Jay Jay the Jet Plane

In late 1994, a short live-action series was produced at AMS Production Company in Dallas, Texas, with real model plane characters, and animated crafted human characters; they did not talk but had the same personalities as in the later series. This original series was narrated similarly to the first eleven seasons of Thomas & Friends or Theodore Tugboat.[1] Three videos were released: Jay Jay's First Flight in December 1994, Old Oscar Leads the Parade in February 1995, and Tracy's Handy Hideout in October 1996. These three were known as the "pilot series".

On November 2, 1998, the CGI/live-action series premiered on The Learning Channel as part of the Ready Set Learn block. Debi Derryberry took on the role of Jay Jay after Bergman's death in 1999, with no new characters voiced by her. The Learning Channel removed the series on March 14, 2000. On June 11, 2001, all episodes began broadcasting on PBS Kids; the end credits changed, and additional episodes were created from 2001–2005. Home video editions were released by Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment through 2003 as part of their "Columbia TriStar Family Fun" collection. Additional distribution was added with Tommy Nelson, the children's division of book publisher Thomas Nelson, although the series is not overtly "Christian". Voice actress Mary Kay Bergman provided the original voice of Jay Jay, Herky, Savannah, and Revvin Evan. After her death, Dee Dee Green and Donna Cherry replaced her.

In 2005, new episodes were produced featuring additional characters, including the red Latina plane Lina. Each episode begins featuring a Jay Jay's Mysteries segment in which Jay Jay and Lina explore such things that may be mysteries to the intended age group, such as how planes fly, and how the five senses are used. The mysteries segment is followed by a story that comes from the original episodes of the series, so in effect, the new series repackages previously broadcast content.