radius of 150 feet, while maintaining a speed of about 40 mph. This flight, in front of U.S. Navy officials and media, was acclaimed as the first controlled helicopter flight. The helicopter was reassembled and preserved by staff of the National Air and Space Museum's restoration facility with the help of our own Restoration Shop manager.

Number Built: 1
Wingspan: 38 feet, 0 inches
Length of fuselage: 18 feet
Height: 7 feet approx.
Rotor Diameter: 13 ft
Empty Weight: 641 lbs.
Powerplant: 220-hp BR-2 Bentley rotary (used for all known tests; installed is a 150 hp AR-1)

This sleek red airplane was popular for its speed and efficiency in the air races of the 1930s at College Park Airport. With a 145 Warner Super Scarab engine, it could reach speeds of 120-148 mph. A common sight at George Brinckerhoff's air meets, it was popular with pilots like Helen MacClosky and Pheobe Omilie.

N12345 (serial no. 6W43) was purchased by the College Park Aviation Museum in 1997.

Wingspan: 32 feet, 0 inches
Length: 20 feet, 8 inches
Empty Weight: 991 lbs.
Gross Weight: 1,611 lbs.

The "Cub" was a common sight at general aviation airports throughout the 1930s, 40s and 50s, and George Brinckerhoff used the planes for flight instruction here at College Park Airport for 30 years.

It was an enormously popular civilian aircraft; more pilots learned to fly in the Cub than in any other airplane. The aircraft in the museum's main gallery was manufactured by the Taylor Aircraft Company, which was taken over by William Piper shortly after the introduction of the Cub. The Piper J-3 was substantially the same as the Taylor J-2 and continued to be nicknamed the "Cub."

NC16769 (serial no. 771) is on loan to the College Park Aviation Museum by Tom Hillier of Escalon, California.

Wingspan: 35 feet, 2 inches
Length: 22 feet, 5 inches
Empty Weight: 563 lbs.
Gross Weight: 970 lbs.
Powerplant: 40-hp Continental A-40
Maximum Speed: 87 mph
Range: 200 miles

A side-by-side seating, high-wing monoplane, the Taylorcraft has been retrofitted by our restoration shop to become the museum's "Imagination Plane." Visitors to the museum are encouraged to touch, explore, and sit in the cockpit of the blue 1939 aircraft. Aspiring pilots can operate the controls to move the elevator, rudder and ailerons. One wing has been left in various stages of completion, to illustrate the process of covering a wing with fabric.

N23624 (serial no. 1349) was donated to the College Park Aviation Museum by Francis A. Fine in 1997.

Wingspan: 36 feet, 0 inches
Length: 22 feet, 0 inches
Empty Weight: 640 lbs.
Gross Weight: 1150 lbs.
Powerplant: 65 hp Lycoming O-145
Maximum Speed: 102 mph
Range: 250 miles

The Aeronca Chief is typical of the planes that flew at College Park Airport after 1940. Only 87 airplanes of this model were produced.

N26305 (serial no. L7690), donated to the museum by Douglas Heath, is currently undergoing restoration in the museum's Restoration Shop. It is expected to be completed by early 2004.

Wingspan: 36 feet, 0 inches
Length: 20 feet, 10 inches
Empty Weight: 786 lbs.
Gross Weight: 1250 lbs.
Powerplant: 65 hp Continental C-65
Maximum Speed: 105 mph
Range: 330 miles

Although the Boeing Model 75 is most commonly called the "Stearman," it has had many names. The U.S. Army Air Corps designation for the A75N1 is "PT-17." The Navy designation is "N2S." The Canadian military designation is "Kaydet." Originally designed as trainers, the outbreak of WWII accelerated demand for these two-seat biplanes, which also served as barnstormers and crop dusters. Stearmans were flown at College Park Airport during the Brinckerhoff years (1927-1964) at the air races and as stunt planes. The Stearman hanging in the museum's gallery, however, has made an extra contribution to the history of aviation.

In April 2000, Gus McLeod flew this Stearman N8NP, in the first open-cockpit flight over the North Pole. McLeod took off from Montgomery Air Park in Gaithersburg, MD, on his 13-day record-setting journey, circled the North Pole on April 17, but was then forced to abandon his plane on an ice floe after mechanical troubles prevented him from completing the journey home. A month later, he returned to find that N8NP had drifted about 80 miles from where he had left it. With a new battery, McLeod and the airplane made it as far as Alert, Nunavut, Canada before the weather prohibited further flight. With help from the National Air and Space Museum, New York Air National Guard, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Navy, N8NP was finally brought back to Maryland, and then to College Park Airport. Gus McLeod donated the historic Stearman to the College Park Aviation Museum after its last flight before crowds at the 2000 College Park Air Fair.

Span: 32 feet, 2 inches
Length: 24 feet, 10 inches
Original power plant: 220 hp Continental R-670
Empty Weight: 1,936 lbs
Gross Weight: 2,717 lbs
Maximum Speed: 124 mph
Range: 505 miles
*note: according to Jane's; PT-17 specifications vary from source to source

The Ercoupe was manufactured by the Engineering and Research Corporation (ERCO) in nearby Riverdale, MD, to be spin-proof, stall-proof, and slip-proof. It is a single engine, two place low-wing aircraft of metal construction, fabric or metal wings, and tricycle landing gear. It has a coordinated controlling system that eliminates the need for rudder pedals since the ailerons, twin rudders and steerable nose move in concert when the pilot turns the control wheel. The simplified control system makes the Ercoupe simple, safe, and a plane that "anyone could fly."

NC93942 is on loan to the College Park Aviation Museum by Pat Gravatt and Andy Gravatt (deceased).

The "half" Ercoupe 415C, N99182, which is missing parts of its fuselage and wings, shows the distinctive lack of rudder pedals. It is located on the gallery floor. (serial no. 1805)

Wingspan: 30 feet, 0 inches
Length: 20 feet, 9 inches
Empty Weight: 845 lbs.
Gross Weight: 1,400 lbs.
Powerplant: 85 hp Continental A-85
Maximum Speed: 117 mph
Range: 450 miles