Glenn H. Curtiss

Aviation Pioneer

Charles R. Mitchell, Kirk W. House

• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Year: 2001
• Print ISBN: 9780738505190
• eBook ISBN: 9781439610633
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Science & Technology Biographies
• Index: History

Charles R. Mitchell tracks Curtiss's dizzying ride from a village bicycle shop to record-smashing motorcycle races and city building in the Florida land boom. Glenn Curtiss beat even the Wright brothers (who sued him bitterly) to get pilot's license No. 1 in America. He teamed with Alexander Graham Bell, helped develop the moving wing part known as the aileron, introduced tricycle landing gear, made the first airplane sales, and turned aeronautics into a multimillion dollar business. His innovations ranged from the Curtiss Pusher to the hydroaeroplane, the flying boat, and the Curtiss Jenny. Curtiss, his engines, and his airplanes dominated the world of early aviation on this side of the Atlantic. Glenn H. Curtiss: Aviation Pioneer charts Curtiss's breakneck course across two continents, North America and Europe, setting speed and distance records, experimenting with military applications, always striving for a safer, faster airplane. Fostering both water flyers and shipboard landing, he became the Father of Naval Aviation. But even the skies were not wide enough for the busy brain of Curtiss.

Four

THE KING OF THE AIR (1909–1914)

Glenn Curtiss, who was already manufacturing a transportation product with nationwide distribution, was eager to start manufacturing airplanes. Abandoning the Aerial Experiment Association, he entered an ill-starred partnership with Augustus Herring. Despite his early work with Octave Chanute and his scientific writing on flight, Herring had produced little but promises in the previous decade. Now he promised cash, factory equipment, and patents predating those of the Wright brothers. All three proved nonexistent. Curtiss and the other Hammondsport directors forced the company into bankruptcy. Curtiss bought the assets (including his own house) at auction and started all over again. The badly managed bankruptcy would still be plaguing Lena Curtiss after her husband’s death. As he had done with motorcycles, Curtiss promoted his product with personal daring. Always questing for innovations, for new applications, and even for more efficient shipping, Curtiss quickly thrust forward to become the leading manufacturer, and the leading birdman, in the Americas. This provoked another series of bitter lawsuits—this time from the Wright brothers.

With his tie, his soft collar, rolled-up sleeves, quiet demeanor, and clear, piercing eyes, young Mr. Curtiss seemed the very exemplar of the new American inventor.

Between the Aerial Experiment Association and Herring partnerships, Curtiss contracted for America’s first airplane sale. Gold Bug was a distinct improvement on the AEA machines. It was far smaller, with Chanute-type biplane wings, at once simpler and more efficient. The wing fabric was rubberized, as in Silver Dart.

The engine was an elaboration on the water-cooled four-cylinder from SC-1. The four wingtip ailerons became two interwing ailerons, mounted on the leading struts. Part of the thinking behind this change may have been an attempt to avoid the Wright wing-warping patent.

Gold Bug (Curtiss No. 1) cost the New York Aero Club $5,000, including delivery and flight instruction for two members. The gentlemanly club renamed their new possession Golden Flier.

On July 17, 1909, scarcely a year after his June Bug triumph, Curtiss flew Golden Flier 24.7 miles in a circular course, handily beating the 25-kilometer requirement for 1910’s Scientific American trophy. Charles Manly’s sister held up numbered placards indicat...

Table of contents

• Dedication
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• INTRODUCTION
• One - ON THE SHORES OF KEUKA LAKE (1878–1900)
• Two - MOTORCYCLES: “THAT AMAZING MR. CURTISS” (1901–1907)
• Three - THE AERIAL EXPERIMENT ASSOCIATION (1908–1909)
• Four - THE KING OF THE AIR (1909–1914)
• Five - A CAPTAIN OF INDUSTRY (1914–1919)
• Six - A LIFE OF INNOVATION (1919–1930)