On this day in 1911, the U.S. Army Signal Corps accepted its third airplane, a Wright Model B, designated Signal Corps Airplane No. 3. Purchased alongside the Curtiss Model D after Congress released funding for military aeronautics, it was the first Army aircraft built with wheeled landing gear instead of skids, and it helped triple the size of the Army’s fledgling air fleet.

Aircraft: Wright Model B

• Length: 29 ft 3 in (8.9 m)
• Wingspan: 39 ft (11.9 m)
• Height: 8 ft 1 in (2.5 m)
• Engine: Wright vertical inline four-cylinder, 32 to 40 hp
• Top speed: 45 mph (72 km/h)
• Endurance: approximately 3 hours