| Model 56 Thrush/Thrush J | |
|---|---|
 Thrush J "Outdoor Girl" setting a record of 237 hours 42 minutes aloft (nearly 10 days) in 1933 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Airliner/utility transport |
| Manufacturer | Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company |
| Designer | |
| Status | Retired |
| Number built | 13[3][4] |
| History | |
| First flight | 1929[1] |
| Developed into | Curtiss Kingbird |
TheCurtiss/Curtiss-Robertson Model 56 Thrush[note 1] was a 1929 six passenger high-wing fixed undercarriage single-engine cabinmonoplane airliner and utility transport powered by either aCurtiss Challenger or aWright Whirlwindradial engine[1] and built as an enlargement of the earlierCurtiss Robin.[2] Several were used for record breaking endurance flights by female pilots during the early 1930s including one in which the aircraft stayed aloft for almost ten days.
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Three 170 hp (130 kW) Curtiss Challenger-engined Curtiss Thrush prototypes (serialled G-1 to G-3) were built at Curtiss' Garden City factory, but these were underpowered[2] and production examples, redesignated Thrush J (serialled 1001 to 1010) with 225 hp (168 kW) Wright Whirlwind engines, were built at the Curtiss-Robertson St Louis factory. All three prototypes were later re-engined with Whirlwinds to make them Thrush Js.[5] The fuselage of the Thrush formed the basis for the twin-engineCurtiss Kingbird which was developed roughly in parallel.[6]
The fuselage was built up as aPratt truss frame formed mainly fromDuraluminum tubing and fittings with weldedChrome-moly tubing reinforcing highly stressed areas and covered in fabric.[5]The wing was a fabric coveredsemi-cantilever[note 2] braced with steel tube struts, and had solid spruce spars and stampedAlclad ribs with Alclad sheet wrapped over leading edge.[5] A fuel tank is mounted within each wing near the root.[5] Rudder and elevators were welded chrome-moly steel tubing.[5] 116" track undercarriage is fitted witholeo-pneumatic shock absorbers andBendix brakes, and is braced to the front struts and lower longerons.[5]
Twelve examples were ordered byChina National Aviation Corporation (CNAC) but only ten production examples were built. All but one was then registered in the US, as many aircraft exported to the CNAC were, however only one example made it to China, which it did in 1930, and it may not have entered CNAC service.[7] One of the ten was lost on its first flight (serial 1006) and its registration was transferred to the next aircraft built.[8]One of the prototypes went to Venezuela to a private individual,[9] and a production example went to Cuba where it was the first aircraft operated by theCompañía Nacional Cubana de Aviación Curtiss (CNCAC), forerunner of Cubana de Aviación, Cuba's national airline.[10]
From the 14th to the 22nd of August 1932,Louise Thaden &Frances Marsalis flew prototype Thrush J NC9142 "I.J. Fox" (named for their sponsor, a fur coat company and nicknamed the "Flying Boudoir" by the press) for 196 hours 5 minutes, refuelling in flight from aCurtiss Robin to set an endurance record nearValley Stream, New York.[11][12] For this and other record-breaking flights, Thaden received theHarmon Trophy in 1936.[13]Helen Richey and Frances Marsalis flew production Thrush J NC7568 "Outdoor Girl" (named for a brand of women's cosmetics, a new sponsor) for 237 hours, 42 minutes (nearly ten days) from the 20th to the 30th of December 1933 overMiami, Florida.[11] Like the first flight, it too was refuelled from the air from a Curtiss Robin.Jean LaRene andMary Elizabeth Owens made five attempts at the world's endurance record at theCurtiss-Reynolds Airport in August during the 1934Chicago World's Fair in Curtiss Thrush J NR581N "Lone Star"[14] Jean LaRene made another attempt in NR581N on the record withHenrietta Sumner from 8 December to 30 November 1934 overOklahoma City but experienced engine problems and was forced down after 198 hours and 13 minutes aloft.[15]
Two examples found their way to Alaska where they were used asbush planes, one byRalph Savory before he joinedStar Air Service,[16] and a second was flown in Alaska byGordon MacKenzie.The remainder were used in the United States by various operators as air taxis and feeder airliners.
Cuba
Republic of China
United States
Data fromJuptner, Joseph P. (1966).US Civil Aircraft: Vol. 3 (ATC 201 - 300). Fallbrook, CA: Aero Publishers. pp. 177–178.ASIN B000VHTNB4.
General characteristics
Performance
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
