THE CURTISS ROBIN FLIES AGAIN
The 1935 endurance record
On June 4, 1935, Fred and Algene Key set the flight endurance record in a Curtiss Robin J-1 Deluxe aircraft. Their record flight lasted 653 hours and 34 minutes. They were refueled and received supplies in flight 452 times.
The brothers traveled an estimated 52,320 miles—about twice the Earth's circumference. Their achievement reflected a true passion for aviation, a passion shared by many modelers today.
About the Curtiss Robin
Although not one of the most attractive airplanes, the full-scale Curtiss Robin became one of the most storied aircraft of the Golden Era of flight. It was noted for the strength of its fuselage and the large area of its passenger cabin. The Robin was a very reliable and rugged aircraft, suitable for flight training and for carrying passengers and packages.
The airplane that held the previous endurance record was also a Curtiss Robin; that aircraft flew 647 hours and 28 minutes and also achieved a transatlantic flight from New York to Ireland.
The 2005 scale re-creation
On September 10, 2005—70 years after the Key brothers' historic flight—Dick Rose and Shawn Kappner of the Cincinnati, Ohio area flew a scaled-down version of the endurance flight. They flew 653 minutes (10 hours, 53 minutes, 34 seconds), which was one minute for every hour the Key brothers had flown.
They commemorated the accomplishment by flying a model of the J-1 Curtiss Robin with the following characteristics:
- Wingspan: 99 inches
- Engine: 38 cc motor (roughly the size of a chainsaw motor)
- Propeller: 22-inch propeller
- Fueling: no in-flight refueling; two one-gallon gas cans were used on board
- Flight crew: two pilots alternating half-hour shifts
- Flight time: shifts began at 8:05 a.m. and ended at 6:58 p.m.
- Attempts: the first two attempts fell short; the third attempt succeeded
Much custom engineering went into the model to make the flight possible.
Contact
If you are interested in hearing more about the project, please e-mail Shawn at [email protected].
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
