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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My foremost debt of gratitude goes to my family. Books make greater and more insidious demands than other writing projects—and not just upon their authors; my wife, Laura, and children, Elise and Benjamin, supported and sustained me throughout my extended flights into the early twentieth century.
Katinka Matson, my agent, strongly encouraged me to experiment with the narrative form and backed the project generously throughout with her time and energy. I owe special thanks to Terry Karten, my editor at HarperCollins, for her commitment to the book from the outset and her patience in seeing it through. She and her associate, Andrew Proctor, offered many astute and welcome editorial suggestions.
A special note of thanks goes to Marc Miller who—possibly topping his invaluable help with my previous two books—worked his editorial magic on my early drafts. Marc, my longtime friend and former editor, was the first to read these pages and his keen editorial eye and copious corrections proved indispensable.
I also want to acknowledge my extended family for their many kindnesses, especially my father, Roy Shulman, for his interest and unflagging moral support. Heartfelt thanks to: John and Mickey Reed, Sarah Shulman and Tom Garrett, Jill Shulman, Karen Reed, Molly Reed, Christine Reed, Roberta Reed, and Lisa and Peter Crozier. Thanks also to my late grandmother Lena Wolf, who sadly passed away before she had the chance to see this book in print. All these members of my extended family contributed directly or indirectly to making this book possible.
Finally, I owe a special debt to several precious archives and the people who staff them. Most important are Chris Geiselmann and Kirk House at the Glenn Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport, New York. These two made their rich archive available to me in its entirety. They offered their wisdom about surviving Curtiss materials, gave me open access to their copy machine, and later helped with photo reproduction and fact checking. Their museum is a small, out-of-the-way gem for those interested in the early history of aviation, housing everything from complete sets of the AEA Bulletin, to a vast cache of memorabilia donated by many Curtiss associates. I thank them both immensely.
By contrast, the staff at the Smithsonian’s archive of the National Air and Space Museum at the Garber Center in Suitland, Maryland, brooked no browsing, offered no card catalog, and otherwise put up small roadblocks to research at every turn. Nonetheless, the Smithsonian archive—doubtless the world’s single most important aviation repository—was a gold mine of documentary material for this project. In particular, the chance to peruse Alexander Graham Bell’s voluminous scrapbooks and Charles Walcott’s personal photographic record of the reconstruction of the Langley aerodrome in their original, leather-bound binders did as much to transport me into Glenn Curtiss’s story as any other single experience.
I benefited, too, from access to the excellent collections at MIT, Boston College, Stanford University, Cornell University, as well as the Hammondsport Public Library, the Boston Public Library system, and numerous web-based collections on early aviation. It is not an exaggeration to say that these repositories sustain a vital link to our history. Without them—and generous public access to them—books like this one could never be written.
SEARCHABLE TERMS
Note: Entries in this index, carried over verbatim from the print edition of this title, are unlikely to correspond to the pagination of any given e-book reader. However, entries in this index, and other terms, may be easily located by using the search feature of your e-book reader.
Abbot, Charles G., 226–27
Ader, Clement, 98, 144 AEA Bulletin, 133
Aerial Experiment Association (AEA), 145
death of Tom Selfridge and, 146
formation of, 113, 117–21
glider Cygnet developed by, 129–30
June Bug aircraft developed by, 122–29, 137–43
move to Hammondsport, NY, 130–31
Red Wing biplane developed by, 131–32
White Wing aircraft developed by, 136–37
Aéro Club de France, 150, 165
Aero Club of Albany, 190
Aero Club of America, 35, 72, 94, 181
observation of June Bug flight by members of, 138–43
Scientific American trophy and, 126–27
Aero Club of New York, official observer of Hudson-Fulton Prize
flight, 189, 191
Aerodrome (aircraft)
craftsmanship in construction of, 26
earlier models of, 7–8, 12
engine, 10–12, 13, 19, 34–35, 65, 221
evaluation of viability of, 221
first test flight (1903), 1–21
houseboat and catapult launch for, 3, 4–5, 6, 9, 14, 18
C. Manly as pilot of, 5, 6, 11, 13–14, 16–17
propeller blades, 65
reasons for crash of, 17–19
restoration. See Aerodrome restoration
tail, 6, 14
wings, 6, 12
Aerodrome restoration, 25–27, 33–40, 43, 58–67, 212–22
conflicts of interest in, 48–49, 58, 65–66, 219–20
modifications
made in, 35, 48, 49, 64–65, 217–19, 221
significance of, 217–22
successful launch and flight of, 215–17
water launch and pontoons on, 63–65
O. Wright’s opposition to, and attempts to discredit, 46–49, 64, 217–19
Aeronautics (periodical), 58, 173
Ailerons, 45–46, 58
comparison of, to Wrights’ method, 160, 177–78
invention of, 133–34
on June Bug and White Wing aircraft, 123, 133–36
lawsuit involving Wright patent and, 160, 171, 173, 177–78
nonsimultaneous, 69
patent for, granted to Glenn Curtiss (1914), 210
Aircraft
aerodrome. See Aerodrome (aircraft); Aerodrome restoration
ailerons. See Ailerons (wing flaps)
cockpit, 73
Cygnet glider, 129–30
dirigibles, 81–94, 100–102
first amphibious, 188–89
first commercially sold, 147
first multiple loops in, 37
Gold Bug, 53, 147, 159
June Bug, 122–29, 137–43
landing gear, retractable, 208
S. Langley’s aerodrome, first flight test of (1903), 1–21
origins of airplane, 94–100
ornithopter, 155
pontoons, 63–65, 207
propeller blades, 65
Red Wing biplane, 131–32
seaplanes, 61, 188–89, 207–8
tail. See Tail(s), aircraft
tandem-wing design for, 6, 12, 40, 217, 218
for transatlantic flight (America), 71–78, 212, 225–26
White Wing, 136–37
wings. See Wing(s), aircraft
Wright Flyer. See Wright Flyer (aircraft)
Wright patent on stabilization of, 42, 44–46, 50–51, 135
Aircraft carrier, 208
Airfoil, 137
Airmail, 202, 203, 227
Air Tournament of Los Angeles (1910), 176–77
Albany Flier (aircraft), 188–89
on Hudson River flight, 194–200
Albany-Manhattan flight, G. Curtiss’s solo, 186–204
airplane design and modifi-cations for, 187, 188–89
Curtiss’s financial problems and decision to attempt, 186–87
finding takeoff and landing sites for, 190–92
first and second sections of, 195–200
Hudson-Fulton Prize and, 187, 189–90, 201–3
planning for, 188–90
press interest in, 189–90, 193
significance of, 203–4
takeoff, 192–95
third section and landing in Manhattan, 200–201
Allen, James, 38
America (aircraft), 71–78, 212, 225–26
Amphibian plane, G. Curtiss modifications and creation of first, 188–89
Army, U.S., 145
Atlantic Ocean, aerial crossing of, 71–78, 212, 225–26
L’Auto (periodical), 170
Automobile, patents and lawsuits regarding, 70, 174–75
Avery, William, 130
Aviation
early-20th-century technological advances and, 36–37
fatalities in early, 40, 146
origins of airplane and history of early, 94–100
speed record (1909), 162
Wright brothers’ attempt to monopolize, 43–44, 223. See also Patent, Wright brothers’
Wright brothers’ effect on development of, 51, 57–59
Aviation exhibitions and contests Dayton, Ohio (1906), 81–85
Grande Semaine d’Aviation, Rheims, France (1909), 144–66
Hudson-Fulton Prize, 186–204
Louisiana Purchase, in St. Louis (1906), 89–90
Scientific American trophy, 126–17
Aviators, 131
alienation of, from Wright brothers, 44, 57–59, 160
Captain T. Baldwin, 81–94, 100–102, 118, 120, 131
Glenn Curtiss as. See Curtiss, Glenn Hammond
at Rheims tournament, 154–55, 158
A. Santos-Dumont, 81–82, 86, 90, 134
stunt, 36–37, 67
Wright brothers. See Wright brothers
Awards
Collier Trophy, 210
Hudson-Fulton Prize, 187, 189–90, 201–3
Langley Medal, 38, 210
Gordon Bennett Trophy, Rheims, France (1909), 160–66
Scientific American trophy, 126–27
Baldwin, F. W. “Casey,” Aerial Experiment Association and role of, 109, 110, 119, 122, 132, 146
Baldwin, Thomas “Captain,” career and dirigible flights of, 81–94, 100–102, 118, 120, 131
Balzer, Stephen, 11n.
Baseball, 67–68
Beach, Stanley Y., 138
Beachey, Lincoln, 36–37, 43, 67, 212
dirigible flight (1906), 93
Beard, Luther, 53
Bell, Alexander Graham, 28, 38, 171
on aerodrome restoration, 63
early career and inventions of, 114–17
glider design by, 129–30
interest in S. Langley’s aerodrome, 7, 15, 20, 37, 117, 216
role of G. Curtiss and, Aerial Experiment Association, 103–21, 129–30, 133
telephone invented by, 43, 44, 94, 111, 114–15
wing design suggestions of, 135–36
Bell, Edward, 116
Bell, Elsie May Gardiner, 110
Bell, Mabel, 110–11, 113, 117, 119
Benner, Hank, 75
Bennett, James Gordon, 152–53, 164
Bennitt, Malinda, 30
Biplanes
June Bug, 122–29, 137–43
Red Wing, 131–32
Bishop, Cortlandt, 148, 152, 153, 156, 164, 165, 171
Bleriot, Louis, 194
flight of, across English Channel (1909), 149, 203
at Rheims tournament (1909), 154–55, 156, 163–64, 165
Boston American (periodical), 67
Boston Transcript (periodical), 211
Boulton, M. P. W., 134
Brashear, John A., 38, 39
Brewer, Griffith, on aerodrome restoration, 47–49, 217, 218–19
Cartier, Louis, 86
Cayley, George, 95–97
Chambers, Washington Irving, 208
Champlin, Harry, 122–23, 139
Chanute, Octave, 89, 120, 124, 130, 135, 146
aviation information collected and disseminated by, 54–55, 98–99
criticism of Wrights by, 55–56, 172–73
on S. Langley’s aerodrome, 37–38
Churchill, Winston, 227
Clarke, J., 67, 68
Cockburn, George, 162
Cockpit, 73
Collier, Robert, 44
Collier Trophy, 210
Collins, M. P., 199
Cox, James, 47
Crisp, W. Benton, 69–70, 212, 224
Curtiss, Glenn Hammond, 28–31
Aerial Experiment Association aircraft and role of. See Aerial Experiment Association (AEA)
aerodrome restoration directed by. See Aerodrome restoration
aileron wing designs of, 45–46, 123, 160, 177–78
aircraft developed by. See Albany Flier (aircraft); America (aircraft); Curtis JN (“Jenny” aircraft); Gold Bug (aircraft); June Bug (aircraft); NC-4 (aircraft); Red Wing (aircraft); Triad (aircraft); White Wing (aircraft)
Albany-Manhattan solo flight by, for Hudson-Fulton Prize, 186–206
business relationship with A. Herring, 146–47, 170–71, 181–82
business successes of, 206–7, 227–29
celebrity of, 164–66, 169–70
demonstration flights by, 171–72, 176–77
engine designs by, 30–31, 82, 87–89, 92–93
financial backing for transatlantic air crossing proposed by, 71
financial difficulties of, 181–85, 186–87
first air trav
el by, 92
first pilot license earned by, 142
H. Ford’s assistance to, 69–70, 175–76, 211–12
injunctions against, 41–43, 176, 186–87, 206
innovations and inventions of, 29, 64, 70, 104–5, 137, 207–10, 222, 223–24, 231–33
as June Bug pilot, 140–43
on S. Langley, 38–39
love of experimentation, 208–9
marriage to Lena Curtiss, 87–88
meetings and contacts between Wright Brothers and, 81–85, 100–102, 120, 179, 184, 229