Glenn Curtiss
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Glenn Hammond Curtiss (May 21, 1878 – July 23, 1930) was an aviation pioneer and founder of the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company, now part of Curtiss-Wright Corporation.
Contents
Birth
He was born in 1878 in Hammondsport, New York to Frank Richmond Curtiss and Lua Andrews.Marriage
Curtiss married Lena Pearl Neff, daughter of Guy L. Neff, in logansport, IN on March 7, 1898.Early career
Curtiss began his career as a bicycle racer, Western Union bicycle messenger, and bicycle shop owner. He developed an interest in motorcycles when internal combusion engines became more available. He began manufacturing motor-bicycles with his own single cylinder internal combustion engines, the first with a tomato can for a carburetor. In 1903 he set a world speed record by averaging 64 mph (103 km/h) for one mile (1.6 km). In 1907 he set a new record of 136.36 mph (219.31 km/h), (without brakes!) on a 40-hp V8 powered motorcyle of his own design. At this time he was America's No. 1 maker of high-performance motorcycles.
Wright brothers
In August 1906, on a journey with Tom Baldwin in his airship to Dayton, Ohio, Curtiss visited the Wright brothers (after they'd help corral their airship) and discussed aeronautical motors and their propellers, a subject of mutual interest. Because Curtiss made America's finest lightweight motors, Alexander Graham Bell persuaded him to join his Aerial Experiment Association in 1907 to build aircraft, succeeding with America's first "official" airplane flight on July 4, 1908, in AEA June Bug. The construction of this and later planes would involve Curtiss in patent lawsuits with the Wrights which Curtiss would lose in 1913. He became the first person to receive an air pilot license from the Aero Club of America.Competition
In August 1909, Curtiss competed in the world's first air meet, the Grande Semaine d'Aviation flying contest at Reims, France, organised by the Aero-Club de France. The Wrights, who had sold their machines in Berlin at the time, did not compete, nevertheless sued Curtiss, alleging their patent was being infringed. He continued, completing a 10 km course at 46.5 mph (75 km/h) in just under 16 minutes, 6 seconds faster than runner-up Louis Bleriot and won the Gordon Bennett Cup. For this he became, after Bleriot, the No. 2 pilot in Europe (Wrights Nos. 14 and 15).The other Pulitzer prize
On May 29, 1910, Curtiss flew from Albany, New York, along the Hudson River, to New York City, to win a $10,000 prize backed by publisher Joseph Pulitzer. He covered 137 miles (220 km) in 153 minutes, averaging nearly 55 mph (89 km/h), then flew over Manhattan Island and circled the Statue of Liberty. Curtiss received the first U.S. pilot's license in 1911 (the Wrights were Nos. 4 and 5).Patent dispute
The [patent dispute with the Wright brothers] continued for several years until it was resolved during WWI, just after Wright ceased making airplanes following Orville's withdrawal from the business and the company's shift to manufacturing only engines (the last Wright was a single copy, made in 1916).World War I
With the involvement of the US in World War I in 1917, the U.S. government gave a contract to Curtiss to build airplanes for the US Army.Death
He died in 1930 in Buffalo, New York, from complications after appendix surgery, and was buried in Pleasant Valley Cemetery in Hammondsport, New York.Award
He was inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1990.Timeline
- 1878 Birth in Hammondsport, New York
- 1898 Marriage
- 1900 Manufactures Hercules bicycles
- 1901 Motorcycle designer and racer
- 1903 American motorcycle champion
- 1904 Thomas Scott Baldwin mounts Curtiss motorcycle engine on a hydrogen-filled dirigible
- 1904 Set ten mile world speed record
- 1904 Invented handlebar throttle control
- 1905 Created G.H. Curtiss Manufacturing Company, Inc.
- 1905 Set world speed records for 1, 2, and 3 miles on motorcycle
- 1906 Curtiss writes the Wright brothers offering them an aeronautical motor
- 1907 Curtiss joins Alexander Graham Bell in experimenting in aircraft
- 1907 Set world speed record of 77.6 mph on motorcycle
- 1907 Set world speed record at 136.36 mph in his V8 motorcycle in Ormond Beach, Florida
- 1908 First Army dirigible flight with Curtiss as flight engineer
- 1908 First flight of an aircraft controlled by ailerons
- 1908 Lead designer and pilot of "June Bug" on July 4th
- 1909 Produced and sold first private aircraft in US
- 1909 Won first international air speed record with 46.5 mph in Reims, France
- 1909 First US licensed aircraft manufacturer.
- 1910 Long distance flying record of 150 miles from Albany to New York City
- 1909 Established first flying school in United States and exhibition company
- 1910 First simulated bombing runs from an aircraft at Lake Keuka
- 1910 First firearm use from aircraft, piloted by Curtiss
- 1910 First radio communication with aircraft in flight in a Curtiss biplane
- 1910 Trained Blanche Stuart Scott, the first American female pilot
- 1910 First successful takeoff from a United States Navy ship
- 1911 First landing on a ship
- 1911 Pilot license #1 issued for his "June Bug" flight
- 1911 Ailerons patented
- 1911 Developed first successful pontoon aircraft in US
- 1911 Hydroaeroplane A-1 Triad purchased by US Navy
- 1911 First dual pilot control
- 1911 Developed first retractable landing gear on his Hydroaeroplane
- 1911 His first aircraft sold to US Army on April 27th
- 1912 Developed and flew the first flying boat on Lake Keuka
- 1914 Start production run of "Jennys" and may other models including flying boats
- 1919 Curtiss NC-4 flying boat crosses the Atlantic
- 1919 Commenced private aircraft production with the Oriole
- 1921 Developed Hialeah, Florida including Hialeah Racetrack
- 1921 Donated his WWI training field to the Navy
- 1923 Developed Miami Springs, Florida
- 1923 (circa) Created first airboats
- 1925 Builds his Miami Springs mansion.
- 1926 Developed Opa-Locka, Florida
- 1928 Created the Curtiss Aerocar Company in Opa-Locka, Florida
- 1928 Curtiss towed an Aerocar from Miami to New York in 39 hours
- 1930 Death in Buffalo, New York
- 1930 Buried in Pleasant Valley Cemetery in Hammondsport, New York
- 1990 Inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in the air racing category
Selected coverage in Time magazine
- Time, October 29, 1923, "Speed Limit"
- Time, October 13, 1924, "At Dayton"
See also
External links
- [Glenn H. Curtiss: Founder of the American Aviation Industry]
- [The Curtiss Aviation Book by Glenn Curtiss and Augustus Post]
- [US Government Centennial of Flight - Glenn Curtiss]
- [Curtiss-Wright Corporation]
- [A picture of the first U.S. pilot's license, issued to Glenn Curtiss]
- [Website for the proposed Glenn Curtiss Memorial Park on shore of Keuka Lake, Hammondsport, NY]
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