Couverture / Jaquette

Charles R. Mitchell tracks Curtiss's dizzying ride from a village bicycle shop to record-smashing motorcycle races and city building in the Florida land boom.

Glenn Curtiss beat even the Wright brothers (who sued him bitterly) to get pilot's license No. 1 in America. He teamed with Alexander Graham Bell, helped develop the moving wing part known as the aileron, introduced tricycle landing gear, made the first airplane sales, and turned aeronautics into a multimillion dollar business. His innovations ranged from the Curtiss Pusher to the hydroaeroplane, the flying boat, and the Curtiss Jenny. Curtiss, his engines, and his airplanes dominated the world of early aviation on this side of the Atlantic. Glenn H. Curtiss: Aviation Pioneer charts Curtiss's breakneck course across two continents, North America and Europe, setting speed and distance records, experimenting with military applications, always striving for a safer, faster airplane. Fostering both water flyers and shipboard landing, he became the Father of Naval Aviation. But even the skies were not wide enough for the busy brain of Curtiss.

Note biographique

Charles R. Mitchell, author of two other Arcadia books (Penn Yan and Keuka Lake and Hammondsport and Keuka Lake), is a professional photographer. He is associated with the Oliver House Museum in Penn Yan. Kirk W. House, a former teacher and school administrator, is directorcurator of the Glenn Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport. His writings have appeared in numerous aviation and general-interest publications. He is a historian member of the OX-5 Aviation Pioneers.

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