Up close: Hammondsport's airplane laboratory

Flight Journal, Aug 1998 by House, Kirk

Glenn Curtiss was born a mile east of the museum that now bears his name, and he was buried a mile west of it. His influence was worldwide, but this intimate connection with his community is part of the attraction of Curtiss Museum.

In the fifty-two years between his birth and his death, Glenn Curtiss raced across two continents (usually at top speed) using bicycles, motorcycles, gliders, dirigibles, boats and, of course, airplanes. He agonized through sumptuous banquets in New York and Paris, and gracefully turned down royalty cadging airplane rides; he developed three cities in Florida and built a mansion there; but he always called Hammondsport, New York, home.

Curtiss Museum is not just a collection of aircraft or a memorial to Curtiss. It's a showcase of the man, his machines and his setting-a village that became the aviation center of the new world.

Many veterans of the aviation circuit recall visiting the original museum in the old school building, where the Navy held the 75th anniversary celebrations for its air arm. Since 1992, the museum has welcomed visitors to a 56,000-- square-foot climate-controlled facility at the edge of town. Fifteen aircraft now form the heart of the collection that also includes motorcycles, engines, a Curtiss travel trailer and information on Hammondsport during the Curtiss years.

The first display case, fittingly, is filled with personal and family memorabilia. But the visit really starts with a 14-minute video on the man and his work and is then followed by a tour of the "Dawn of Aviation" gallery. An abstract bicycle shop recalls Curtiss's first business venture, with panels and photographs displaying the pedal-- powered-speed passion of his youth. But he quickly turned to motorized vehicles. Half a dozen Curtiss motorcycles are on display along with an even older 1903 Hercules-the brand name Curtiss used for his very earliest products.

The lightweight, powerful Curtiss engines led the young man to aviation by way of Capt Thomas Scott Baldwin. The aeronaut reportedly used a Curtiss engine on America's first successful dirigible, which flew at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. Baldwin then moved his operations to Hammondsport, where, in 1908, Curtiss assisted in the creation of the dirigible SC-1, the first powered aircraft in the U.S. military.

Those early engines and motorcycles helped catapult Curtiss into the public eye. In 1907, he used a V-8 dirigible engine on a seven-foot motorcycle frame to travel 136mph and became the "fastest man alive." His exploits helped inspire the original Tom Swift books, and a reproduction of that monster motorcycle continues to astound visitors. Each summer, an antique-- motorcycle weekend helps keep those thrilling days alive.

The Baldwin exhibit faces a 45-foot mural of Bob Bradford's painting, "The Flight of the June Bug." Next to the mural is June Bug II, created in Hammondsport for the U.S. bicentennial. On July 4, 1908, Curtiss flew the original June Bug one mile over the fields next to the museum. This was America's first officially observed flight, and it won him the Scientific American trophy. Special trains brought visitors from miles around and turned the event into America's first "air show."

Some visitors don't quite "get the June Bug; they have trouble believing it's really an airplane! Even experienced pilots shake their heads in disbelief, but this is the kind of machine that carried us into the skies (and the twentieth century) nine decades ago.

June Bug II, a faithful reproduction, flew ten miles, its longest flight, before going on display. Another memento of Curtiss's AEA days is a reproduction of Silver Dart, the first airplane to fly in Canada (see "Flight of the June Bug" in this issue for more information on the AEA).

Curtiss won two speed prizes in Rheims, flew 150 miles along the Hudson and thrilled crowds in Los Angeles. He solved the problem of water flying, first with floatplanes and then with flying boats. The first boat to get airborne took off from Keuka Lake near the Hammondsport waterfront, and Curtiss quickly marketed this craft to the military, becoming the "father of naval aviation."

He also marketed flying boats to wealthy sportsmen. A 1913 Model E LAV boat hull (on loan from NASM) is on display. LAV originally belonged to Logan A (Jack) Vilas, who used this craft to make the first crossing of Lake Michigan. Since only the hull remains, some visitors have trouble visualizing the entire aircraft. To help them out, museum volunteers are building a twin sister for LAV. This two-place, shoulder-- yoke, mid-wing aileron pusher is the first flying boat to be built in Hammondsport for eighty years. After it flies from Keuka Lake, probably in 1999, it will go on display in the museum.

The shop is a vital part of Curtiss Museum. Most days, especially weekdays, guests have a chance to visit it and hear about progress directly from the workers. In early 1998, they were also restoring a Link Trainer and reproducing a propeller-powered Curtiss "Wind Wagon." All this work is done by volunteers. Very few had A & P experience before starting at Curtiss, but now they carry on a tradition from those pioneer days.