Dayton-Wright Messenger
title: "Dayton-Wright Messenger" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["dayton-wright-aircraft", "1910s-united-states-military-reconnaissance-aircraft", "single-engined-tractor-aircraft", "biplanes", "aircraft-first-flown-in-1918"] topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dayton-Wright_Messenger" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox aircraft"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | T-4 Messenger |
| image | Dayton-Wright T-4 Messenger.jpg |
| aircraft_type | Reconnaissance aircraft |
| manufacturer | Dayton-Wright |
| designer | Oliver Thomas |
| number_built | 1 |
| first_flight | 1918 |
| :: |
NOTOC | name = T-4 Messenger | logo = | logo_size = | image = Dayton-Wright T-4 Messenger.jpg | alt = | caption = | long_caption = | other_names = | aircraft_type = Reconnaissance aircraft | aim = | outcome = | related = | national_origin = | manufacturer = Dayton-Wright | design_group = | designer = Oliver Thomas | builder = | issuer = | status = | owners = | primary_user = | more_users = | service = | major_applications = | proposals = | prototypes = | number_built = 1 | construction_number = | civil_registration = | military_serial = | radio_code = | requirement = | aircraft_carried = | flights = | total_hours = | total_distance = | construction_date = | introduction = | retired = | first_flight = 1918 | initiated = | in_service = | last_flight = | expected = | developed_from = | variants = | developed_into = | preservation = | fate = | predecessors = | successors = | concluded = The Dayton-Wright T-4 Messenger was a light, single-seat reconnaissance aircraft built in the United States by the Dayton-Wright Company in 1918 in the hope of gaining a production contract from the United States Army. It was a small conventional single-bay biplane with a neatly streamlined fuselage and staggered, equal-span wings. The undercarriage was of fixed tailskid type and the pilot sat in an open cockpit. Although diminutive, the design in fact started life as a scaled-up version of the Dayton-Wright Bug and shared a family resemblance to the de Havilland DH.4 that Dayton-Wright was building under licence during World War I. When the US Army was not interested in the aircraft, plans were made to sell it on the civil market, but these came to nothing and the prototype was the only example ever built.
Specifications
|ref=General Dynamics Aircraft and their Predecessors |prime units?=imp
|crew=One (pilot) |capacity= |length m= |length ft=17 |length in=6 |length note= |span m= |span ft=19 |span in=3 |span note= |height m= |height ft=6 |height in=1 |height note= |wing area sqm= |wing area sqft=106 |wing area note= |aspect ratio= |airfoil= |empty weight kg= |empty weight lb=385 |empty weight note= |gross weight kg= |gross weight lb=636 |gross weight note= |max takeoff weight kg= |max takeoff weight lb= |max takeoff weight note= |fuel capacity= |more general=
|eng1 number=1 |eng1 name=De Palma |eng1 type=two-stroke V-4 engine |eng1 kw= |eng1 hp=37 |eng1 note= |power original=
|max speed kmh= |max speed mph=85 |max speed kts= |max speed note= |max speed mach= |cruise speed kmh= |cruise speed mph= |cruise speed kts= |cruise speed note= |stall speed kmh= |stall speed mph= |stall speed kts= |stall speed note= |never exceed speed kmh= |never exceed speed mph= |never exceed speed kts= |never exceed speed note= |range km= |range miles= |range nmi= |range note= |combat range km= |combat range miles= |combat range nmi= |combat range note= |ferry range km= |ferry range miles= |ferry range nmi= |ferry range note= |endurance=2.5 hours |ceiling m= |ceiling ft= |ceiling note= |g limits= |roll rate= |glide ratio= |climb rate ms= |climb rate ftmin= |climb rate note= |time to altitude=10 minutes to 3000 ft |lift to drag= |wing loading kg/m2= |wing loading lb/sqft= |wing loading note= |fuel consumption kg/km= |fuel consumption lb/mi= |power/mass=
|more performance=
|avionics=
References
;Citations ;Bibliography
References
- Wegg 1990, p. 37.
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