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16 AVIATION May, 1911 and the obstinate insistence upon making things go that really does make them go in spite of all obstacles. He has been impelled by fate to start out with nothing at all, and it is purely what is in Curtiss himself that has enabled him to conquor the air and become one of the world's celebrieties. He was born at Hammondsport, N. Y., where the Curtiss manufacturing headquarters are now located, and where he grew up and where he went into the bicycle business, which led to the building of Curtiss motors and motorcycles. He built motorcycles which were securing world's records and then turned to aerial work, constructing for Dr. Silverton of Milwaukee an eight-cylinder, forty-horsepower engine, which was utilized to make the remarkable speed record with a motorcycle at Ormond Beach. Then motors were built for Captain T. S. Baldwin's dirigibles, beginning with that with which Roy Knabenshue made the first American airship flight at the St. Louis Exposition, in 1904. This brought about the association of Curtiss and Baldwin in connection with the furnishing of the Government dirigible by the latter, which was equipped with a Curtiss water-cooled motor. The work of Dr. Alexander Graham Bell's group of experimenters centered around Curtiss, who undertook the construction part of the experiments and built the "Red Wing," "June Bug," and "White Wing," and furnished the motors, also building the motor for Dr. Bell's tetrahedral "Cygnet." With the "June Bug" Curtiss made a successful try for the Scientific American trophy, July 4, 1908. The award was to be made to the first machine in the United States to fly at least one kilometer on a straight line, and Curtiss flew farther than twice the required distance. Through the efforts of C. F. Bishop, at that time president of the Aero Club of America, Curtiss entered the first contest for the International Aviation Trophy, although it meant rush work to have a machine ready, and he was compelled to appear and qualify at Rheims with a machine practically untried, except for the experience Curtiss had gained on other machines. However, he made nearly a dozen official flights and landed at the starting point on every one of them, beat the fastest flying men in the world and won the Coupe International for the first time in the history of aviation, making the twenty kilometers in 15 minutes, 50 seconds, or at nearly 47 miles an hour. After continuing his demonstration of flying speed, Curtiss returned to this country and flew at the Hudson-Fulton celebration and participated in the first aviation meet at Los Angeles. Then he flew the 150 miles for the World's Hudson River prize in 2 1/2 hours and later made a flight of 120 miles over Lake Erie from Cleveland to Cedar Point and return. His flights and experiments in California during the past winter are familiar to the readers of aviation. Curtiss is continuing the exhibition and manufacturing business this year, and aviators using his machines are flying in different parts of the country. The factory at Hammondsport will have its capacity enlarged, and Curtiss machines are to be turned out for Government use, as well as for commercial and pleasure flying. It is probable that foreign markets will be invaded by his representatives. Ely, McCurdy, Robinson, Beachey, and Witmer are flying Curtiss aeroplanes. The Curtiss aeroplane is a favorite model for amateurs, because of its lightness and simplicity of construction. Curtiss will probably continue to make California his winter headquarters, because of the favorable weather conditions, and at San Diego or some other coast city, no doubt, will continue his notable experiments. If he could be successful in actual warfare in capturing a city as he has succeeded in capturing Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego, the force at the United States war maneuvers would consist of one flying man, his manager, press agent, and a few mechanics, instead of 20,000 soldiers. At any rate, if anybody has made a favorable impression on Californians it is Glenn H. Curtiss.
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Deleted first word ("unknown") because it was included at the end of page 253
