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RUTHERFORD B. PAGE

Early Curtiss Sportsman Pilot

Rutherford B. Page was born in New York City April 27, 1887, of wealthy parents. He attended a local school and Taft Prep school, then [[strikethrough]] took [[/strikethrough]] studied Mechanical Engineering at Sheffield Scientific School, Yale University, graduating with a Ph.B. in 1910. During college he played on the Freshman Hockey Team and was a member of the Yale Aero Club.

He developed an early interest in aviation during the many flying activities in the New York area. Reportedly, he had one or more plane rides in a Farman-type biplane at Nassau Boulevard, Long Island, New York, in 1910 or early 1911.

After graduating, Page spent some time operating a farm near Milford, Connecticut. Following this he was connected with the Crane Valve Company at Bridgeport, Connecticut, for a time. He took a hunting trip to the Canadian Northwest during the summer of 1911 and at that period decided he wanted to learn to fly.

As a result he enrolled for flight instruction at the Curtiss School at Hammondsport, New York, during the late summer of 1911, then moved with the school to North Island, San Diego, California, in November for winter operations. In his class were J. L. Callas, S. C. Lewis, Mr. and Mrs. W. B. Atwater, Fred Hoover, Oscar Solbrig, William Hoff and Julia Clark. The instructor was J. W. McClaskey. Page was an apt pupil and was soon flying capably. During his course he ordered a Curtiss plane, complete with float equipment, so he could convert from land to water flying. One day while on a practice flight he pointed the plane up, flew across the Bay and landed at the Coronado Polo Club, talked to several people, then flew back. Needless to say, his instructor was distracted about this trip, flown without permission.

By year's end Page had become a very skillful new pilot, and early in January 1912, he took delivery of his new plane and flew the tests for an F.A.I. Pilot License. He then entered the 1912 Los Angeles Aviation Meet, to be held at Dominguez Field January 19th to 28th. On January 18th, the North Island Curtiss School

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