Warbird Information Exchange

Thanks for this! Having a unique name to search is very helpful.

Flat Bottom Airfoil & Spring-Type Wheels
The Albree Pigeon-Fraser was mentioned in a previous post in regards to the idea of a hinged empennage. However, according to Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, the Pigeon-Fraser is also responsible for two other firsts: a flat bottom airfoil and spring-type wheels.[1] Another example of the latter can be seen on the Martin K-III Kitten mentioned in a previous post.

Starter Motor
Old Rhinebeck notes that another of its aircraft (or at least aircraft parts), the Burgess-Collier Model M, is a contender for the first aircraft with a starter motor. The aircraft used a "137-pound Hartford electric self-starter [that] was geared to the crankshaft extension with a Diamond chain".[2]

Reversible Pitch Propellers
The subject of the first variable pitch propellers was mentioned in a previous post, but reversible pitch propellers have not been extensively covered. The "first production reversible Hydromatic propeller went into service on a United Airlines Douglas DC-6 in the fall of 1946".[3] While it is likely not the very first example, it may indeed be the beginning of the first widespread use of the technology.

Super-Hydromatic Propellers
Another Hamilton Standard first, possibly one that lead to the variable camber propeller mentioned in a previous post, is that of the first aircraft to be equipped with Super-Hydromatic Propellers. The credit goes to a B-23, s/n 39-32, which was acquired by Pratt & Whitney.[4] Perhaps surprisingly, this is not the first time members of the B-18 family were used as testbeds, with B-23, s/n 39-50, being equipped with turbochargers and a B-18 having a short section of laminar flow wing.[5][6]

While not the first use of a contra-rotating propeller - a patent was filed by F. W. Lanchester in England in 1907 and M. M. Egan and D. W. Evans of Fort Worth, Texas "drove" a biplane with such a design in 1931 - it appears to be the first widespread (if ultimately unsuccessful) implementation.[7][8]

Shielded Ignition Harness
When the Bureau of Standards experimented with air-to-ground communications in winter 1926-27, shielded spark plugs were not necessary as the interference from the inline liquid-cooled engines could be sufficiently attenuated by the shape of the engine and design of the cowling. However, when they switched to air-cooled radial engines, the problem resurfaced. The first aircraft to have shielded wiring is not entirely clear as it is not mentioned by name in the reference, but it does state that a Wright J-5 engine was used.[9]

Bell Aviation Firsts
Similar to the list of Bonanza firsts mentioned in a previous post is the following list of Bell aviation firsts:

(Source: Lawrence D. Bell Aircraft Museum)

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Warbird Philosophy Webmaster

Autoland (Cont.)
The first automated landing was mentioned in a previous post, but another much earlier contender has emerged. A Fokker C-14B reportedly performed the feat on 23 August 1937.[1] Meanwhile, the first automated landing of a commercial airliner in service occurred when a Trident 1C, G-ARPR, landed at Heathrow Airport on 10 June 1965.[2] Interestingly, a commentary was recorded in the cockpit and you can now listen to it on the Imperial War Museum website!

Remote Controlled Aircraft
Building on the above, the French - namely engineer Maurice Percheron and pilot Max Boucherthe – reportedly flew a Voisin Type 10 on a completely remote controlled flight in 1923.[3]

Inertial Navigation
A recent thread brought up the case of the first use of inertial navigation in an aircraft. An EB-29B, 44-84083, was fitted with the system and flew for the first time in this configuration on 5 May 1949.

Fly-by-Light
The Kawasaki P-1 is known as the first operational aircraft with a fiber optic control system. However, a Skyship 600 blimp equipped with a fly-by-light system designed by GEC Avionics took to the skies in Weeksville, North Carolina on 26 June 1991.[4]

Radar Ranging Gunsight
As quoted in another thread, the first radar ranging gunsight was reportedly mounted in a P-38L, 44-53236, for testing.

Instrument with Bugs
The concept of "bugs" on an instrument, or the little pointers that slide around the circumference of the dial to index parameters such as airspeed or altitude, goes back at least as far as World War II, when they were used on the German Fl 22320 altimeter.[5]

Direct Bleed Air Pressurization
According to a thread on Airliners.net, the Sud Aviation Caravelle was the first aircraft to use direct, non-turbocompressed air for pressurization.

Lift Engine
Predating not only the Harrier, but also the Soviet MiG-21PD, a Gloster Meteor FR.9, VZ608, was fitted with a downward angled RB.108 engine in the mid-1950s as a testbed for the testbed Short SC.1. It was first operated in flight on 23 October 1956.[6] However, in this regard VZ608 was technically itself predated by the Rolls-Royce Thrust Measuring Rig.

Variable Incidence Wing
The first variable sweep wing was touched on in a previous post, but the first variable incidence wing was not. However, that claim may also go to the Germans as the Blohm & Voss BV 144 was designed with just such a feature. Yet, neither aircraft was flown before the war ended.[7] The aircraft were captured by the French, but it is not clear if they ever flew them (or even changed the incidence of the wing if they did).

In-Flight Internet
Building on the subject of in-flight entertainment mentioned in a previous post, the first use of in-flight Internet may have been on a Lufthansa Boeing 747-400 in January 2003.[8]

Aerial Firefighting
In terms of dispersing substances from airplanes, the first crop duster was mentioned in a previous post, but not the first waterbomber. A Stearman Model 75, N75081, operated by Willows Flying Service, became the first instance when it was tested on 23 July 1955. A few weeks later, on 12 August 1955, it was first deployed operationally when it was used to fight the Mendenhall Fire in Mendocino National Forest. These first drops were with water - no chemicals - and were flown by Vance Nolta.[9]

EDIT (25-03-03): On its history page, the Consolidated Instrument and Avionics Company claims to have:

(Source: Consolidated Instrument and Avionics Company)

However, the situation is a bit unclear as the company, a repair station, traces its lineage back to 1946 when it was opened at Teterboro Airport. An instrument manufacturer with a similar name, the Consolidated Instrument Corporation of America, existed as early as 1928 in New York City.[10] Indeed, the Travel Air 6000 pictured on the history page bears the logo of this presumably predecessor company. It therefore seems likely that the repair station took over the business and assets of the manufacturer.

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Tri-State Warbird Museum Collections Manager & Museum Attendant

Warbird Philosophy Webmaster

Tip Jet Helicopter
The Doblhoff WNF 342 was the first tip jet helicopter to fly in 1943.

Rotary Engine
While the first bi-rotary engine was mentioned in a previous post, the first successful rotary engine of any type is claimed by some to have been designed by F.O. Farwell in 1896 and built by the Adams Company three years later. However, this design may have first been used in automobiles. It was, however, employed in Emile Berliner's helicopter in 1909.[1]

Aircraft Exhaust Collector Ring
The first engine to use an exhaust collector ring is unclear, but the technology goes back at least as far as the Lycoming R-680B4E used on the PT-13.[2]

Composite Aircraft
A paper on the history of the subject claims that "[t]he first composite aircraft were German sailplanes such as the Libelle, the Bölkow Phönix, and the SB-7".[3]

Split Rudder
A split rudder was included in the design of the very first Beech Staggerwing. Although it is unknown if this is the first instance of such a control surface, it does predate later, more well-known aircraft such as the A-10, B-2 and Space Shuttle.[4]

Forward Sloped Windshield
According to one article which profiles the use of the design on a 1936 Rolls-Royce Phantom III Saloon, forward sloped windshields were tested at Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory in 1933 on a Boeing 247. However, a report fitting that bill shows only a model that looks nothing like a 247. Furthermore, the design is seen on Ford Trimotors, which of course predate it.[5]

Ultra-High Frequency Radio Range
Page 99 of volume 3 of the monograph Development of the Ultra-High-Frequency Radio Range shows that a Boeing 247D registered as NC11 was used for ultra-high frequency radio range tests. However, page 37 indicates that prior to this a Waco Model N was used. This is not the first time a Boeing 247 was employed as a testbed. As mentioned in previous posts, they were used to test both autoland and radar altimeters.

Synthetic Vision System
While a "windshield TV screen" described as being under development by the Office of Naval Research and Development in the March 1955 issue of Popular Science could be seen as a predecessor to the heads-up display mentioned in a previous post, it is actually more correctly identified as a precursor to the modern synthetic vision system. It may have been this research which led to the development of the Digital Integrated Attack and Navigation Equipment, or DIANE, installed in the A-6.[6]

The modern version of SVS was first tested in a Gulfstream V in a joint effort by NASA and Gulfstream in June 2004.[7][8]

Solid Aerodynamic Antennas
The invention of solid aerodynamic antennas may belong to a man named Allen S. Meier, who filed a patent for a "Broad Band Antenna", patent 2,463,547, on 23 January 1945. Meier had at least three other patents involving aircraft antennas - all assigned to the "Secretary of War". Most interesting is his "Antenna Matching Section", patent 2,593,474, which includes drawings of a hollow base that streamlines the junction of antenna and aircraft skin. It would seem to be only a short jump in concept from this to encasing the entire antenna in the material.

Swept-Back Antennas
A swept back antenna appears in a Lear, Inc. advertisement just inside the front cover of Flying magazine as early as February 1955. Indeed, the company would file a patent for just such a design (Aircraft Antenna with Impedance Matching Device, 2,834,961) only one month later.

Blade Antennas
By the early 1960s, stubby blade-type antennas appear to have begun entering the market. Narco offered one, called the UDA-2, as part of their UDI-2 DME unit in March 1962.[9][10] Patents for similar designs were filed in July 1958 (Slotted Airfoil Ultra High Frequency Antenna, 2,949,606) and June 1961 (Ground Plane VHF Antenna Comprising Blade-Type Dipole Configuration Obtained by Reflecting Monopole in Ground Plane, 3,220,006).

Scooping Floats
Scooping floats, which allow floatplane single engine air tankers to take in water without returning to land, were invented by Wipaire in 2001.[11] Their Wipline 10000, installed on the AT-802 Fire Boss, has a three inch diameter scoop in each float.[12]

Lastly, similar to what was mentioned in a previous post, below are a few promotonal claims of firsts:

(Source: Perscope Film via YouTube)


(Source: AirlineReporter)

EDIT (25-03-03): Depending on interpretation, the credit for the first scooping floats may actually go to the second DHC-1, which was used to test "rotating roll over tanks ... mounted on top of the floats with scoops attached for filling up" in 1957. However, as the system is not integral to the floats, they might not be considered to be true scooping floats.[13]

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Warbird Philosophy Webmaster

How about Terrain Following Radar (TFR) and Terrain Avoidance Radar (TAR)?

CIA used B-17 utilizing a Fulton Recovery system? C-130s were were later equipped with it.

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Mike in Florida
TSgt USAF Retired
Jan 86 - Sept 08
Aircrew Life Support
"Your Life Is Our Business"
(122X0, 1T1X1, 1P0X1)
NRA Life Member

Well, you're in luck! There's an very detailed article on terrain following radar from Bill Blain, one of the people that worked on the first system. The short version is that the first aircraft to fly with TFR was a Douglas Dakota, TS423, operated by Ferranti. The system was later tested in a Canberra B(I)8, WT327, before its intended implementation on the TSR-2. (Incidentally, the system used a modified AI.23B radar from an English Electric Lightning. The AI.23 was part of the AIRPASS system, which was the first airborne monopulse radar.) The British system was based on an early American concept, but the Yanks seem to have neglected it until 1962, when it was tested on an RF-4.[1] By then the Ferranti system was already in the air. (Note, however, that the exact dates are unclear and it is possible that the Americans got the concept in the air first. For example, it was apparently tested on the A-4C.[2] A lot of this interpretation comes from the relevant Wikipedia article which, while excellent and based on the aforementioned sources, has some holes.)

As far as Terrain Avoidance Radar goes, it appears Westinghouse had developed one around 1957-1958.[2][3]

One thing is that I'm not exactly clear as to the difference between TFR and TAR. Could you explain it? They sound like they are both based on the same equipment, but implemented in different ways. If so, then determining when whichever of the two that came later was first used might be difficult because there is less of an inherent different in design that would have merited particular comment.

First Carbon Reinforced All-Composite Blade
Although the number of qualifiers make it unclear if it was the first example or just the first implementation in a certain setting, it is claimed by one source that the Saab-Fairchild 340 was claimed to be the "[w]orld's first carbon reinforced all-composite bladed turboprop aircraft" when it came out in 1984. This is followed by the claim that the "Saab 2000 was certificated with the first full FADEC ... integrated electronic propeller control system" in 1993.[4]

First Fan Marker
Although not an aircraft design feature as such, "the first commercially manufactured fan-type marker was installed in February 1938, in the vicinity of New Brunswick, N.J., at light beacon site No. 73, 20 miles out on the southwest leg of the Newark radio range."[5]

Fuel Dump System
According to a flight manual from 1974, An early fuel dump system was implemented on the C-118.[6] Assuming this was not a later addition, this would predate the fuel dump used in the Boeing 707-121.[7]

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Tri-State Warbird Museum Collections Manager & Museum Attendant

Warbird Philosophy Webmaster

Boom Receptacle
The aircraft with a flying boom was mentioned in a previous post, but the receptacle aircraft was not. The answer to that appears to be the B-50D.[1] One such instance can be seen in a YouTube video. While its not clear whether this term has applied since the beginning, the official name of the receptacles that are now in use is "Universal Aerial Refueling Receptacle Slipway Installation" or UARRSI.[2]

Radar Absorbing Canopy Coatings
The first date that radar absorbing canopies were installed on aircraft is not clear, but it goes back to at least 5 September 1986, when, J-358, the first Dutch F-16 to have the coating applied was delivered.[3] However, while the coating is used today for stealthy purposes, it was used on the EA-6B to protect the crew from the energy put out by the jamming equipment and this may be where it was first introduced.

Avionics
Garmin lays claim to a few avionics firsts, including:

• GPS-155 - first GPS receiver FAA-certified for instrument approaches
• CNX-80 - first aviation product approved for primary GPS navigation
• G3000 - first touchscreen IFD[4]

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Tri-State Warbird Museum Collections Manager & Museum Attendant

Warbird Philosophy Webmaster

Seatback Tray Table
Seatback tray tables can be seen in the cabin on the CASA 352L at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. A patent filed in 1972 (Compact Tray Table, 3,773,381) shows something similar to the now iconic design.

Interestingly, a previous patent filed in 1946 (Tray Supporting Means, 2,530,020) shows a device that extends from the arms of the seat of the user, rather than the back of the seat in front of them.

Food Cart
Of course, something must bring the food to be placed on the tray table: the food cart. A patent filed in 1957 (Food Carrying Cart for Airplanes, 2,860,020) for such a device was granted to Western Airlines.

Autofeather
The first aircraft with automatic feathering of propeller blades was the Martin 202 in 1947.[1]

Flat Spring Steel Landing Gear
While the Wittman Bonzo, which was already mentioned in a previous post, ended up not being the first to feature a ducted spinner, it was the first instance of another, much more influential invention: flat spring steel landing gear. A patent filed in 1937 (Airplane Landing Gear, 2,163,653) for it was issued to the aircraft's designer, none other than the famous Steve Wittman. The design would later be made famous due to its use in many Cessna aircraft.[2]

Lightning Diversion Strips
Quite unsurprisingly, lightning diversion systems are today manufactured by Lightning Diversion Systems, which was founded in 1982.[3] A patent for the device (Lightning Diversion Strips for Aircraft, 4,796,153) was filed by the company in 1987. However, according to a 1977 paper by NASA, this system was "developed by Arnason and Cassell of Douglas Aircraft Company".

Periscope
A periscope was famously installed on the Spirit of St. Louis in 1927.

However, this was simply to allow Lindberg a view ahead of the aircraft since their were no forward facing windows. Retractable periscopic sextants, which replaced blowout prone and less aerodynamic astrodomes, are a different matter.[4] When exactly they were introduced is unclear, but an article in the Institute of Navigation's journal, Navigation, from 1948 describes the need for such a device in aircraft - noting that conventional plexiglass causes distortions and prevent sighting at high angles - suggesting they were not common at the time. Furthermore, as noted on a page on the website PRC68.com, a patent (Calculating Instrument, 2,516,187) for a portion of the device was filed in 1945.

Rigid Rotor System
According to the seventh edition of Lockheed's "Pathway to the Stars" pamphlet, their CL-475 was the "the world's first practical rigid rotor helicopter". (The sole example was donated to the National Air and Space Museum and later transferred to the United States Army Aviation Museum.[5])

Scrolling Checklist
Curtiss was apparently particularly innovative with its cockpit design. In addition to the predecessor to the modern annunciator panel mentioned in a previous post, it also developed a scrolling checklist for the C-46.[6] However, aside from the connection, there is no particular evidence that Curtiss was the first with this technology. For example, a Short Sandringham at Solent Sky features a nearly identical design with a backlight.[7]

Note that this concept also resembles the moving map display mentioned in a previous post. Specifically, both are a means to show more information in a small area than would normally fit - a goal that is today achieved with an electronic screen. In this way, they can be seen as a predecessor to the modern glass cockpit. This need to display more and more information is evidence of the increasing complexity of aircraft. (For another example of this trend, see a post in the technical order organization thread.)

Secondary Cockpit Barriers
Secondary cockpit barriers have been in the news recently due to the requirement for their use coming into full force.[8] However, the first examples were actually installed by United Airlines and Northwest Airlines back in 2004.[9]

Variable Feel System
According to a comment on reddit, the first variable feel system was either a Comet 1A retrofit or the Sud Aviation Caravelle.

Vernier Throttle
According to a post on the International Cessna 170 Association forums, Vernier controls "were first offered in Beech airplanes".

Weight on Wheels Switch
The earliest reference to a weight on wheels switch found after a quick search is an accident investigation report for a 1949 "extremely hard landing" involving a Convair 240 of Northeast Airlines. Coincidentally, given the above autofeather section, in this case the switch was designed to prevent the propellers from reversing in flight.

Wheel Skis
Wheel skis, also known as "penetration skis" according to the page 7-2 of the Federal Aviation Administration's Seaplane, Skiplane, and Float/Ski Equipped Helicopter Operations Handbook, may have originated with with the Federal Aircraft Works. According to the type certificate data sheet for the Cessna 120 and 140, A-768, the company's AWA-1500, AWB-1500, AWB-1500A and AWB-2100 are all called the "Wheel-Ski". (Furthermore, notes on page 3-2 of the 1950 Aircraft Equipment Listing, indicate the AW-7550 and AW-7550A are retractable to allow the aircraft to operate on wheels.) Based the hyphen, it appears that "wheel ski" may be a genericized trademark of the former.

A few more aircraft design firsts that have proved particularly difficult or not had time to research include:

• Automatic fuel leveling system
• Fuel tank selector switch
• Floating instrument panel

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Tri-State Warbird Museum Collections Manager & Museum Attendant

Warbird Philosophy Webmaster