Viewing page 32 of 59

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

and Donald Douglas became his replacement. That Spring Martin was belonging to sell planes to sportmen, and in June delivered two hydros to the Dutch Government in Java.The flying school continued and instructor Floyd Smith taught two distinguished wealthy sportsmen that year, William Boeing of Seattle, Washington and Caleb Bragg of New York City, both of whom later bought Martin planes. [[strikethrough]] and [[/strikethrough]] Bragg became a stockholder and Vice-President of the Glenn L. Martin Company. On October 27th Oscar Brindley won the Curtiss Marine Trophy event of the year when he flew a Martin TT Hydro 554 miles during that day.

In June, 1916 a Martin aircraft engine was announced. It was a 140 [[strikethrough]] H.P. [[/strikethrough]] h.p., 8-cylinder Vee-type liquid-cooled engine with welded steel cylinders and aluminum crankcase. Reportedly it was the work of Martin, Bragg and Leigh Griffith, but the development was soon dropped. During that spring the Martin Model S tandem, 2-seat hydro was announced, with a Hall-Scott 6-cylinder engine. [[strikethrough]] and [[/strikethrough]] It set a number of new records that year. The Martin Company was [[strikethrough]] then [[/strikethrough]] also building Model TT training planes with 4-cylinder Hall-Scott engines on Government orders. In early summer the Martin Model R tractor was announced. It embodied many new improvements, had a 46 foot span and used a 6-cylinder Hall-Scott engine.

During this period Martin's success attracted financially minded business leaders in the Eastern United States. This group had already purchased the Wright brothers' patents and assets of the original Wright Company in Dayton.Ohio, together with the Simplex Automobile Company of Brunswick,N.J., the Wright flying school at Hempstead, Long Island, and the General Aeronautic Company of New York [[strikethrough]] who were [[/strikethrough]] which handled foreign sales. [[strikethrough]] representatives. [[/strikethrough]] With Caleb Bragg as a member, the Wright-Martin Aircraft Corporation was formed in August, 1916, taking over the Martin organization and the operation of the facilities in California. At this time Donald Douglas left Martin and went with the Army as an aviation consultant.

In this merger Martin was made Vice President in charge of aircraft development, with an office in New York, but this move was not satisfactory to him. He soon became frustrated with but little authority in the affairs of a large corporation. The financiers knew little about aviation, and practically no progress was being made. (Later the Wright Aeronautical Corporation was formed from these mergers.) As a result, Martin

/9