The Curtiss Standard JN-4B Military Tractor Hand Book

Buffalo. Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Corporation. 1917. Bound in imprinted green cloth over boards. Thin 8vo (5"x8"). The First Edition. Illustrated with diagrams, 3 of which are fold-outs,detailing the specs and assembly instructions for the airplane.Laid-into volume are two Request for Transportation receipts issued by the U.S. War Department and a period Morse Code Pocket Signal Disk. The Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" was one of a series of "JN" biplanes built by the Curtiss Aeroplane Company of Hammondsport, New York, later the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company. Although the Curtiss JN series (the common nickname was derived from "JN") was originally produced as a training aircraft for the U.S. Army, the "Jenny" continued post-World War I as a civil aircraft as it became the "backbone of American post-war [civil] aviation.Thousands of surplus Jennys were sold at bargain prices to private owners in the years after the War and became central to the barnstorming era that helped awaken America to civil aviation through much of the 1920s.The Curtiss JN-4 is possibly North America's most famous World War I aircraft. It was widely used during World War I to train beginning pilots, with an estimated 95% of all trainees having flown a JN-4. The U.S. 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 prop and maneuverability made it ideal for initial pilot training with a 90 horsepower (67 kW) Curtiss OX-5 V8 engine giving a top speed of 75 miles per hour (121 km/h) and a service ceiling of 6,500 feet (2,000 m).The JN-4B was powered by an OX-2 piston engine, 76 built for the U.S. Army, nine for the U.S. Navy.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, essentially "flooding" the market.With private and commercial flying in North America unhampered by regulations concerning their use, pilots found the Jenny's slow speed and stability 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. Small Blind embossed stamp of the State of California Bureau of Weights and Measures to lower corner of Front Free Endsheet and Title Page. A bit musty, else a Near Fine, bright, crisp copy unblemished by foxing or any other blemish to text or plates.