The Burgess Model K was a two-seat pusher type "

flying boat A flying boat is a type of seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in having a fuselage that is purpose-designed for flotation, while floatplanes rely on fuselage-mounted floats for buoyancy. Though ...

" built for the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

by Burgess in 1913.

Design

The aircraft was built to meet navy requirements as a two-seat, tandem, staggered-wing biplane flying boat. The primary construction was made of wood, with a spruce and oak framework overlaid by fabric and mahogany. The hull was made of two detachable sections connected by steel fittings. Of particular note was the design of the wings. The lower plane was of traditional biplane style using two spars, but the upper section was of "monoplane" style and used only one spar. The upper wing was used to provide lateral stability through

wing-warping Wing warping was an early system for lateral (roll) control of a fixed-wing aircraft or kite. The technique, used and patented by the Wright brothers, consisted of a system of pulleys and cables to twist the trailing edges of the wings in opposit ...

, while the lower wing remained rigid. The entire wing structure was designed to be foldable and detachable. The aircraft was equipped with a variety of indicators, including a compass, altimeter, inclinometer, airspeed indicator and chart boards. The native

Wright Wright is an occupational surname originating in England and Scotland. The term 'Wright' comes from the circa 700 AD Old English word 'wryhta' or 'wyrhta', meaning worker or shaper of wood. Later it became any occupational worker (for example, a ...

control scheme would later be replaced. Pitch and yaw control were provided through a conventional

empennage The empennage ( or ), also known as the tail or tail assembly, is a structure at the rear of an aircraft that provides stability during flight, in a way similar to the feathers on an arrow.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third ed ...

. The rudder provided control both in the sky and on the water.

Operational history

The design was ordered in March or February 1913 and one was built. It was tested at the Burgess facility in Marblehead in April, and delivered and accepted by the Navy on May 17, designated D-1. The aircraft was shipped with the patented Wright control scheme. However, it would be used as a testbed for various aircraft control systems that were under review by the Navy department at that time, including those used on

Nieuport Nieuport, later Nieuport-Delage, was a French aeroplane company that primarily built racing aircraft before World War I and fighter aircraft during World War I and between the wars. History Beginnings Originally formed as Nieuport-Duplex in ...

and Deperdussin. In February 1914, the aircraft stalled at an altitude of 200' and crashed at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida. Its pilot, Ltjg. James M. Murray, drowned in the accident. In December 1914, ten months after the aircraft was destroyed in the crash, it was officially redesignated as AB-6.

Specifications

General characteristics * Crew: One pilot * Capacity: one passenger * Length: 31' (9.45m) * Wingspan: 43' (13.1m) (Upper Wing), 36' (10.97m) (Lower Wing) * Wing Area: 397 sq. ft (37 sq. m) * Height: 8' 10" * Powerplant:1 ×

Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...

8 cyl Air-Cooled, 70 hp Performance * Maximum speed: 62 mph (100 km/h, 54 kn) * Gross Takeoff Weight: 2,100lbs (952kg)

References

{{reflist Aircraft first flown in 1913 Flying boats 1910s aircraft Single-engined pusher aircraft 1910s United States aircraft 1910s United States experimental aircraft Biplanes