| Model N | |
|---|---|
 Curtiss N-9H | |
| General information | |
| Type | trainer |
| Manufacturer | Curtiss,Burgess Company |
| Designer | |
| Primary user | United States Navy |
| Number built | 560 |
| History | |
| First flight | 1915 |
| Developed from | Curtiss Model J |
| Developed into | Curtiss JN Jenny |
TheCurtiss Model N is a military trainer used primarily by theUnited States Navy duringWorld War I.
The Model N was a two-seat biplane similar to theModel J, differing in the airfoil and placement of the ailerons, which were mounted between the wings. It was powered by a 90-100 hpCurtiss OX inline engine. Due to legal issues with theWright brothers over the use of ailerons, the sole Model N was modified by locking the ailerons and increasingdihedral to seven degrees in an effort to prove that aircraft could be flown without ailerons orwing warping.[1]
The most prolific variant, the N-9, was afloatplane equipped with a single central pontoon mounted under the fuselage. A small float was fitted under each wingtip. With the additional weight of the pontoon, a number of structural and aerodynamic changes were required, the design of which made use ofwind tunnel data developed at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology, meaning the N-9 was the first American naval aircraft to incorporate wind tunnel data directly into its design. The wingspan was stretched an additional ten feet (three meters), the fuselage was lengthened, the tail surfaces were enlarged, and stabilizing fins were added on top of the upper wing. The N-9 was initially powered by a 100 hp (75 kW)Curtiss OXX-6 engine.
Curtiss was awarded an initial contract for 30 aircraft in August 1916, and an additional 14 were ordered by theUnited States Army, which maintained a small seaplane operation. It quickly became apparent that the aircraft was underpowered, so Curtiss replaced the engine with a 150 hp (112 kW)Hispano-Suiza, manufactured in theUnited States under license byWright-Martin's Simplex division (laterWright Aeronautical). The aircraft was redesignatedN-9H.
A total of 560 N-9s were built during World War I, most of which were "H" models. Only 100 were actually built by Curtiss. Most were built under license by theBurgess Company ofMarblehead, Massachusetts. Fifty others were assembled after the war, from spare components and engines by the U.S. Navy atNaval Air Station Pensacola inFlorida.
The first flight of the Model N took place in 1915.[2] TheUnited States Army purchased the aircraft for evaluation, but Curtiss repossessed it due to legal issues with the Wright brothers.[1]
Although the consensus in early 1917 among aviators and even the N-9's manufacturer was that the N-9 could not belooped, the pioneering earlyUnited States Marine Corps aviatorFrancis Thomas Evans, Sr., believed it was possible. On 13 February 1917, he flew an N-9 over theGulf of Mexico off Pensacola, Florida, and began attempts to loop it. He succeeded on his fourth try, becoming one of the first persons ever to loop a seaplane (first pilot to loop a seaplane was Polish aviatorJan Nagórski on 17 September 1916 inGrigorovich M-9 flying boat). Lacking witnesses, he flew over Naval Air Station Pensacola and repeated the feat. In 1936, he received theDistinguished Flying Cross for this achievement.[3] More important, however, were the stall and spin recovery techniques he discovered while flying the N-9 that day. During his first three loop attempts, the N-9 stalled before he reached the apex of the loop and fell into a spin. He found that by releasing back-pressure on the stick and aggressively applying opposite rudder to the direction of the spin he could change the spin into a normal dive and recover, something previously thought impossible in an N-9. His stall and spin recovery techniques remain in use to this day by aviators around the world.[3]
Over 2,500 U.S. Navy pilots received their seaplane training in N-9s. Besides this primary role, though, the aircraft was also used to help develop shipborne aircraft operations during World War I, especially the development of ship-mounted launchcatapults. In 1917, several N-9s were provided to theSperry Gyroscope Company for conversion to theHewitt-Sperry Automatic Airplane configuration, flight testing the newautopilot components intended to be used in pilotless "aerialtorpedoes".
The U.S. Navy retired the N-9s in 1927 as more modern trainers became available.
Only one example of the type has survived, and is now a part of theNational Air and Space Museum collection. Originally on display at theMuseum of Science and Industry inChicago,Illinois, it was later transferred back to the U.S. Navy pending transport to the National Air and Space Museum. TheNaval Air Engineering Laboratory inPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania, fully restored it in 1966.[4]
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Data from Curtiss Aircraft 1907–1947[8]
General characteristics
Performance
Media related toCurtiss Model N at Wikimedia Commons
