Glenn H. Curtiss, Hero of Aviation

                                             

Glenn Curtiss making the first preannounced public flight in America, July 4, 1908

Glenn H. Curtiss

Twentieth Century American Genius

and Hero of Aviation

Glenn Curtiss, 1909, Rheims, France, 
 where he won the First International Aviation Competition

Glenn Hammond Curtiss was an American pioneer of aviation. He was a hero we can all be truly proud of.

In his relatively short lifetime, his achievements in the first part of the twentieth century, not only in aviation, but in other fields as well, were positively amazing.  Like David prevailing against Goliath, he stood up against some of the most powerful moguls of wealth in the United States, the then owners of the Wright Company. His determination prevented the infant aviation industry in America from being totally strangled by the throat hold the Wright brothers had on its development with their "bogus"* glider patent and their lawsuits. Curtiss continued to invent, to innovate, to produce, even though they were constantly dragging him into the courts.

He became"the Father of Naval Aviation" when the Wright Brothers were trying to beat him down. He became the father of our country's aviation industry when the Wrights were maligning him. His plane, the beloved "Jenny," trained more pilots than any other; and the Curtiss airplane factories, during World War I, produced more planes than any other. He developed aviation in this country to the point that it could take off on its own. 

Glenn Curtiss was the first to make a preannounced public flight in America. Before he virtually retired from aviation only eleven years later, his great flying boat, the NC-4, became the first plane to cross the Atlantic Ocean.

The  NC-4 (Navy Curtiss-4), 1919, the first plane to fly across the Atlantic. For its scale, note the pilots to the left of the "4"

*The adjective "bogus" was used to describe the Wrights' patent by author Jack Carpenter, who dedicated the last years of his life towards restoring Glenn Curtiss to his proper place in history;

To be continued...

Note: For compelling reading by this author, please see truthinaviationhistory.blogspot.com