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Glenn Curtiss

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Glenn H. Curtiss at the Grande Semaine d'Aviation in France in 1909
Glenn H. Curtiss at the Grande Semaine d'Aviation in France in 1909
Commemorative plaque
Commemorative plaque
Tombstone
Tombstone

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

Contents

[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.

Glenn H. Curtiss's pilot license
Glenn H. Curtiss's pilot license

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

  • 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 land speed record of 77.6 mph on motorcycle
  • 1907 Set world land 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 4
  • 1909 Produced and sold first private aircraft in US
  • 1909 Won first international air speed record with 46.5 mph in Rheims, France
  • 1909 First US licensed aircraft manufacturer.
  • 1910 Long distance flying record of 150 miles from Albany, New York 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 Hydroplane 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 27
  • 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
  • 1964 Inducted in the National Aviation Hall of Fame
  • 1990 Inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in the air racing category

[edit] See also

[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. 

[edit] External links

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