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HARRY PARK
Pioneer Curtiss Aviator - Printer

Harry Park was born in Baltimore, Maryland, November 24, 1869. Information is lacking concerning his early life and education, but as a young man he became a trick cyclist, followed the circus circuits and at one time rode down Pike's Peak in Colorado on a one-wheel bicycle. Later he raced automobiles and developed an act of leaping from one speeding car to another alongside. 
     
Park became interested in flying in 1910 and there is evidence that he enrolled for flying lessons with Tom Benoist at St. Louis, Missouri, in March, 1911. This evidently did not work out and shortly afterward he joined J. N. Sparling of East St. Louis, Illinois, who had built a Curtiss-type pusher biplane, using a 30 h.p. Detroit Aeromotor engine. Park's home was in Portland, Oregon, at that time. 
     
Sparling was looking for someone to fly his plane and gave Park the chance to learn to fly it. By late March Park was making short hops and on his tenth flight made a circle of the field. The engine was troublesome and in April they removed the Aeromotor and installed a 4-cylinder Elbridge engine. With this change Park made more rapid progress with his flying practice and soon made an 18-mile cross-country flight. 
     
In early May Sparling moved his aviation venture to Kinloch Flying Field, St. Louis, Missouri, and announced the opening of a flying school with Park as instructor. On May 13th Park made several short exhibition flights at Poplar Bluff, Missouri. He continued his work with Sparling and again made flights at Poplar Bluff on June 8th. Reportedly Parks had a bad smashup with the Sparling plane during mid-1911 that laid him up for some time.
     
When he had recovered, Park decided he wanted to learn to fly at an accredited flying school so he became a student at the Curtiss School at North Island, San Diego, California, during March and April, 1912. There he was one of a large class and his instructor was J. W. McClaskey. Park passed his tests there and obtained F.A.I. Flying License No. 113 on April 19, 1912.