Curtiss Fledgling
- : United States
- : 1929
- : Curtiss Challenger
- 170
- 39 ' 1"
- 102 mph (164 km/hr)
- 2700 lbs (1225 kg)
- : In Storage
- 27 ' 10"
- : Original
Although not the most streamlined aircraft of its day, the Curtiss Fledgling performed the duties it was designed for quite well. Design and testing took place at Garden City, New York with production completed at the Curtiss plant in Buffalo. Several variants utilizing different engines were also developed. The Curtiss Flying Service operated with over 100 Fledglings employed in its air taxi service during the 1930s.
The Curtiss Fledgling was purchased by Cole Palen from Hank Palmer in 1973 after he saw the aircraft at the annual Sun & Fun Air Show in Lakeland, Florida. The Curtiss Challenger engine was replaced by a Continental 220. It was used as a workhorse at the Aerodrome for several years serving as a bomber, camera platform, and in several other roles as well. It is featured on the cover of the book “Wind in the Wires” by Mike Vines. In 1979, Cole Palen celebrated the first blind flight flown by Jimmy Doolittle and safety pilot, Ben Kelsey. Both pilots joined Cole at Aircraft Radio’s airfield in Boonton, NJ to simulate the 50th anniversary with the Fledgling, as a perfect stand-in for the original aircraft, a Consolidated NY-2.
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