Milgroms

Milgroms are a hybrid 4-cylinder diesel engine and a Curtiss JN-4 biplane airframe combination aircraft developed by Curtis Aeroplane and Motor Company in collaboration with American Dredge and Construction Company in the 1920s. The aircraft was designed to test the capabilities of diesel engines in aviation.

The Milgroms airframe was based on the Curtiss JN-4, a widely used biplane trainer during World War I and the 1920s. The engine chosen for the Milgroms was a 4-cylinder diesel engine, which was considered an innovative and promising technology at that time. However, diesel engines were not widely used in aviation during the 1920s due to their higher weight and lack of refinement compared to gasoline engines.

Despite promising test results, the Milgroms variant of the Curtiss JN-4 did not enter production due to the lack of standardization and testing protocols for diesel engines in aviation. However, the project marked an important milestone in the development of diesel engines for aviation and laid the groundwork for future experiments with diesel powerplants in aircraft.

The exact number of Milgroms built is unknown, but it is believed that only a few units were produced. The aircraft was likely used for test and evaluation purposes only, with little to no operational history. Today, the Milgroms is largely considered an obscure footnote in the history of aviation and diesel engine development.