The Wright Model L was a prototype high-speed reconnaissance aircraft built by the Wright Company in 1916 to meet a specification by the U.S. military.MacFarland 1953, p.1210 It bore no resemblance to previous Wright designs.Hallion 2019, p.72Roach 2015, p.110 Already obsolete compared to European military aircraft of the time,Hallion 2019, p.71Roach 2015, p.111 it attracted no orders, and only the single prototype was built.
By the time it was brought to market, Orville Wright had already left the company. It would be the last aircraft built by the Wright Company before it merged with the Glenn L. Martin Company, and the last Wright aircraft built at Dayton.
Design The Model L was a two-bay unstaggered biplane with equal-span wings.MacFarland 1953, p.1209 The pilot sat in an open cockpit.MacFarland 1953, p.1209 A piston engine was mounted in the nose, which drove a tractor propeller mounted directly to it. It had a conventional tail and was fitted with fixed, tailskid undercarriage. Directional control was provided via ailerons. Aviation historian Richard P. Hallion described it as the "antithesis" of established Wright design.
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