In the middle of the second decade of the twentieth century there were a need to incorporate to the Spanish Military Aircraft seaplanes. Unable to get the material in Europe, due to the World War 1, it was decided to contact the American company Curtiss Aeroplane Company, with the intention of buying there overhead lines. This company was created by Glenn Curtiss, aviation pioneer, who often has been regarded as the Father of Naval Aviation. On May 1, 1915, coinciding with the start of construction of what would be Hydro School of Los Alcazares on the proposal of Colonel Vives, depart for the United States Emilio Herrera Linares Captain and Lieutenant John Viniegra Arejúla, both commissioners for assessment, training and purchase of this new material. They come to the city of New York on May 14 and from there leave for what they thought was their final destination, the Curtiss factory in Hammondsports (New York), his surprise was great when he realized after his arrival at the factory , that the assembly of the Curtiss JN-2 aircraft, because of an endless patent litigation with the Wright brothers had been relocated to a new factory, particularly in Toronto (Canada), only 90 kilometers from Hammondsports , to which were displaced. In Canada, Curtiss operate without the restraint of Justice for infringing the patent be mentioned (must qualify that all aircraft built and flown in Europe also infringed the patent law of the United States, as to the roll control system, the impossibility of flying into its territory without the explicit permission of the Wright Brothers flight or construction if the reported profits).
The arrival of our pilots to Toronto coincided with the creation of a pilot school in the same premises of the factory. The instruction offered by this school was necessary for our Airmen could fly with a flight control as individual as those who were being used at that time in all aircraft Curtiss: The roll was achieved with a lateral displacement of the shoulders, the direction turning the wheel of the control column, the depth by pushing or pulling in the same column, and the throttle controlled with the left foot. In this control system is known for "Curtiss-type controls," or (Shoulder yoke aileron control). The flight controls who were accustomed to the Spanish pilots were like "Deperdussin" and type "Wright".
The order would be, first, set at 6 aircraft ground operation, model JN-2s ("s" Standard, not seaplane, as has often been confused). This version was handed over to Spain land more primitive than that received by the 1st Aero Squadron (Signal Corps) of the U.S. Army, although they were delivered to the Military Aeronautics much later date. The difference was in the landing gear being mounted on the train model JN-2s Spanish the JN model, while the mounted ten JN JN-2-2s and Americans, would you come to the Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny". The rest of the order were 6 hydro model JN-2 (as amended), but these were not "standard" that would not only hydro, but because the engine was larger than the Earth, the flight controls were of the Deperdussine in both cabins and larger vertical tail surface, with part of it fixed (stabilizer that would come to ride the famous JN-4 "Jenny") To educate and Viniegra Herrera, turned to Albert J. Curtiss Engel, a seaplane pilot, knowing the Spanish language, which was forged a self-taught in this activity flying the Curtiss Model A-1 Triad, this instruction would be shared with the test driver for Curtiss, Raymond V. Morris. The initial training would be provided by a dual-control models, in which the Spanish pilots become familiar with the control system, a process developed since the arrival of our pilots to the Aviation School in Toronto in mid-May 1915, until it was completed the first of the JN-2 charge at the end of June 1915, with test flights and mencinado test driver, Raymond V. Morris
After several delays in delivery, the boxes containing the disassembled aircraft arrive in late September 1915 the port of Cadiz, along with technical Curtiss, J. H Engel and a mechanic. Rail were sent to Four Winds, terrestrial, and Los Alcazares, the hydro. Compensation for non-delivery took over-the hydro engine, installing engines of 100 hp Curtiss OXX. (While riding the Earth OX-2 of 90 hp.) And parts, that eventually proved not to be sufficient, since that would soon become the United States at war and the lack of it would end the recent deregistration of aircraft in 1919. After the assembly of the first two in Four Winds, Viniegra is responsible for the flight test at first, the morning of October 18, 1915, reporting after the flight controls had found something hard. When operated this discrepancy, the same aircraft is ready in the afternoon for the second test. That evening, at five minutes uploaded flight, the plane stalls, the pilot could not recover, resulting from serious accident with a concussion, serious leg injuries, which would cause the loss of the patella, as well various bruises. As a result of wounds cease active service, passing Mutilated body. That evening, after the accident, Herrera is mounted on the second plane, with such bad luck that at the critical moment of takeoff is injured, the plane hundírsele the plane crashing into the ground. It would virtually unscathed, but the plane would be completely destroyed.
As commented on these two accidents, we can say that the JN-2 enjoyed a justified bad reputation among pilots of the 1st Aero Squadron (Signal Corps) of the U.S. Army, getting them to refuse to fly if it was in dire need or action of war, by low flying qualities, be highly inaccurate in a range of speeds. We have similarity Viniegra accidents and other accidents Herrera and incidents that occurred in the United States. In this country, lived four situations are identical, two of which suffered them Lieutenant JC Morrow, the 1st Aero Squadron, the first of them an unexpected loss of altitude of 100 meters, which was controlled, but flew only 300 feet above the ground, the second had unfortunate results, as Morrow came to takeoff when the plane plane sank to the ground, leaving him and his observer severely wounded. The other two situations were repetitions of the above: one was on takeoff and the other a crash during the flight.
This lack of stability, coupled with the potential problems that could lead hardness gears that move the wings (remember Viniegra complaint after the first flight controls hardness), might prove fatal. Given the serious problems that the plane had the Aerodynamics Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology chose this aircraft to carry out a study of stability, for which he would use a scale model 1/2: shorten and lengthen her arm the time of tail would experimenting with different angles of incidence of the wings and the horizontal stabilizer and vary the positions of the center of gravity. This laborious study greatly attracted the attention and the Community provided valuable insight aerodynamic Stability in general. Having run out of experienced pilots in the JN-2, was used to Lieutenant James Robert White for the four remaining aircraft ProBase, throwing much courage, got into them with only a few explanations by Herrera, resulting all flights satisfactory. The following month, the Los Alcazares would hydro ready for first test flight, namely November 23, 1915, according to news reports at the time, was made the first flight of the Curtiss JN-2 (mod.) hydro at the controls of Albert J. Engel, technical and pilot of the Curtiss Aeroplane Co.This flight tells us in great detail Luis Manzanares, in an article published in the newspaper "El Eco de Cartagena" dated November 30, 1915, entitled "First Flight" also describes us in his book "A Curtiss in heaven ", 1969.
Source:
Curtiss JN-2 y Curtiss JN-2s. Los Jenny españoles
I am sorry if the translation is not the best, but the google translator is the fastest way to translate such a long text.