Aeronautical Job

In 1908 the Aeronautical Division, at the intercession of President Theodore Roosevelt in the acquisition process, purchased a nonrigid dirigible from Thomas Scott Baldwin for $6,750, and an airplane from the Wright Brothers for $25,000. Specification No. 486 required both types of airships be able to carry two persons. The dirigible had to be able to carry a load of 450 pounds and reach a speed of 20 miles per hour (mph) while the airplane's requirements were a load of 350 pounds, a speed of 40 mph, and a flying distance of at least 125 miles.
1st Lt. Frank Lahm and Orville Wright in the first U.S. Army airplane, July 27, 1909. The dirigible was delivered first, in July 1908, after Baldwin submitted an extremely low bid to ensure receiving the contract ($25,000 had been budgeted). Baldwin and Glenn Curtiss flew the test trials and met all specifications except speed, which was just under the requirement. During August, Baldwin trained three officer candidates to fly the dirigible: First lieutenants Thomas E. Selfridge, Field Artillery; Benjamin D. Folios, Infantry; and Captain Frank P. Lahm, Cavalry. Foulois was trained as the first dirigible pilot and prepared to move the ship from Fort Omaha to St. Joseph, Missouri, for a state fair exhibition. However the first solo ascent in the dirigible, and the first flight solely by army pilots, did not occur until May 26, 1909.
The Wright Brothers, who had been asking $100,000 for their airplane, then agreed to sell an airplane satisfying the requirements for $25,000 (they also received a $5,000 bonus for exceeding the speed requirement). The airplane was delivered to Fort Myer, Virginia, for trials. The first acceptance flight of the airplane was made on September 3, 1908, at Fort Myer, with Orville at the controls. Selfridge and Lahm were named official observers of the trials of the Wright aeroplane for September 1908. Both Lahm and Major Squier made acceptance flights as observers, and on September 13 Wright kept the airplane aloft for an hour and ten minutes. On September 17 Selfridge was flying as observer with Orville Wright when at 150 feet a propeller broke severing a wire to the rudder which caused the plane to crash. Wright was injured and Selfridge was killed, the first military airplane casualty.
Orville Wright, along with Wilbur this time, returned to Fort Myer in June 1909 with a new though smaller & faster airplane. The brothers spent the better part of the month fine tuning the airplane and warming up for the final tests and also bad flying weather hampered much of July. For this year's acceptance trials both Lahm & Foulois(Selfridge had been killed the previous year) were named as official observers with the trials starting on July 27, 1909. Lahm flew with Wright on July 27. On July 30, 1909, Foulois & Wright in a final acceptance of the Wright aeroplane made a cross country flight of 10 miles to Alexandria, Virginia and back to Fort Myer. This flight broke all of the existing records for speed, duration with a passenger and altitude with a passenger. Pleased with the performance of this airplane the Army purchased it awarding the Wrights 5,000 dollars for each mile achieved over 40mph. The plane's best speed had been 45mph.