The most important training aircraft in Canada during the First
World War was the Curtiss JN 4 Canadian.
The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) initiated the creation of the JN
4, requiring a modified version of the American Curtiss JN 3 for
their flight training program starting later in 1917. Curtiss
Aeroplane and Motors limited in Toronto built the JN 3. One
modification incorporated into the new plane was that the lower
wings were fitted with ailerons rather than depending on
wing-warping to provide directional control.
The JN 4 was completed in December 1916. The prototype was
tested in January 1917, before it went into full production at
Canadian Aeroplanes limited in Toronto. This two-seater biplane
was powered by the Curtiss OX, a water-cooled V-8 engine
manufactured out of the United States.
The company went on to produce approximately 1,210 of these
aircraft.
The Jenny was the first aircraft to be mass-produced in
Canada, and to be exported to the United States for their
training programs in 1917-1918.
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