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36-424: Mercury started as an aircraft supply house selling surplus parts for Curtiss JN-4 aircraft flown after World War I. Once the supply of parts ran out, the company manufactured various aircraft components including radios and dirigible gondolas. In 1927, the company renamed itself Mercury Aircraft . It was led by Joseph F. Meade, Sr. and Harvey Mummert. In 1928, Mercury came out with the two place all-metal aircraft,

72-744: A wheel . In addition, a foot bar was added to control the rudder . The 1st Aero Squadron of the Aviation Section, US Signal Corps received eight JN-2s at San Diego in July 1915. The squadron was transferred to Fort Sill , Oklahoma , in August to work with the Field Artillery School, during which one JN-2 crashed, resulting in a fatality. The pilots of the squadron met with its commander, Capt. Benjamin Foulois , to advise that

108-485: A 24-cent 1918 US Air Mail postage stamp printing error in which the blue central vignette of US Army Curtiss JN-4HM #38262, the nation's first mailplane , appeared as "inverted" on a single sheet of 100 stamps. In 1921, Lee De Forest made a short film Flying Jenny Airplane in his Phonofilm sound-on-film process. The film depicted a JN-4 flying, and recorded the sound of the Jenny, as well. The short documentary

144-610: A leading helicopter manufacturer, producing such well-known models as the UH-60 Black Hawk and SH-60 Seahawk , and experimental types such as the Sikorsky S-72 . Sikorsky has supplied the Presidential helicopter since 1957. Sikorsky's VH-3 and VH-60 perform this role now. The company acquired Helicopter Support Inc. (HSI) in 1998. HSI handles non-U.S. government aftermarket support for parts and repair for

180-612: A machine gun mounted in the rear cockpit) as an improvised bomb sight that was lined up with the long axis of his aircraft, loaded a bomb in a canvas mail bag that was attached to the JN-4's belly, and launched a single-handed raid at treetop level, in support of a USMC unit that had been trapped by Haitian Cacos rebels. Although the JN-4 almost disintegrated in the pullout, the attack was effective and led to Sanderson in 1920 developing further dive-bombing techniques to provide Marine pilots with close aerial support to infantry comrades. Although

216-564: A possible spin-off rather than a tax-heavy sale. On July 20, 2015, Lockheed Martin announced an agreement to purchase Sikorsky from UTC for $ 9.0 billion. The deal required review from eight different jurisdictions, and the final approval came in November 2015. The sale was completed on November 6, 2015. In 1980, the American Helicopter Society International offered a prize of US$ 10,000 for

252-605: A top speed of 75 mph (121 km/h) and a service ceiling of 6,500 ft (2,000 m). The British used the JN-4 (Canadian), along with the Avro 504 , for their primary World War I trainer using the Canadian Aeroplanes Ltd. indigenous variant. Many Royal Flying Corps pilots earned their wings on the JN-4, both in Ontario and later in winter facilities at Camp Taliaferro , Texas. Although ostensibly

288-488: A training aircraft, the Jenny was extensively modified while in service to undertake additional roles. Due to its robust but easily adapted structure able to be modified with ski undercarriage, the Canadian Jenny was flown year-round, even in inclement weather. The removable turtle deck behind the cockpits allowed for conversion to stretcher or additional supplies and equipment storage, with the modified JN-4s becoming

324-685: Is a large company-owned private heliport ( ICAO : KJSD , FAA LID : JSD ). Other Sikorsky facilities are in Trumbull , Shelton , and Bridgeport, Connecticut (with small company heliport ( FAA LID : CT37 )); Fort Worth, Texas ; West Palm Beach, Florida ; and Huntsville and Troy, Alabama . Sikorsky-owned subsidiaries are in Grand Prairie, Texas , and elsewhere around the world. In 2023, Sikorsky Aircraft celebrated their 100-year anniversary. In 2015, UTC considered Sikorsky to be less profitable than its other subsidiaries, and analyzed

360-761: Is a series of biplanes built by the Glenn Curtiss Aeroplane Company of Hammondsport, New York , later the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company . Although the Curtiss JN series was originally produced as a training aircraft for the US Army, the "Jenny" (the common nickname derived from "JN") continued after World War I as a civilian aircraft, becoming the "backbone of American postwar [civil] aviation". Thousands of surplus Jennys were sold at bargain prices to private owners in

396-542: Is an American aircraft manufacturer based in Stratford, Connecticut . It was established by the Russian aviation pioneer Igor Sikorsky in 1923, and was among the first companies to manufacture helicopters for civilian and military use. It also produced seaplanes for passenger transport and surface vehicles such as trains and boats. Sikorsky was owned by United Technologies Corporation until November 2015, when it

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432-711: The National Geographic special entitled "Treasures from the Past" featured the restoration and first flight by Ken Hyde of a JN-4D that would go on to win the "Lindy Award" at the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh '87. The stamp also made an appearance in the 1985 film starring Richard Pryor, Brewster's Millions , in which the titular character mails an "Inverted Jenny" stamp as part of a ploy to very quickly and frivolously spend as much money as possible. Sikorsky Aircraft Sikorsky Aircraft

468-771: The Elmira-Corning Regional Airport in Big Flats, New York . That same year Sikorsky purchased the PZL Mielec plant in Poland . The plant is assembling the S-70i for international customers. In February 2009, Sikorsky Global Helicopters was created as a business unit of Sikorsky Aircraft to focus on the construction and marketing of commercial helicopters. The business unit combined the main civil helicopters that were produced by Sikorsky Aircraft and

504-618: The Sikorsky Aviation Corporation with capital of $ 5,000,000, allowing the purchase of land and the building of a modern aircraft factory in Stratford. In 1929, the company moved to Stratford, Connecticut , and it became a part of United Aircraft and Transport Corporation (later United Technologies Corporation or UTC) in July of that year. In the United States, Igor Sikorsky originally concentrated on

540-1025: The Waco 6 . Between 1917 and 1919, the JN-4 type accounted for several significant aviation firsts while in service with the US Army Signal Corps Aviation Section and the United States Marine Corps (USMC), including flying the first US Air Mail in May 1918. In a series of tests conducted at the US Army's Langley Field in Hampton, Virginia, in July and August 1917, the world's first "plane-to-plane" and "ground-to-plane, and vice versa" communications by radiotelephony (as opposed to radiotelegraphy which had been developed earlier) were made to and from modified US Army JN-4s by Western Electric Company ( Bell Labs ) design engineers Lewis M. Clement and Raymond Heising,

576-470: The JN-2 was unsafe because of low power, shoddy construction, lack of stability, and overly sensitive rudder. Foulois and his executive officer Capt. Thomas D. Milling disagreed, and flights continued until a second JN-2 crashed in early September, resulting in the grounding of the six remaining JN-2s until mid-October. When two new JN-3s were delivered, the grounded aircraft were then upgraded in accordance with

612-514: The JN-4 (Canadian), also known as the " Canuck ", had some differences from the American version, including a lighter airframe, ailerons on both wings, a bigger and more rounded rudder, and differently shaped wings, stabilizer, and elevators. As many as 12 JN-4 aircraft were fitted with an aftermarket Sikorsky wing by the then-fledgling company in the late 1920s. The Curtiss JN-4 is possibly North America's most famous World War I aircraft. It

648-463: The Sikorsky product lines. UTC acquired Schweizer Aircraft Corp. in 2004, after which it operated as a subsidiary of Sikorsky. The product lines of the two firms were complementary, and had little overlap, as Sikorsky primarily concentrates on medium and large helicopters, while Schweizer produces small helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), gliders , and light planes. The Schweizer deal

684-539: The T-2 Mercury Chic for $ 3500. With a close relationship to Curtiss aircraft's home. Mercury built a replica of the 1908 AEA June Bug in 1976, flying it in airshows across the country. Mercury Corporation now operates in multiple locations around the world manufacturing custom and mass-production components. This aeronautical company–related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Curtiss JN-4 The Curtiss JN "Jenny"

720-783: The US Navy. A floatplane version was built for the navy, which was so modified, it was essentially a different airframe. This was designated the N-9 . In US Army Air Service usage, the JN-4s and JN-6s were configured to the JNS ("S" for "standardized") model. The Jenny remained in service with the US Army until 1927. After World War I, thousands were sold on the civilian market, including one to Charles Lindbergh in May 1923, in which he then soloed. Surplus US Army aircraft were sold (some still in their unopened packing crates) for as little as $ 50, flooding

756-558: The definitive JN-4D. Production from spare or reconditioned parts continued sporadically until 1927, although most of the final orders were destined for the civilian market in Canada and the United States. Like the re-engined JN-4H version of the most-produced JN-4 subtype, the final production version of the aircraft was the JN-6 , powered by a Wright Aeronautical license-built, 150 hp (112 kW) Hispano-Suiza 8 V-8, first ordered in 1918 for

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792-487: The developers of the experimental wind generator-powered airborne wireless voice transmitter and receiver equipment. In early 1919, a USMC JN-4 was also credited with what is believed to be the first successful dive-bombing attack during the United States occupation of Haiti . USMC pilot Lt Lawson H. Sanderson mounted a carbine barrel in front of the windshield of his JN-4 (previously, an unarmed trainer that had

828-587: The development of multiengine landplanes and then amphibious aircraft. In the late 1930s, sales declined and United Aircraft merged his division with Vought Aircraft . He then began work on developing a practical helicopter. After first flying the VS-300 he developed the Sikorsky R-4 , the first stable, single-rotor, fully controllable helicopter to enter full-scale production in 1942, upon which most subsequent helicopters were based. Sikorsky Aircraft remains

864-625: The first aerial ambulances, carrying out this role both during wartime and in later years. Most of the 6,813 Jennys built were unarmed, although some had machine guns and bomb racks for advanced training. With deployment limited to North American bases, none saw combat service in World War I. The Curtiss factory in Buffalo, New York, was the largest such facility in the world, but due to production demands, from November 1917 to January 1919, six different manufacturers were involved in production of

900-508: The first human-powered helicopter flight (60-second duration, a height of 3 meters, and staying within an area of 10 x 10 m) and soon increased prize money to US$ 25,000. In 2010, Sikorsky Aircraft pledged to increase the prize sponsorship to US$ 250,000. Canadian engineers Dr. Todd Reichert and Cameron Robertson developed the world's largest human-powered helicopter with a team from the University of Toronto . The first flight of AeroVelo Atlas

936-512: The first series of JN-4s was virtually identical to the JN-3, the JN-4 series was based on production orders from 1915 to 1919. Data from Curtiss Aircraft 1907–1947, The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft General characteristics Performance An image of the Curtis Jenny appeared on the first airmail stamps issued by the U.S. Post Office in 1918 The " Inverted Jenny " (C-3a) is

972-693: The helicopter business of Schweizer Aircraft that Sikorsky had acquired in 2004. It was based at Coatesville, Pennsylvania until 2022. In 2011, Sikorsky laid off 400 workers at the Hawk Works plant, and later in 2012 the remaining 570 workers and closed all Sikorsky facilities in Chemung County; moving the military completion work to their West Palm Beach, Florida, facility. The commercial products had already been moved to their Coatesville, Pennsylvania facility. Sikorsky's main plant and administrative offices are located in Stratford, Connecticut, as

1008-569: The market. With private and commercial flying in North America unhampered by regulations concerning their use, pilots found the Jenny's stability and slow speed made it ideal for stunt flying and aerobatic displays in the barnstorming era between the world wars, with the nearly identical Standard J-1 aircraft often used alongside it. Some were still flying into the 1930s. JN-4 airframes were used to produce early Weaver Aircraft Company / Advance Aircraft Company / Waco aircraft, such as

1044-610: The new design. In March 1916, these eight JN-3s were deployed to Mexico for aerial observation during the Pancho Villa Expedition of 1916–1917. After the successful deployment of the JN-3, Curtiss produced a development, known as the JN-4, with orders from both the US Army and an order in December 1916 from the Royal Flying Corps for a training aircraft to be based in Canada. The Canadian version,

1080-608: The years after the war, and became central to the barnstorming era that helped awaken the US to civil aviation through much of the 1920s. Curtiss combined the best features of the model J and model N trainers , built for the US Army and US Navy , and began producing the JN or "Jenny" series of aircraft in 1915. Curtiss built only a limited number of the JN-1 and JN-2 biplanes . The design

1116-484: Was achieved in August 2012, the 64-second, 3.3-m-flight that won the prize on June 13, 2013. Sikorsky designates nearly all of its models with S-numbers; numbers S-1 through S-27 were designed by Igor Sikorsky before he left the Russian Empire. Later models, especially helicopters, received multiple designations by the military services using them, often depending on purpose (UH, SH, and MH for instance), even if

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1152-550: Was commissioned by Glenn Curtiss from Englishman Benjamin Douglas Thomas, formerly of the Sopwith Aviation Company . The JN-2 was an equal-span biplane with ailerons controlled by a shoulder yoke in the aft cockpit . It was deficient in performance, particularly climbing, because of excessive weight. The improved JN-3 incorporated unequal spans with ailerons only on the upper wings, controlled by

1188-529: Was signed on August 26, 2004, exactly one week after the death of Paul Schweizer , the company's founder and majority owner. In late 2005, Sikorsky completed the purchase of Keystone Helicopter Corporation, located in Coatesville, Pennsylvania . Keystone had been maintaining and completing Sikorsky S-76 and S-92 helicopters prior to the sale. In 2007, Sikorsky opened the Hawk Works, a Rapid Prototyping and Military Derivatives Completion Center located west of

1224-662: Was sold to Lockheed Martin . On March 5, 1923, the Sikorsky Aero Engineering Corporation was founded near Roosevelt Field , New York, by Igor Sikorsky , an immigrant to the United States who was born in Kyiv , Ukraine (then part of the Russian Empire ). In 1925, the company name was changed to Sikorsky Manufacturing Company . After the success of the S-38 , the company was reorganized as

1260-561: Was the first production of the De Forest Phonofilm company. Among many later films depicting the barnstorming era when the Jennys "ruled supreme" and played a feature role, was The Spirit of St. Louis (1957) and The Great Waldo Pepper (1974). In The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955), authentic OX-5 Jennys were showcased as United States Army Air Service training aircraft. Broadcast on April 15, 1987, by PBS ,

1296-428: Was widely used during World War I to train beginning pilots, with an estimated 95% of all trainees having flown a JN-4. The US version was called "Jenny", a derivation from its official designation. It was a twin-seat (student in front of instructor), dual-control biplane. Its tractor propeller and maneuverability made it ideal for initial pilot training with a 90  hp (67 kW) Curtiss OX-5 V8 engine giving

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