The Curtiss Fledgling , known internally to Curtiss as the Model 48 and Model 51 is a trainer aircraft developed for the United States Navy in the late 1920s and known in that service as the N2C .
21-408: The Fledgling was designed in response to a 1927 Navy requirement for a new primary trainer, and was selected after evaluation in competition with fourteen other submissions. The Fledgling was a conventional biplane design with two-bay, staggered wings of equal span braced with N-struts. The pilot and instructor sat in tandem, open cockpits, and the fixed tailskid undercarriage could be easily swapped for
42-557: A division of Curtiss-Wright ). The family began with nine-cylinder engines, and later expanded to include five-cylinder and seven-cylinder varieties. Fourteen-cylinder twin-row versions were also developed, but these were not commercially produced. The Whirlwind series was succeeded by more powerful but still air-cooled radial aero engines, notably the Pratt & Whitney Wasp series and the Wright Cyclone series . The Whirlwind
63-733: A large central pontoon and outrigger floats under the wings for seaplane training. The Navy ordered two batches of the Fledgling, each powered by different versions of the Wright Whirlwind engine, both of which were built under the Curtiss designation Model 48 . Believing the design to have commercial potential, Curtiss developed the Model 51 as a civil equivalent powered by the less powerful Curtiss Challenger engine. The company operated 109 of these aircraft in its own air taxi service,
84-506: A number of military aircraft prototypes, but neither engine reached the production stage. Air-cooled Whirlwinds were lighter and more reliable than liquid-cooled engines of similar power, since a liquid cooling system added weight and required extra maintenance. Thanks to these advantages Whirlwind engines were used widely and were built in large numbers. Licensed copies were produced by manufacturers such as Continental Motors , Hispano-Suiza , and adapted for Soviet government production by
105-619: A range of different power levels using the same basic design. Of these, the R-975 proved the most popular, especially because of its use in armored fighting vehicles during World War II . During the mid-1930s, Wright also developed two fourteen-cylinder double-row versions of the Whirlwind, the R-1510 of 600 hp (450 kW), and the R-1670 of 800 hp (600 kW). These were used in
126-744: The Curtiss Flying Service during the 1930s. A number of these aircraft were experimentally fitted with the same Wright engines used in their military counterparts as the J-1 and J-2 , but these were not produced in quantity. Another experimental variant, the reduced-wingspan Fledgling Junior was produced to the extent of a single prototype only. A number of Model 51s were exported to foreign military services for evaluation: four to Canada and one to Czechoslovakia, but these did not lead to any purchases. Curtiss also delivered at least seven N2C-1 kits to Turkey in 1933, as part of an agreement to produce
147-706: The Curtiss Hawk Model 35 under licence in Turkey. These N2C-1s were used as trainers and liaison aircraft by the Turkish Air Force until 1945. At least one N2C-1 is thought to have been given to Iran as a gift from the Turkish Air Force. Data from Curtiss aircraft : 1907-1947 General characteristics Performance Wright Whirlwind The Wright Whirlwind was a family of air-cooled radial aircraft engines built by Wright Aeronautical (originally an independent company, later
168-488: The Shvetsov OKB-19 design bureau . The Whirlwind's success led to the development of other air-cooled radial engines throughout the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. J-4 (1924) J-5 / R-790 (1925) J-6-5 / R-540 (1928) J-6-7 / R-760 (1928) J-6-9 / R-975 (1928) R-1510 R-1670 Comparable engines Related lists Continental Motors Company Continental Motors Company
189-554: The 1931 De Vaux, a product of the De Vaux-Hall, which had been using body dies left over from the former Durant produced by Durant Motors until 1930. The 1933 Continentals were marketed in three model ranges: the largest and most expensive was the six-cylinder Ace , next was a smaller six called the Flyer and also the low-priced four-cylinder Beacon . The 1933 Beacon roadster was the lowest price full-size car offered for sale in
210-815: The De Vaux-Hall Motors Company, using the Durant body dies, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Oakland, California, and under the De Vaux brand name. When De Vaux-Hall collapsed in 1932, unable to pay creditors, Continental Motors assumed automobile assembly and marketed the vehicles under the Continental-De Vaux brand name for the balance of the 1932 model year. Continental Motors introduced a completely new line of Continental-branded automobiles for 1933. These cars were not based upon
231-537: The United States in the 1930s, costing only $ US335. None of these met with success in the depression era economy. At this same time, Dominion Motors Ltd. of Canada was building the same Flyer and Beacon cars under arrangement with Continental for sale in the Canadian market, and importing the larger Ace models. Dominion then converted to building Reo brand trucks. The Ace and Flyer models were discontinued at
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#1732791531612252-793: The close of the 1933 model year. Finding that its cars were unprofitable, Continental stopped assembling even Beacon automobiles in 1934. Continental was a major manufacturer of horizontally opposed 'flat four' airplane engines and supplied a similar engine for Sherman tanks during World War II. Apparently the US government contracts continued during the Korean War. As the jet engine began to replace piston engine powered airplanes, Continental began losing their military contracts. The jet engine technology thus creating an understandable end to Continental's military prosperity. When Korean War ended, Kaiser Corporation, who used Continental engines in all their vehicles,
273-567: The late 1930s 7 and 9 cylinder air cooled radial aircraft engines were adapted for use in armored vehicles. The W670 and R975 were considered very reliable by the British in North Africa, but were not developed further. Opposed: just after WWII an air cooled O6 was developed for armored vehicles. All were supercharged, AOS895-3 models had carburetors, -5 models had fuel injection with no increase in power, but greater fuel mileage. V type: in
294-475: The mid-1960s. However, Stutz built both single and dual overhead cam inline six-cylinder engines in, respectively, the late 1920s and early 1930s (sohc) and the early 1930s (dohc). Moreover, these were fitted in Stutz production cars (though their numbers were comparatively small). Particular models of John Deere tractors are currently being supplied by Continental since the ownership transfer to Korea, as stated on
315-464: The production of automobiles rather indirectly. Continental was the producer of automobile engines for numerous independent automobile companies in the 1910s, 1920s, and 1930s, including Durant Motors Corporation which used the engines in its Star, Durant, Flint and Rugby model lines. Following the 1931 collapse of Durant, a group having interest in Durant Motors began assembling their own cars,
336-528: The tractor's engine identification plate. Continental built many engines for the US military, some by license, and many of unusual type. Inline: several conventional gasoline I6s were built for trucks, the COA331 (licensed from REO), 6602, 22R, and AO895 (also used in some armored vehicles). Later the M-A-N licensed multifuel LDS427, LD465 and turbocharged LDT465 were developed, also for use in trucks. Radial: in
357-756: Was a direct descendant of the Lawrance J-1 , a nine-cylinder air-cooled radial built by the Lawrance Aero Engine Company for the U.S. Navy. Because the Navy was very enthusiastic about air-cooled radials, but was concerned that Lawrance could not produce enough engines for its needs, it forced Wright to purchase the Lawrance company in 1923 and build the J-1 itself. Wright's J-1 was the first engine in its nine-cylinder R-790 Whirlwind series and
378-635: Was able to gain ownership of a Continental engine making factory.* It was during that time of downsizing Continental's operations that many Continental employees dispersed to find jobs elsewhere in the industry -those engineers finding new jobs at other companies like the newly formed American Motors, even Chevrolet. Kaiser, working with a Continental-designed engine, introduced the USA's first mass-produced OHC inline six-cylinder engine. It debuted in Kaiser-owned Jeep Corporation vehicles in
399-441: Was an American manufacturer of internal combustion engines . The company produced engines as a supplier to many independent manufacturers of automobiles, tractors, trucks, and stationary equipment (such as pumps, generators , and industrial machinery drives) from the 1900s through the 1960s. Continental Motors also produced automobiles in 1932–1933 under the name Continental Automobile Company. The Continental Aircraft Engine Company
420-649: Was formed in 1929 to develop and produce its aircraft engines , and would become the core business of Continental Motors, Inc. In 1905 , Continental Motors was born with the introduction of a four-cylinder, four stroke cycle L-head engine operated by a single camshaft . In August 1929, the Continental Motors Company formed the Continental Aircraft Engine Company as a subsidiary to develop and produce its aircraft engines. Continental Motors entered into
441-594: Was quickly followed by the J-3, J-4, J-4A, J-4B, and finally the popular and successful J-5 of 1925. In 1928, Wright replaced the R-790 series with the J-6 Whirlwind family, in which a supercharger was added to boost engine power and the cylinders were enlarged by expanding the bore . This family included three members: the nine-cylinder R-975 , the seven-cylinder R-760 , and the five-cylinder R-540 , providing
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