Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight

Curtiss JN-4D 'Jenny'

Between 1915 and 1920, more than 10,000 Jennys were built, making the Curtiss JN-4D the first aircraft produced in large numbers. More than 9,000 pilots -- 95% of all American pilots at the time -- learned to fly in the Army Air Corps in World War 1. When the war ended in 1919, the Army had little use for the trainers, and sold them for ridiculously low prices. Almost without delay, the barnstorming era was born.
The overwhelming majority of the first tens of thousands of flights taken by Americans were in Jennys hopped at barnstorming shows. Veteran pilots scuffled to make ends meet by doing stunts and hiring out such rides, thereby introducing the American public to the air. Also notable is the revolutionary "tractor" design: engines moved from the rear of the plane to the front thanks to Curtiss' design efforts. The U.S. Army demanded the change for pilot safety in the event of crash, and today the fundamental design history of the biplane still carries vestiges of the JN blueprint.
Descriptions from - www.microsoft.com/games/flightsimulator/aircraft.asp |  >> 2009 update - web page is gone <<
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