Jetrader - September/October 2011 - 56

extending the front elevator moment arm, he increased the space between the pilot and the engine, as well as reduced the wing area and increased that of the ailerons. Overall he reduced drag and made the airplane more responsive to lateral control. Curtiss made two ﬂ ights on 25 June, one being 3,420 feet. The Aero Club of America was notiﬁed that the AEA was ready to challenge the terms for the Scientiﬁc American Cup. On 4 July 1908, after a short weather delay, Curtiss got airborne at the wine

company’s field before an estimated 1,000 spectators; flying low, he well exceeded the official 1 kilometer mark for the cup, finally landing when the engine overheated. He averaged 39 mph. Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge of the AEA group of four was the sole member of the army aircraft selection committee to have ever flown, and on 17 September 1908, Orville Wright took him up as the plane’s first passenger, to undertake the mandatory tests for

the contract. One of the two propellers shed a blade, which cut through a control cable and the airplane crashed out of control; Orville was serious injured and Selfridge died later of his wounds—the first airplane fatality. The second fatality was also a member of the AEA group; a week after the Wright accident, Charles Oliver Jones lost his life when his airship caught fire during an exhibition flight. The fourth airplane was designed and ﬂ own by the group’s other Canadian, Jack McCurdy, in Canada, a ﬁrst in the then British Empire. Named Silver Dart, it concluded the work of the AEA quartet and Curtiss went on to build an improved June Bug, baptized Golden Flier and moved ﬂ ight tests to Mineola, Long Island. There he gained the Scientiﬁc American trophy by exceeding the 25-kilometer, 12-lap circular course with a ﬂ ight of 39.52 kilometers—19 laps all told. Meanwhile, Cortland Bishop of the Aero Club put $38,000 of his own money into a new company named HerringCurtiss Company. Herring had worked with Curtiss as well as with Langley and Chanute, both pioneers, in the 1890s. Curtiss was general manager with an annual salary of $5,000 and a lump sum of $60,000 for his patents and property. In August 1909, the Grande Semaine d’Aviation at Rheims, France, was the ﬁrst international air competition, and Curtiss was there unpacking a new, untested, smaller version of the Golden Flier. By the end of the meet, he had won the overall speed event at 46.5 mph (74.8 km/h) and the Gordon Bennett Cup; he also was awarded French pilot’s license No. 2. Back in the states, he was awarded pilot’s license No. 1. References:
Hell-Rider to King of the Air by Kirk W. House; published by Society of Automotive Engineers, 2003 Other reference: Wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Curtiss Bill Bath is Appraiser Fellow - Administrative Director, ISTAT International Appraisers’ Program. His new address is Horizon House, 61 Bryant Avenue, Apt. 212, Roslyn, NY 11576.

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publication of the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading9:17:50 AM 7/9/10

http://www.aeronautical-engineers.com http://www.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Curtiss

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