The Wright Seaplane Base / Wright Model G “Aeroboat”

After Wilbur Wright died in 1912, Orville Wright continued to develop and fly airplanes for the Wright Company. Orville flew seaplanes along this part of the Great Miami River from 1913 to 1914. This area had three advantages: deep water formed by a hydraulic dam, freedom from man-made obstructions, and a 90 degree bend in the river that allow him to take off and land either north-south or east-west, depending on prevailing winds. In June and July 1913, Orville made more than 100 flights, frequently with passengers, in the Wright Model C-H “hydroplane.” In 1913 and 1914, Orville and Wright Co. chief engineer Grover Loening developed the Wright Model G “aeroboat.”

[Side B]: The Wright Model G “Aeroboat” had a solid hull or fuselage with enclosed cockpit. The aircraft was 28 feet long, had a wingspan of 38 feet, and weighed approximately 1,250 pounds. Powered by two rear-mounted engines and propelled by twin pusher propellers, the Model G’s maximum speed was 60 miles per hour. It’s believed that Orville’s last flight in the Model G was on August 20, 1914. On that day, Orville, accompanied by student pilot and Navy Lieutenant Kenneth Whiting, narrowly escaped drowning when a wing broke on their aircraft and the plane fell into the Miami River from an altitude of 30 feet.