Dayton-Wright RB-1 Racer
A 1920 racer with linked retractable gear and variable-camber wing.
The Dayton-Wright RB-1, also called the Dayton-Wright Racer, was a high-wing, single-engine monoplane built in the United States for the 1920 Gordon Bennett Cup. Its fuselage was a monocoque structure, and the cantilever wing had a solid balsa wood core laminated with plywood and covered in linen. Charles Hampson Grant designed a mechanism that allowed the wing’s camber to change in flight by adjusting the leading and trailing edges—the trailing edge acted as a plain flap, and the leading edge worked similarly. The landing gear retracted via a hand crank, one of the first times this was done solely to improve aerodynamics. Uniquely, the variable wing camber was mechanically linked to the landing gear, so the wing adjusted for high-speed flight when the gear was up and for lower speeds when it was down. The propeller shaft passed through a large oval radiator, and the pilot had no forward view, relying on flexible celluloid side windows. A hatch on top of the fuselage provided cockpit access.
A prototype was built with non-retractable gear and strut-braced wings. Later, a shorter, tapered racing wing was installed, with leading- and trailing-edge flaps connected to the gear deployment. The flap hinges and mechanisms were exposed across the top of the solid wing. This racing wing caused directional instability, so small tail fins were added.
The RB-1 was disassembled, shipped to France, and flown by Howard Rinehart in the race on 28 September 1920. A cable failure prevented the gear and flap mechanism from retracting, forcing him to withdraw as two Nieuport-Delage NiD.29V racers took first and second. After the race, it was returned to the United States and is now preserved at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. Many of its advanced features were used in a prototype fighter, the XPS-1.
Quick Facts
- Manufacturer
- Dayton-Wright
- Designer
- Howard Max Rinehart
- Milton C. Baumann
- Charles Hampson Grant
- Number built
- 1
- First flight
- 1920
- Variants
- Dayton-Wright XPS-1
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The RB-1 featured a monocoque fuselage and a cantilever wing built around a solid balsa wood core laminated with plywood and covered in linen. A mechanism designed by Charles Hampson Grant allowed the wing’s camber to vary in flight by adjusting the angles of the leading and trailing edges, with the trailing edge being a plain flap and the leading edge functioning similarly. The retractable undercarriage was operated by a hand-crank, and the wing’s configuration adapted to high-speed flight when the gear was retracted and to lower-speed flight when the gear was extended, as the two systems were mechanically linked.
The propeller shaft was mounted through a large oval radiator. The pilot had no forward view but was provided with flexible celluloid side windows. Cockpit access was through a hatch in the top of the fuselage. A prototype was built using non-retractable gear and strut-braced wings; a shorter tapered racing wing was installed afterward with leading and trailing edge flaps interconnected with landing gear deployment. The mechanisms and hinges for the wing flaps were exposed across the top of the solid wing. The racing wing produced directional instability, requiring small tail fins to be added.
Dismantled and shipped to France, the RB-1 was flown by Howard Rinehart in the 28 September 1920 race but was forced to withdraw after a cable failure prevented retraction of the gear/flap mechanism, allowing the two Nieuport-Delage NiD.29V racers to make a one-two finish. After the race it was returned to the United States and is now preserved at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.
Reader's Guide
The Dayton-Wright RB-1 Racer is significant for its pioneering integration of a retractable undercarriage and variable-camber wing, with the two systems mechanically linked to optimize the aircraft’s configuration for different flight regimes. This design, though advanced, proved unreliable in competition when a cable failure prevented retraction during the 1920 Gordon Bennett Cup. The aircraft’s legacy includes the incorporation of many of its advanced features into a prototype fighter, the Dayton-Wright XPS-1, a 1921 pursuit aircraft that used the RB landing gear design. The RB-1 itself survives as a preserved exhibit at the Henry Ford Museum, serving as a tangible record of early aerodynamic experimentation in racing aircraft. Its variable-camber wing mechanism, designed by Charles Hampson Grant, and its hand-crank retractable gear represent early attempts to reduce drag and improve performance, even if the complexity of the linked system contributed to its race-day failure.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Dayton-Wright RB-1 Racer?
It is a single-seat, high-wing monoplane racing aircraft built by Dayton-Wright in the United States, first flown in 1920. The model name RB-1 stands for Rinehart Baumann model one.
What made the Dayton-Wright RB-1's wing design stand out?
The cantilever wing incorporated a variable-camber mechanism that let the pilot reshape the wing's curvature mid-flight by shifting both its leading and trailing edges. Structurally, the wing used a solid balsa wood core, plywood lamination, and a linen covering.
How did the Dayton-Wright RB-1's retractable landing gear work?
The pilot cranked the gear in and out by hand, making it one of the earliest aircraft to feature a manually operated retractable landing-gear system.
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