Curtiss JN-4D "Jenny"

As part of the Museum's Adopt-A-Plane program, the Curtiss JN-4D is adopted by the Department of Aviation, City of Dallas.

Many pilots in the US Army trained on the Curtiss JN-4D “Jenny” during World War I before being sent to combat in Europe. Because pilots shortened the JN "jay-en" designation to "jen", most people referred to the single engine, two-seat training aircraft as "Jenny." When the war ended, WWI aviators hungry to fly again purchased surplus "Jennys" as private citizens at bargain prices, giving birth to the barnstorming era. During the 1920s, barnstorming pilots in their "Jennys" entertained with loops, tricks, and barrel rolls while giving rides to locals for a fee. As a result, barnstorming became the first major form of civil aviation with "Jenny" a big part of it all.

The "Jenny" flew the first air mail in May 1918. Following WWI, many "Jennys" became mail carriers. Guess what kind of airplane is pictured on the first air mail stamp in 1918?

Pilot Earnest Allison once commented on the JN-4D, “I always considered it a very safe airplane, because the carburetor would vibrate the airplane so badly that it would shake the ice off the wings.” 

Built by Liberty Iron Works of Sacramento, CA in 1916 and shipped to Love Field in 1918, Curtiss JN-4D “Jenny” Serial #4072 is the fourth from the last built by Liberty. Following the war, a civilian purchased it with the registration NC 3769, which now belongs to another aircraft, minus the “C”. After a meticulous two-decade restoration, Phil Mintari and family of Ingram, Texas, loaned this beautiful "Jenny" to the Museum. Even though it received an FAA Certificate of Airworthiness, it has yet to fly. Now it hangs high in the Museum’s Main Gallery, just a short distance from Love Field where it served admirably as a trainer in 1918.

Among the "Jenny's" notable accomplishments, she became the first dive bomber in 1919 in support of a US Marine Corps unit in Haiti. What modifications had to be made to the aircraft in order for it to fulfill this role successfully?