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one for the U.S. Army which required more power. Baldwin moved his operations to Hammondsport and a dirigible hangar was erected. In view of these activities Curtiss started working on larger engines for aviation, and Capt. Baldwin proceeded to build and test this new Army airship there. Curtiss went up with Baldwin as engine man on test flights and eventually began flying it himself. As a mechanic for Curtiss, Wildman's work soon turned into quite an aeronautical venture.

That summer Curtiss also made trips to Nova Scotia, Canada, to install a Curtiss engine in one of Dr. Alexander's Graham Bell's tetrahedral kites. This led to the forming of the Aerial Experiment Association in October, 1907 to experiment with flying machines. Wildman soon found himself in the midst of those now historic activities and assisted in the building and testing of the planes and engines mad by that notable organization in 1908. Late that Fall the aerial experiment group attempted to fly off the waters of lake Keuka by installing floats under the "June Bug' but the experiment was not successful due to poor float design and lack of power. With floats, the plane was called the "Loon" and Wildman assisted with this very early attempt to fly off the water, which was finally accomplished in January, 1911 at San Diego, California. 

Up to this time all Curtiss engines had been air-cooled, following his motorcycle practice, but in February 1908 Baldwin was awarded another contract for a still larger dirigible calling for a specially designed 4-cyl. 30 H.P. water-cooled Curtiss engine. In helping to build this special engine Wildman had a hand in the very beginning of all Curtiss water-cooled aircraft engines to follow. This engine was such an improvement over the former air-cooled type that another one was made, comprising two of these 4-cyl. engines built into a 90° vee Eight cylinder 50 - 60 H.P. model used by Curtiss in the winning 1909 Gordon Bennett race plane. Wildman accompanied Curtiss to France for that famous event and as one of his mechanics nursed this new engine to a glorious finish.