Charles Knotek: First Airplane Purchased By U.S. Army

Artist: Charles Knotek
1933 -
Nationality: American
Artwork Year: 1983
Image Size: 16.25 by 12.75 inches
Overall Size: 19.75 by 14.75 inches
Medium: Mixed Media on Cold Press Illustration Board

After their remarkable 1903 success at Kittyhawk, Orville and Wilbur Wright continued to prgress in the field of aeronautics by experimenting and improving their airplane designs. In fact, by 1908, they felt confident that they could develop an aircraft that could be of practical use to the United States Army. However, when the Army investigated the possibilities of air travel on a large scale, they set manmy rigorous standards that seemed impossible to reach, in light of the primitive technology of the day. For example, to be acceptable by the Army, an aircraft had to be able to: fly non-stop for one hour carrying a passenger ... fly at forty miles per hour ... carry sufficient fuel for a flight of 125 miles ... and be easily disassembled and reassembled, suitable for overland transportation in a supply wagon. Despite these stringent standards, the Wright Brothers strove to develop an aircraft that would be acceptable to Army officials. By July 30, 1909, they built an airplane ... soon to be known as "Army Aircraft #1" ... that not only met all of the Army's criteria, but actually exceeded the forty mile per hour speed requirement -- traveling 42.85 miles per hour. The United States Army paid Orville and Wilbur Wright $30,000, and claimed their very first airplane on August 2, 1909.

This painting was originally published on the Fleetwood® Commemorative Cover for the Man's Conquest of the Heavens series issued in 1983.

Artwork Copyright © 1983 Unicover Corporation. All Rights Reserved under United States and international copyright laws. You may not reproduce, distribute, transmit, or otherwise exploit the Artwork in any way. Images of the Artwork may be watermarked and/or digitally watermarked. Any sale of the physical original does not include or convey the Copyright or any right comprised in the copyright.

Our Stock Number (SKU): XB08153

US$ Price: $1,500.00

Easy Purchase Plan: Buy this ArtworkOriginal with 8 monthly payments. Shipping and handling will be added to the first payment. Payments will be charged automatically as due to your Credit Card.

How to buy Original Artwork:

If you would like to buy Original Artwork, there are several convenient ways:

Use The Artwork Gallery: simply click the "Hang in Gallery" for pictures of interest. This puts the picture in your Personal Artwork Gallery, where you can view or remove it. When you've finished hanging artwork in your Personal Artwork Gallery, Go to your Personal Artwork Gallery and select an option for contacting us or ordering from us from there.

To get in touch with us directly about a piece of Artwork by Phone note the SKU and dial TOLL FREE 1-800-443-4225 from throughout U.S. and Canada.