Aircraft Design Firsts

[Aeronut]

What was the first aircraft to airdrop supplies from the cabin using roller conveyor floor?
I have a British trial report for such a system dated 1943, but before I put it forward as a claim to be the first I'd be interested in any other claims for this system which now common place.

[JohnB]

The Brits may have designed the system, but did they put it in a production aircraft?

I only ask because aside from the York, they didn't make many transports in the war.

[Aeronut]

Definitely a British transport aircarft produced in some number and even one used by the American forces. The trouble is it was a type not used operationally for para or supply dropping even though both roles were requirements of the original Specification.
The aircraft in question was the Airspeed Horsa glider.
The roller floor (and just like the aircraft it was made from wood) had two tracks, one leading to the forward door and one to the rear door with the two rows of stores panniers being conected by a cable running around a pulley so that the panniers left the two doors in unison so as to maintain fore and aft cg.
Whilst the idea went no further than trials with the Horsa, by the end of the war supply dropping using roller floor would be SOP on Dakotas and the transports that followed, but was the Horsa the first?

[Noha307]

Back with a few more questions and potential answers:

• First airplane with stabilators/all-moving tail/all-flying tail: Morane-Saulnier G (?)
• First airplane with tailerons: XP-55 (as "noserons"?)
  
  • i.e. differentially moveable stabilators
• First airplane with hardpoints: ?
  
  • Alternatively, the first airplane with pylons.
• First airplane with a plumbed hardpoint: ?
• First airplane with a drop tank: Boeing MB-3A [ref]
• First airplane with a gun pod: Ju 87 (?)
  
  • See also the Douglas DGP-1 for an early American example.
• First airplane with a gun camera: ?
  
  • See also the Hythe Mk III Gun Camera for an early example. It was apparently used in a fixed, forward looking mounting as well.
• First airplane with a steam engine: Travel Air biplane [ref]
• First airplane to be launched from a catapult: Curtiss A-1 [ref]
• First airplane to be launched from a catapult on a ship: Curtiss AH-3 [ref]
• First airplane to be launched from a catapult on a ship while underway: Curtiss AB-2 [ref]

[Noha307]

This will be a bit subjective but certainly worth noting since it's still in production...
-First modern (all metal, retractable gear, opposed engine, etc.) light plane...Beech Bonanza.

Just yesterday I came across the book Those Incomparable Bonanzas by Larry A. Ball and it had these claims on the back flap of the dust jacket:

BONANZA FIRSTS
The Bonanza was described as the first all new postwar design to enter the commercial market. Here is the impressive list of aviation "firsts" for its class owned by this revolutionary design.

First - with electrically retractable tricycle landing gear completely enclosed inside the wing and nose.
First - to carry four people at a cruising speed of 175 MPH.
First - to carry a full payload, fully equipped, for its full range.
First - to be fully equipped for day, night, and instrument flight as standard equipment.
First - with an automatically retracting entrance and exit step.
First - with the distinctive, aerodynamically cleaner V-tail.
First - with adjustable cowl flaps.
First - to include as standard equipment a two-way, three-band direction-finding radio.
First - to achieve a significantly lower level in interior quietness.
First - to provide as standard a luxury of appointments comparable to the most expensive automobile.
First - to provide landing lights streamlined into the leading edge of the wing to reduce drag.
First - to completely enclose the directional loop antenna in the tail for reduced drag.
First - to offer a four-position control wheel for greater flying ease.
First - to use flush riveting, reducing drag to a minimum.
First - to provide baggage accessibility comparable with an automobile.

The continued success of the Bonanza today is simple proof that Beech was a quarter of a century ahead of other general aviation manufacturers when he first introduced the Bonanza.

Now obviously, the book is a little biased and a number of them don't really meet the criteria I have set for this thread, but still I figured it would be worth mentioning here.

Also, one other first I found:

• First twin engine carrier aircraft: Douglas T2D

[JohnB]

Most of those Bonanza "firsts" are clearly meant for an aircraft in its class, not all aircraft.

[Noha307]

Okay, so I started trying to track down the first aircraft with an Identification, friend or foe (IFF) system and the first aircraft with a radar warning receiver, and it is darn difficult. The history of the systems themselves is not that hard to find, but unfortunately nothing I have found so far indicates what aircraft they were originally installed in.

The first IFF system the appropriately named "IFF Mark I" developed by the British. It is predated by the "pip-squeak" system, which was apparently installed in Hurricanes and Spitfires, but that system was intended for navigation, not identification.[ref] I have found references that state "in late 1939, a quantity of IFF Mk.I transponders had been made and fitted to fighter aircraft" and "[t]owards the end of 1939 they were fitted in Naval aircraft flown at Scapa", but nothing that identifies the specific aircraft model.[ref][ref] Another sources notes that "[i]n 1937, a member of Watson-Watt's team, A. F. (Skip) Wilkins, conducted successful flight tests using mechanically-keyed half-wave antennas aboard a flying boat."[ref]

The situation is even more confusing when it comes to the first radar warning receiver. Again, the British were first, but due to a lack of information it is unclear which of two systems – Serrate or Monica (ARI 5664) – qualifies or was even first. Serrate operations began as early as 14 June 1943 and the first successful Bomber Command Serrate patrol occurred on 16/17 December 1943.[ref][ref]

I did happen to find a good history of later radar warning receivers – somewhat comparable to the history of helmet mounted sights included in a previous post.[ref]

Finally, in looking into the above, I came across the Automatic Gun-Laying Turret (ARI 5559 & TR3548), codenamed Village Inn, which may be the first radar aimed aerial gun turret. It was apparently first tested on Lancaster I, ND712; Lancaster III, JB705; Lancaster II, LL736; and Lancaster II, LL737.[ref]

[Noha307]

As a follow up to my statement from a previous post that:

As one final note, according to a post on Stack Exchange, the answer to "first aircraft with boosted controls" appears to be either the P-38, P-80, or Lockheed Constellation.

According to page 4 of the book P-38 Lightning in Action by Larry Davis:

The P-38 was the first fighter to feature a tricycle landing gear, first with an all-metal flush riveted skin, first to have power-boosted controls, and the first turbo-supercharged fighter aircraft to enter squadron service.

[Noha307]

Depending on how you qualify it, there are three different possibilities for first tiltrotor:

First tiltrotor: Dufaux triplane[ref]
First tiltrotor to fly: Transcendental Model 1-G
First tiltrotor to enter service: Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey

I have to admit to being surprised that the first tiltrotor to fly was not one of the Bell prototypes.

As mentioned in a previous post, the question of the first airplane with air brakes is tricky because of the fact that many surfaces serve dual roles or were termed differently. For example, the Northrop Gamma 2B ''Polar Star'' had what was then called an "air brake", but we would today probably recognize as a split flap.[ref] To compare with the pictures of the Mosquito, NACA also had some concepts for early fuselage mounted air brakes:

(Source: Wikipedia)

First airplane to fly with flaps: Fairey Hamble Baby
First airplane with flaperons: Fairey Hamble Baby

Interestingly, as is common before a technology has matured, there are a number of competing names for the device - and flaps are no different. If I am interpreting the Wikipedia articles correctly, some of the early terms were "Fairey Patent Camber Gear" and "single-acting ailerons".

First airplane with Fowler flaps: Unknown Fairchild, likely Fairchild 22[ref]
First airplane with slots: Handley Page H.P.17 (modification of DH-9A)
First airplane with controllable slots/slats: Handley Page X.4B (later H.P.20)[ref]
First airplane designed with slots: Handley Page Hanley[ref][ref]
First production airplane with blown flaps: Lockheed T2V SeaStar

Candidates for the first (experimental) use of blown flaps are on the Fieseler Fi 156 and Messerschmitt Bf 109.[ref]

[Noha307]

First off, the spam is getting annoying again. If one of the admins could nuke the above post, I would greatly appreciate it.

Now, on to the actual subject at hand. I had forgotten how useful the book The Lore of Flight by John W. R. Taylor was in answering some of the "first" questions. Here are a few selections from the book:

Credit for the first [monocoque fuselage] is given to the British air pioneer Handley Page, who exhibited at the 1911 Olympia aero show a monoplane which had a highly polished mahogany shell fuselage.

The aircraft referred to is the Handley Page Type D.

The ingenious machine devised by the Hungarian Trajan Vuia in 1906 was, prophetically, fitted with pneumatic tires, the first aircraft to be so equipped.

The aircraft referred to is either the Vuia I or Vuia I-bis.

Oil dampening to restrict rebound was first used in a leg made by the French engineer Esnault Pelterie in 1908, and an early form of oleo (hydraulic shock-absorbing) strut was fitted to an experimental British B.E.2 at the Farnborough factory in 1912. Louis Breguet is generally credited with the successful development of the oleo strut, which he used on his aircraft from 1910 onwards.

The aircraft referred to is the Esnault-Pelterie R.E.P. 1. You may remember that the REP 1 was mentioned in an earlier post as being the first airplane with a joystick.

The first airplane with de-icing equipment in any form or method appears to be a Fairchild 71 modified by NACA. (Although the report states "Fairchild F-17", a brief Internet search cannot find any evidence of such an aircraft, and, based on the description, I am forced to assume it is a typo.) Note that this was only for testing and did not use boots, but instead hot steam that circulated in the leading edge. It was only later that this plane was modified to use an “ice-removing overshoe”. Later a Lockheed Vega named Miss Silvertown was equipped with boots.[ref]

Overshoes for Plane End Ice Danger.png (431.85 KiB) Viewed 4078 times

(Source: Popular Science - Google Books)

[Noha307]

I previously wrote that the first airplane to carry a radar was an Avro Anson (K6260). Apparently, that is not correct. The honor actually belongs to the Handley Page Heyford.[1] The Heyford was selected because the ignition system for the spark plugs did not produce much radio frequency interference.[2]

[Noha307]

One "first" I ran into recently is the first crop duster. The honor belongs to a JN-6 Jenny. Captions and pictures below are originally from pages 131 and 134 of the bulletin The Airplane in Catalpa Sphinx Control by J. S. Houser.


(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Fig. 9.-Lieut. J. A. Macready (right) who piloted the plane and Mr. E. Dormoy (left) who designed the hopper and operated it during the flight

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Fig. 10.-The hopper for carrying and distributing the poison, secured to the side of the fusilage (sic) and opposite the passenger cockpit

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Fig. 11.-In the operation of applying the dust the plane flew at an altitude of from 20 to 35 feet in a path parallel to and 53 yards to the windward of the grove

The first purpose built crop duster is the Huff-Daland Duster. Also known as the Petrel 31, it was a modification of the Petrel 5.[1]

While searching for more information about Huff-Daland, I came across a dissertation titled Roots: From Crop Duster to Airline; The Origins of Delta Air Lines to World War II that included some pictures of other early crop duster installations.

Hopper - Removed.png (643.89 KiB) Viewed 3877 times

Air suction type hopper before installation--note discharge handle on right. The unit and its operator were located in the rear cockpit of the aircraft. Photograph courtesy Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry.

Hopper - Installed.png (317.34 KiB) Viewed 3877 times

View of air suction hopper installed in Lieutenant McNeil’s Hispano-powered Curtiss JN-6H. August 31, 1922. Photograph courtesy Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry.

One "first" I can't believe I didn't think to cover earlier is the laminar flow wing. While the P-51 is the first aircraft designed to use a laminar flow wing, it was not the first to be fitted with one.[2] According to the monograph A History of Suction-Type Laminar Flow Control with Emphasis on Flight Research, NACA installed a glove on the wing of a B-18 in 1941.

B-18 Laminar Flow.png (139.82 KiB) Viewed 3877 times

Figure 1. B-18 airplane with test glove for natural laminar flow and later for active laminar-flow control. (NASA photo L-25336)

It is worth noting that there is apparently some question as to how effective early laminar flow wings were.[3] So, like every other first that is very muddy, you could debate whether the "first" should go to the first to attempt laminar flow or the first to actually achieve it.

[jdeters79]

First jet aircraft equipped with a whole aircraft parachute, Cirrus SF50.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cirrus_Airframe_Parachute_System

Image from in-flight deployment test;



Various video angles from same test;

[Noha307]

The first airplane to be equipped with autoland was apparently a Boeing 247! Boeing 247D, serial number DZ203, performed a completely automatic landing on 16 January 1945.[1][2]

(Source: Wikipedia)

A candidate for the first airplane with a glass cockpit – if glass cockpit is defined as having at least one digital display – is the F-111D with a Mark II avionics package. If it can be pinned down to a specific airframe, it may be 68-0090, the first with the full Mark II system installed.[2] Perhaps unsurprisingly for a first generation system, the Mark II avionics were apparently unreliable.[3]

(Source: The Ejection Site)

[exhaustgases]

I was hoping that the WIX brain trust could help me answer a few questions. Admittedly, they are not strictly warbird related, but I figure there is still enough aviation knowledge laying around here somewhere.

As I mentioned once before, when I asked about two Jackie Cochran "firsts", I have been working on a Sporcle quiz of aircraft design firsts.

I should note that the quiz itself is a bit of a mess. (I was somewhat just using it to store the answers I had found, rather than make it functional.) If you try it don't expect it to work very well.

Anyway, here's what I've got so far. In no particular order:

Answered Facts

• First production fighter to be equipped for in flight refueling - Republic F-84 Thunderjet
  
  
  Now, here's where you guys come in. I have a number of firsts that I haven't found the answer to. Does anyone know which aircraft were first to include the features below?
  
  Unanswered Facts
  
  
  
  • First aircraft with a two bank radial engine
    
    
    Alternatively, feel free to correct me if I am wrong about any of the answers on the first list.
    
    
  • The first airplane to have three propellers may have been the Short Triple Tractor.

You have first fighter for inflight refueling, you missed the first plane that does the refueling.

There is no first aircraft with a two bank radial engine. Because there is no such engine. There are 2 row radial engines.

Another first, what propeller aircraft broke the sound barrier? Was breaking the sound barrier mentioned?