Jenny: The Airplane That Taught America to Fly by David Weitzman book review is a Plumfield Kids review written by Greta Masarik, age 15.

Glenn Curtiss and B. Douglas Thomas. Do you recognize those names? I didn’t the first time I heard them. It turns out they were the men who designed the first mass-produced airplane, the JN4D. The tradition at the time was to give transportation devices a woman’s name. For example, the NC-4 Flying Boat was often referred to as the Nancy. What was a natural name for the JN4D? Jenny.

Jenny was the combination of Curtiss’s N model and Thomas’s J model. Before Curtis designed airplanes, he had worked in a bicycle shop, so not surprisingly, Jenny and her predecessor, the June Bug, had wheels that looked a whole lot like bicycle wheels. 

Jennys were used to teach many famous American and English pilots, including Amelia Earhart, to fly. When the Jenny was first invented, there were no organized airports. Instead the pilot would have to find an open field. Of course, landing in a field had its hazards, requiring the pilots to fly over the chosen landing spot many times to ensure there were no obstacles. To make things even harder the Jenny’s gas tank was not very large, making long flights very difficult. Her wings had originally been made of cloth, but after a few crashes due to rain and snow soaking through the wings, the cloth was coated in oil. But despite her many challenges, the Jenny was beloved. 

In Jenny, David Weitzman gives the reader a fascinating look into the construction of Jenny and her story. I love David Weitzman’s engaging writing style and beautiful illustrations. Sadly, Weitzman’s books have become hard to find. But Purple House Press has reprinted several of his books, including Jenny: The Airplane that Taught America to Fly.