Almost a hundred years ago, the Wright brothers changed history with their invention of powered flight, bringing forth a new era of communication and travel. With the Centenniel upon us, aerobatic pilot Patty Wagstaff discusses the Curtis Jenny as part of this commemorative aviation series brought to you by Microsoft Flight Simulator.

The Curtis Jenny was introduced during World War I as a primary trainer for American pilots with ten thousand planes produced between 1915 and 1920. The Jenny was the first mass-produced airplane in America. Aerobatic pilot Patty Wagstaff:

"After the war, the Army had little use for these trainer airplanes and as a result, they were sold at a bargain price and many veteran pilots bought the Jenny and to make money, used them for �barnstorming.� and �barnstorming� was a type of stunt-flying or aerobatic flying in which pilots performed pretty dangerous feats; such as, wing-walking and flying through empty barns � and that�s what gave the activity its name."

Interested in flying the Jenny and trying your hand at "barnstorming?" Microsoft�s Flight Simulator 2004 "A Century of Flight," is the next closest thing:

"Flight Sim portrays the Jenny and all of its 24 featured airplanes with precision and detail and all the aircraft have 3-d cockpits and external airplane views that are photo-realistic. Most aviation enthusiasts don�t get a chance to fly airplanes like the Curtis Jenny, Microsoft Flight Sim offers a chance to get into a historical cockpit that they wouldn�t otherwise be able to experience."

This was your "Minute in Aviation."

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