Many Whirlwind engines were used in U.S. Navy aircraft, mostly in trainers, but also in some ship-based observation and fighter aircraft. As the engines were refined and their reputation for reliability grew, their use expanded to U.S. Army trainers and a wide range of U.S. civil aircraft, including the earliest versions of the
Fokker Trimotor and
Ford Trimotor airliners. The reliability of J-5 Whirlwind engines also led aviators to use them for a number of record-setting distance and endurance flights. The most famous of these is
Charles Lindbergh's solo transatlantic flight from
New York City to
Paris on May 20–21, 1927, in the
Spirit of St. Louis, powered by a single Whirlwind J-5C. During Lindbergh's flight, the engine ran continuously for 33.5 hours. Lindbergh's achievement greatly boosted the Whirlwind's already good reputation. Some other historic long-duration flights made in aircraft powered by the J-5 Whirlwind: •
Clarence Chamberlin and
Bert Acosta made a record endurance flight of 51 hours, 11 minutes, 25 seconds in a single-engined
Wright-Bellanca WB-2 over New York City in April 1927. • Chamberlin and
Charles Levine flew nonstop from New York City to
Eisleben, Germany, in the same Wright-Bellanca on June 4–6, 1927, in a flight lasting 42.5 hours (3,920 mi). • The first successful flight from the continental U.S. to Hawaii was made by
Albert Hegenberger and
Lester Maitland in the Fokker C-2
Bird of Paradise from
Oakland, California, to
Honolulu, Hawaii, on June 28–29, 1927, lasting 25 hours 50 minutes (2,400 mi). • The first flight across the Pacific was made by Sir
Charles Kingsford Smith in the Fokker Trimotor
Southern Cross from Oakland to
Brisbane, Australia, with stops in Hawaii and
Fiji, from May 31 to June 9, 1928. The leg from Hawaii to Fiji lasted 34.5 hours over 3,100 mi (5,000 km) of open ocean. • A record endurance flight of 150 hours, 40 minutes, and 14 seconds was made by U.S. Army fliers in the Fokker C-2A
Question Mark trimotor over Southern California on January 1–7, 1929. Achieved with the help of
aerial refueling, this flight ended only when
valvetrain failures stopped the portside engine, and
excessive valvetrain wear was slowing the nose and starboard-side radials.
Charles L. Lawrance, who developed the original Whirlwind series and became president of Wright, won the 1927
Collier Trophy for his work on air-cooled radial aircraft engines. ==License-built versions==