Alaska News

1923 Curtiss Jenny aircraft returned to airworthiness

She's 90 years old and still turning heads.

The Curtiss Jenny, a legend in annals of Alaska aviation, has been returned to the Fairbanks International Airport, welcoming travelers to the Golden Heart City after a long-overdue facelift and maintenance restoration project that returned her to airworthiness after 70 years in disrepair.

Refurbishing the Jenny, purchased by Fairbanks city officials in 1923, was the brainchild of aircraft hackers and tinkerers with the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Chapter 1129. Fairbanksans and students at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Aviation Maintenance Technology program also pitched in, raising $26,000 to aid in the Jenny's restoration and return.

Fabric and finishing materials were generously donated from Riverside, Calif.-based Consolidated Aircraft Coatings. Machinsts with Crisenbery Engineering and UAF donated labor to complete the Jenny's restoration.

In the end the old hand-me-down Swallow aircraft wings were removed from the Jenny and completely replaced.

Bush Pilot: Curtiss Jenny restored to airworthiness and reunited with Fairbanks

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