<3 Ed loves Glenn Curtiss <3

When I found out we were going to be in Hammondsport, NY, I realized I had the chance to visit the Glenn Curtiss Aviation Museum.

I believe Curtiss is every bit as important as the Wright brothers and in some respects even more so. Curtiss' achievements were remarkable especially since he had only a high school education. He began racing bicycles at the turn of the 20th Century, then motorizing bicycles, than manufacturing motorcycles. Alexander Graham Bell joined forces with Curtiss to develop airplanes using Curtiss' engines.

Curtiss became the #1 licensed pilot in America (the Wrights were not licensed) and began airplane racing and long distance flying. All of this before WWI. He was also the first to design, build, and fly a hydroplane.

During WWI, Curtiss was a major manufacturer of training airplanes and flying boats, and a manufacturer of engines. By 1925 the Curtiss Co. and the Wright Airplane Co. merged to form the Curtiss Wright Corp. The irony is that this was preceded by years of personal fighting and litigation over patent infringement between Curtiss and the Wrights.

Curtiss left aviation and got involved in land development in Florida.

This is an interier shot of the museum. There are a few original airplanes and many replicas.

The staff is made up of volunteers - all retired aviation enthusiasts - who lovingly refurbished the original engines and built some of the planes from scratch using the original plans. This one is the Oriole circa 1920.

This is the restoration shop where all this work is being done. I was offered a job if I wanted to come back for the summer. What an opportunity. Something I would love to do. I wish there was something like this back home. It was very exciting for me to talk with some of the guys there. Some were engineers - a language I understand.

These planes don't just sit here. Most are in flyable condition. One of the volunteers is a pilot who works on them and flies them. What confidence!

This is the America model seaplane, scratch built to represent a circa WWI model. It will be flown again in September from Keuka Lake near the museum.

The photos below are representative of the exhibits in the museum.

Any aviation enthusiast like myself will find this museum a thrill. You can get close to the planes, wander into the preservation shop, talk to the guys, and feel right at home. It was a wonderful experience for me.