Curtiss Fledgling

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Model 48, Model 51, and N2C Fledgling
Curtiss N2C-2 Naval Aviation Museum.jpg
A Curtiss N2C-2 at the National Museum of Naval Aviation
RoleTrainer
Manufacturer Curtiss
First flight1927
Primary users United States Navy
Curtiss Flying Service
Number builtc. 160
Variants Curtiss Lark
Curtiss Carrier Pigeon

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.

Contents

Design and development

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 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, 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 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.

Curtiss Fledgling N2C1 on display. 3/4 front view N2C1 Aircraft.jpg
Curtiss Fledgling N2C1 on display. 3/4 front view

Variants

An N2C-2 target drone, in 1938/39. Curtiss N2C-2 NAF drone 1938-39.jpg
An N2C-2 target drone, in 1938/39.
Curtiss XN2C-1 floatplane photo from Aero Digest April 1928 Curtiss XN2C-1 floatplane Aero Digest April 1928.jpg
Curtiss XN2C-1 floatplane photo from Aero Digest April 1928
Model 48
XN2C-1
Navy prototypes (3 built)
N2C-1
Navy version powered by Wright J-5 Whirlwind (31 built)
N2C-2
Navy version powered by Wright J-6-7 Whirlwind (20 built)
Model 51
Fledgling
commercial version with Curtiss Challenger engine (109 built)
J-1
commercial version with Wright J-6-5 Whirlwind engine (four converted)
J-2
commercial version with Wright J-6-7 Whirlwind engine built to N2C-2 standard (two converted)
Fledgling Junior
reduced wingspan version (one built)
Fledgling Guardsman
convertible civil-military challenger powered versions.
A-3
designation assigned by the United States Army Air Corp USAAC for use of the Fledgling as a radio-controlled target aircraft

Operators

Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina
Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil
Canadian Red Ensign (1921-1957).svg  Canada
Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czechoslovakia
Flag of Iran.svg  Iran
Flag of Peru.svg  Peru
Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey
Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States

Aircraft on display

Specifications (N2C-1)

Curtiss XN2C-1 3-view drawing from Le Document aeronautique November,1928 Curtiss XN2C-1 3-view Le Document aeronautique November,1928.png
Curtiss XN2C-1 3-view drawing from Le Document aéronautique November,1928

Data from Curtiss aircraft : 1907-1947 [1]

General characteristics

Performance

References

  1. Bowers, Peter M. (1979). Curtiss aircraft : 1907-1947. London: Putnam. pp. 200–205. ISBN   0-370-10029-8.
  2. Lednicer, David. "The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage". m-selig.ae.illinois.edu. Retrieved 16 April 2019.

Bibliography

Further reading