View source for AEA Red Wing

{{Short description|Aircraft designed by Thomas Selfridge in 1908}}

{{Infobox aircraft
 |name=AEA Red Wing
 |image=AEA Red Wing (Aerodrome 1).jpg
 |caption=
 |type=Early experimental aircraft
 |manufacturer=[[Aerial Experiment Association]]
 |designer=[[Thomas Selfridge]]
 |first_flight=12 March 1908
 |introduction=
 |retired=
 |status=Destroyed on second flight
 |primary_user=Aerial Experiment Association
 |more_users=
 |produced=
 |number_built=
 |unit cost=
 |variants=
}}

The '''Red Wing''' (or '''Aerodrome #1''') was an early aircraft designed by [[Thomas Selfridge]] and built by the [[Aerial Experiment Association]] in 1908. It was named for the bright red color of its silk wings — chosen to achieve the best result with [[Orthochromasia#Orthochromatic photography|the photographic materials]] and techniques of the day.

On 12 March 1908 [[Frederick W. Baldwin]] piloted the aircraft off the frozen [[Keuka Lake]] near [[Hammondsport, New York]] in what would be the first public demonstration of a powered aircraft flight in the United States as well as the first flight by a Canadian pilot.<ref name="Washington Post">"Selfridge Aerodrome Sails Steadily for 319 Feet. At 25 to 30 miles an Hour." ''[[The Washington Post]]'', 13 May 1908.</ref>

Contemporary accounts described the flight as the "First Public Trip of Heavier-than-air Car in America."  Reports entitled "Views of an Expert" stated that Professor [[Alexander Graham Bell]]'s new machine, the Red Wing, built from plans by Lieutenant Selfridge, was "shown to be practicable by flight over Keuka Lake, Hammondsport, New York, 12 March 1908 by F. W. Baldwin, the engineer in charge of its construction."<ref name="Washington Post"/>

The aircraft covered 319&nbsp;ft (97 m) at a height of around 20&nbsp;ft (6 m). This was said to be the longest "first flight" by either an aircraft or a pilot, up to that date.  On March 17 Baldwin attempted a second flight, also from the ice of Keuka Lake, before crashing 20 seconds after takeoff.<ref>House, Kirk W., Hell-Rider to King of the Air: Glenn Curtiss's Life on Innovation (SAE International, 2003), pp. 74-76.</ref> A portion of the [[Empennage|tail]] gave way, bringing the test to an end. The Red Wing was damaged beyond repair.

==Specifications (Red Wing)==
{{Aircraft specs
|prime units?=imp
|crew=1
|length ft=26 
|length m=8.0 
|span ft=43
|span in=4
|span m=13.21 
|gross weight main=<!--  lb -->
|gross weight alt=<!--  kg -->
|max takeoff weight main=<!--  lb -->
|max takeoff weight alt=<!--  kg -->

|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=[[Curtiss B-8]]
|eng1 type=air-cooled [[V8 engine]]
|eng1 hp=40 
|eng1 kw=30

|range miles=0.06
|wing loading main=<!--  lb/ft² -->
|wing loading alt=<!--  kg/m² -->

}}

==References==
;Notes
{{reflist}}
;Bibliography
{{refbegin}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050601045421/http://www.aerofiles.com/_ab.html ''Aerofiles'']. Retrieved: 19 May 2005.
*[http://best-breezes.squarespace.com/the-red-wing-aerodrome-1/ "The Red Wing - Aerodrome 1"]. Retrieved: 18 April 2016.
{{refend}}

==See also==
{{commons category}}
{{aircontent

|lists=
* [[List of experimental aircraft]]

}}

{{AEA aircraft}}
{{Alexander Graham Bell}}

[[Category:Aerial Experiment Association aircraft|Red Wing]]
[[Category:1900s Canadian experimental aircraft]]
[[Category:1900s United States experimental aircraft]]
[[Category:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1908]]
[[Category:Single-engined piston aircraft]]