The Curtiss Robin, introduced in 1928, was a high-wing monoplane built by the Curtiss-Robertson Airplane Manufacturing Company. The J-1 version was flown by Wrongway Corrigan who crossed the Atlantic after being refused permission. Design The Robin, a workmanlike cabin monoplane, had a wooden wing and steel tubing fuselage. The cabin accommodated three persons; two passengers were seated side-by-side behind the pilot. Early Robins were distinguished by large flat fairings over the parallel diagonal wing bracing struts; the fairings were abandoned on later versions, having been found to be ineffective in creating lift. The original landing gear had bungee rubber cord shock absorbers, later replaced by an oleo-pneumatic system; a number of Robins had twin floats added. Variants of the Robin were fitted with engines which developed . Operational history A single modified Robin (with a Warner R-420-1) was used by the United States Army Air Corps, and designated the XC-10. This aircraft was used in a test program for radio-controlled (and unmanned) flight. Cuba's national airline, Compañía Nacional Cubana de Aviación Curtiss, was founded in 1929 with the Curtiss-Wright company serving as its co-founder and major investor. The airline's first aircraft was a Curtiss Robin and it was flown on domestic routes as a mail and passenger transport. From September 1929 to May 1930 a Robin C-1 was used to deliver the McCook, Nebraska Daily Gazette to communities in rural Nebraska and Kansas. The airplane flew a nonstop route of daily, dropping bundles of newspapers from a height of to local carriers. A Curtiss Robin C was purchased by the Paraguayan government in 1932 for the transport squadron of its air arm. It was intensively used as a VIP transport plane and air ambulance during the Chaco War (1923–1935). Variants (Model 50) Data from:Curtiss aircraft : 1907-1947 Challenger Robin (Model 50A) An early version of the Robin, powered by a Curtiss Challenger radial piston engine. Comet Robin One Robin was converted by its owner in 1937, fitted with a Comet 7-D radial piston engine. Robin (Model 50A) Prototypes and initial production aircraft powered by Curtiss OX-5 engines. Robin B A three-seat cabin monoplane, fitted with wheel brakes and a steerable tailwheel, powered by a Curtiss OX-5 V-8 engine; about 325 were built. Robin B-2 A three-seat cabin monoplane, powered by a Wright-Hisso "A","E" and "I" V-8 water-cooled piston engine. Robin C A three-seat cabin monoplane, powered by a or Curtiss