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Fleet N2Y
Many enthusiasts are familiar with the Fleet biplane series of aircraft and their reputation as reliable and forgiving machines. But what might not be well known is their role in the airborne aircraft carrier mission during the 1920s. Outside of landing in fields and hopping rides, these barnstorming biplanes were pressed into naval service and used to test the feasibility of launching and recovering fighter aircraft aboard the U.S.S. Macon and U.S.S. Akron, two airships designed by the Navy for this exact purpose. This was accomplished by mounting a trapeze-hooking system onto the upper wing with a horn extending from the assembly to protect the propeller from striking the mechanism aboard the airship during operations. Quite a unique job for a unique and sentimental little biplane!
Click here to learn more!
Fleet N2Y
Many enthusiasts are familiar with the Fleet biplane series of aircraft and their reputation as reliable and forgiving machines. But what might not be well known is their role in the airborne aircraft carrier mission during the 1920s. Outside of landing in fields and hopping rides, these barnstorming biplanes were pressed into naval service and used to test the feasibility of launching and recovering fighter aircraft aboard the U.S.S. Macon and U.S.S. Akron, two airships designed by the Navy for this exact purpose. This was accomplished by mounting a trapeze-hooking system onto the upper wing with a horn extending from the assembly to protect the propeller from striking the mechanism aboard the airship during operations. Quite a unique job for a unique and sentimental little biplane!
Click here to learn more!
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Standard J
If you've watched The Great Waldo Pepper, you have seen the Standard J in the wild! It is often confused with the famed Curtiss Jenny but there are certain details that will instantly make this aircraft recognizable when the two are compared. The Hall-Scott engine with its large exhaust stack protruding from the top of the cowling is one of the chief features that distinguishes this aircraft from the Curtiss JN, and it is this engine that largely sealed the fate of the Standard J aircraft during the Great War. It found wide success after the war as a barnstorming machine and ushered in a new lifestyle for pilots throughout the country, most of whom returned from the war with a desire to stay in the cockpit.
Click here to learn more!
Standard J
If you've watched The Great Waldo Pepper, you have seen the Standard J in the wild! It is often confused with the famed Curtiss Jenny but there are certain details that will instantly make this aircraft recognizable when the two are compared. The Hall-Scott engine with its large exhaust stack protruding from the top of the cowling is one of the chief features that distinguishes this aircraft from the Curtiss JN, and it is this engine that largely sealed the fate of the Standard J aircraft during the Great War. It found wide success after the war as a barnstorming machine and ushered in a new lifestyle for pilots throughout the country, most of whom returned from the war with a desire to stay in the cockpit.
