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 1 Birth and early career 2 Wright brothers 3 Competition 4 The pre-war years 5 Patent dispute 6 Death 7 Timeline 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

[edit] Birth and early career

He was born in 1878 in Hammondsport, New York to Frank Richmond Curtiss and Lua Andrews. Curtiss married Lena Pearl Neff, daughter of Guy L. Neff, in Logansport, Indiana on March 7, 1898.

Curtiss began his career as a bicycle racer, Western Union bicycle messenger, and bicycle shop owner. He developed an interest in motorcycles when internal combustion 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Competition

In August 1909, Curtiss competed in the world's first air meet, the Grande Semaine d'Aviation flying contest at Rheims, 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).

[edit] The pre-war years

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).

In 1910 the U.S. Navy expressed a strong interest in aircraft for their obvious value as a reconnaissance patrol craft, but were unsure of the best configuration, or of the logistics necessary to include aircraft operations with warships. Curtiss set up shop in San Diego and worked with the Navy to train several pilots and develop the Model "D" biplane which was the first plane to take off from a ship. Eugene Ely took off from the USS Birmingham which had a short "flat-top" attached over the bow for the historic event, after which the plane landed at a shore base.

Aircraft were quickly becoming regarded as reasonably reliable, and it was becoming obvious that aviation was going to become important, rather than just a passing novelty. Curtiss was one of the pioneers of aviation who recognized that the building of airstrips around the world would take some time, and the way to jump start the industry was to make viable planes that could land and take off on water, as existing sea ports were already transportation hubs. He custom built floats and adapted them onto a Model D so it could take off and land on water to prove the concept.

In 1911 Curtiss produced the Triad A-1 seaplane, which had both wheels and floats. This craft was immediately recognized as so obviously useful, it was purchased by the U.S. Navy, Russia, Japan, Germany, and Britain. Curtiss won the Collier Trophy for designing this plane.

In 1912 Curtiss produced the two-seat "Flying Fish", a larger craft that became classified as a flying boat because the hull sat in the water. Curtiss correctly surmised that this configuration was more suited to building a larger plane that could operate from water, and was also more stable when operating from a choppy surface. In 1914 Curtiss designed and built the "America", an even larger flying boat with two engines. England purchased several and began building copies under license in England to be used as anti-submarine patrol craft because of the start of WWI.

As 1916 approached it was feared that the United States would be drawn into the conflict. The U.S. Army Air Corp ordered the developement of a simple, easy to fly and maintain two-seat trainer. Curtiss created the JN-4 "Jenny" for the Army, and the N-9 seaplane version for the Navy. It is one of the most famous products of the Curtiss company, and thousands were sold to the militaries of the United States, Canada, and Britain. Civilian and military aircraft demand was booming and this year saw their operations grow to employ 18,000 in Buffalo, and 3,000 workers in Hammondsport.

In 1917 the U.S. Navy commissioned Curtis to design a long-range 4-engined flying boat large enough to hold a crew of 5, which became known as the NC-4. The post-WWI down-turn of military contracts saw the Curtiss company shrink significantly, and Glenn Curtiss returned to his love of racing to improve product developement, only this time with racing planes instead of motorcycles. World-wide demand for increasingly larger Boat-planes continued to be a mainstay in the Curtiss companies survival during the pre-WWII era.

In 1923, a Curtiss float-plane won the prestigious European Schneider Trophy.

[edit] Patent dispute

The patent dispute with the Wright brothers continued for several years until it was resolved during World War I, 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 airplane was a single copy, made in 1916. With the involvement of the U.S. in World War I in 1917, the U.S. government gave a large and profitable contract to Curtiss to build airplanes for the U.S. Army. After Wilber Wright died, his brother Orville sold the Wright Aeronautical Company to Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company on 5 July 1929, forming the Curtiss-Wright company, finally ending all possible further disputes just before Glenn Curtiss's death.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] 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. He was inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1990.

[edit] Timeline

[edit] See also

• Opa-locka Airport
• Curtiss mansion
• R. J. Mitchell - British designer of various Supermarine airplanes
• Mario Castoldi - Italian seaplane designer

[edit] References

• Seth Shulman Unlocking the Sky: Glen Hammond Curtiss and the Race to Invent the Airplane Harper Collins (2002) ISBN 0-06-019633-5.
• Roseberry, C. R. (1972). Glenn Curtiss: Pioneer of Flight. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company. 

• Time (magazine), October 29, 1923, "Speed Limit"
• Time (magazine), October 13, 1924, "At Dayton"

[edit] 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
• 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
• Glenn Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport, NY