Glenn Hammond Curtiss
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Glenn Hammond Curtiss
Grande Semaine d'Aviation in France in 1909
Born	21 May 1878 Hammondsport, New York
Died	23 July 1930 (aged 52) Buffalo, New York
Occupation	Aviator
Spouse(s)	Lena Pearl Neff (7 March 1898 - until his death)
Children	2 children
Parents	Lua Andrews Frank Richmond Curtiss

Commemorative plaque. Claim on the plaque is controversial regarding invention of the aileron.

Tombstone

Glenn Hammond Curtiss (21 May 1878 – 23 July 1930) was an American aviation pioneer and founder of the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company, now part of Curtiss-Wright Corporation.

Birth and early career

Curtiss was born in 1878 in Hammondsport, New York to Frank Richmond Curtiss and Lua Andrews. Although he only received a formal education up to Grade 8, his early interest in mechanics and inventions was evident at his first job at the Eastman Dry Plate and Film Company (later Eastman Kodak Company) in Rochester, New York.¹ He invented a stencil machine adopted at the plant and later built a rudimentary camera to study photography.¹

On 7 March 1898, Curtiss married Lena Pearl Neff, daughter of Guy L. Neff, in Logansport, Indiana. 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 motorcycle land speed record at 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), on a 40-hp V8 powered motorcycle of his own design. This is all the more impressive as his motorcycle lacked any brakes. At this time he was America's No. 1 maker of high-performance motorcycles.

Wright brothers

Glenn H. Curtiss's pilot license

In August 1906, on a journey with Tom Baldwin in his airship to Dayton, Ohio, Curtiss visited the Wright brothers (after the latter had helped to corral the 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" heavier-than-air flight on 4 July 1908, with the June Bug. The construction of this and later aircraft 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 on 8 June 1911.

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 they 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 winning the Gordon Bennett Cup. For this he became, after Bleriot, the No. 2 pilot in Europe (the Wrights being numbers 4 and 5).

The pre-war years

On 29 May 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 aircraft 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 aircraft landed at a shore base.

In 1910 also Jacob Earl Fickel did the first experimenting with Curtiss shooting a rifle from an airplane. This was to prove that the recoil from the gun did not break up the aircraft. 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 aircraft 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 aircraft.

Around this time Curtiss met the retired English naval officer John Cyril Porte who was looking for a partner to produce an aircraft with him in order to win the Daily Mail prize for the first transatlantic crossing. 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; it featured an innovative notch in the hull that Porte had recommended for breaking clear of the water at takeoff. Curtiss correctly surmised that this configuration was more suited to building a larger long-distance craft that could operate from water, and was also more stable when operating from a choppy surface. In collaboration with Porte, in 1914 Curtiss designed the "America", a larger flying boat with two engines, for the Atlantic crossing. However, the start of World War I meant that Porte returned to service in the Royal Navy's Seaplane Experimental Station, which subsequently purchased several models of the America, now called the H-4. Porte licensed and further developed the designs, constructing a range of Felixstowe long-range patrol aircraft, and from his experience passed back improvements to the hull to Curtiss. The later British designs were sold to the U.S. forces, or built by Curtiss as the F5L.

The Curtiss factory also built a total of 68 "Large Americas" which evolved into the H-12, the only American designed and American built aircraft that saw combat in World War I.

World War I and after

As 1916 approached, it was feared that the United States would be drawn into the conflict. The U.S. Army Air Corps ordered the development 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 military 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 workers in Buffalo and 3,000 workers in Hammondsport.

In 1917 the U.S. Navy commissioned Curtiss to design a long-range, four-engined flying boat large enough to hold a crew of five, which became known as the NC-4. The post-World War I downturn of military contracts saw the Curtiss company shrink significantly, and Glenn Curtiss returned to his love of racing to improve product development, only this time with racing aircraft instead of motorcycles. Worldwide demand for increasingly larger seaplanes continued to be a mainstay in the Curtiss company's survival during the pre-World War II era.

Curtiss seaplanes won the Schneider Cup two consecutive races, 1923 and 1925. The 1925 race was won by U.S. Navy Lieutenant David Rittenhouse flying a Curtiss C.R.3 to 177.266 mph (285.457 km/h).

Piloted by US Army Lt. Cyrus Bettis, a Curtiss R3C won the Pulitzer Trophy Race on 12 October 1925, at a speed of 248.9 mph (400.6 km/h).² Thirteen days later, Jimmy Doolittle won the Schnieder in the same aircraft fitted with floats. Doolittle finished first with a top speed of 232.573 mph (374.247 km/h).

Patent dispute

The patent dispute with the Wright brothers continued for several years until it was resolved during World War I, following Orville's withdrawal from the business and the company's shift to manufacturing engines only. The last Wright airplane, the Wright Model L was a single prototype of a "scouting" aircraft, made in 1916.³ 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 aircraft for the U.S. Army. The Wright Aeronautical Corporation, a successor to the original Wright Company, merged with the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company on 5 July 1929, forming the Curtiss-Wright company, just before Glenn Curtiss's death.⁴

Death

Curtiss 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 into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1964, the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1990, and the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998.⁵

Timeline

See also

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

[1] - Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Fl (has a lot of Curtiss Planes)

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Glenn Curtiss

• Glenn H. Curtiss: Founder of the American Aviation Industry
• The Curtiss Aviation Book by Glenn Curtiss and Augustus Post
• U.S. 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
• Works by or about Glenn Curtiss in libraries (WorldCat catalog)