Called a \u201cpusher\u201d because the engine and propeller are placed behind the pilot and, therefore, \u201cpush\u201d the aircraft, the Curtiss Model D represent Early Flight pioneer Glenn Curtiss\u2019s engineering philosophy: his aircraft would be an extension of the pilot who flies it.<\/p>\n
At the time of the original aircraft\u2019s production, the Wright Brothers held the patent on the then-state-of-the-art lateral control method known as wing-warping. Since the patent prohibited him from using this method, Curtiss went to the drawing board himself and emerged with a brand new innovation: the aileron, which proved to be a much superior method of controlling roll in flight, revolutionizing the construction of every airplane that followed it.<\/p>\n
A Pusher is \u201cheaded\u201d when it has a horizontal flying surface in front of the pilot, known as a foreplane or a canard. The Herring-Curtiss Pusher has both a front and a tail canard. The later \u201cheadless\u201d version dispensed with the foreplane, as can be seen in the Pusher which hangs in the North Hangar.<\/p>\n
This unique 2-seat version was originally built by Dean Wilson and Jim Otey in Idaho to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first flight in that state. The centennial commemoration was successfully enacted, and the aircraft also drew attention at air shows. Considered by the EAA \u201can extraordinary replica \u2026 that conforms with the original design,\u201d this aircraft features a few \u201cproduct improvements to enhance the safety margins,\u201d including a Continental O-200 A engine.<\/p>\n