A Curtiss Jenny on a training flight
Curtiss Flying School at North Beach California in 1911
The Curtiss Flying School was started by
Glenn Curtiss
Glenn Hammond Curtiss (May 21, 1878 – July 23, 1930) was an American aviation and motorcycling pioneer, and a founder of the U.S. aircraft industry. He began his career as a bicycle racer and builder before moving on to motorcycles. As early a ...
to compete against the
Wright Flying School of the
Wright brothers. The first example was located in
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
.
The Wright brothers had a keen interest in their competition, sending the lesser known Lorin Wright to spy and take photographs at the New York facility for a 1914 lawsuit.
Curtiss started the Atlantic Coast Aeronautical Station on a 20-acre tract east of Newport News (VA) Boat Harbor in the Fall of 1915 with Captain Thomas Scott Baldwin as head. Many civilian students, including Canadians, later became World War I flyers. Victor Carlstrom, Vernon Castle, Eddie Stinson and Gen Billy Mitchell trained here. The school was disbanded in 1922.
Students would work toward completing the
Aero Club of America
The Aero Club of America was a social club formed in 1905 by Charles Jasper Glidden and Augustus Post, among others, to promote aviation in America. It was the parent organization of numerous state chapters, the first being the Aero Club of New ...
pilot's license. The initial cost was one dollar a minute for the four-hundred-minute course ($8,600 in 2010 dollars). In 1917 the
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
took over operations during World War I. After the war, control reverted to Curtiss, who closed Newport operations in 1922.
A large variety of aircraft were used for training, mostly designed and built by Curtiss, and still undergoing flight testing. Among the fleet included the first aircraft to take off from water.
By 1929, the Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce took over licensing of aviation schools. Curtiss schools were registered and required to give two weeks of ground school instruction to new pilots.
Locations
*1910
San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...
. Training in the
Curtiss Model D
The 1911 Curtiss Model D (or frequently "Curtiss Pusher") was an early United States pusher aircraft with the engine and propeller behind the pilot's seat. It was among the first aircraft in the world to be built in any quantity, during an era ...
.
*1912
Miami, Florida
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
. Two 200 foot by 800 foot airstrips were provided by the city, with funding to ship in four training aircraft. This was the first flying service school, which eventually was donated to a Naval Air Base
*1913
Hammondsport, New York
Hammondsport is a village at the south end of Keuka Lake, in Steuben County, one of the Finger Lakes of New York, United States.
The Village of Hammondsport is in the Town of Urbana and is northeast of Bath.
History
Lazarus Hammond founded ...
*1915
Toronto, Ontario
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
Long Branch Aerodrome
Long Branch Aerodrome was an airfield located west of Toronto, Ontario and just east of Port Credit, now Mississauga, and was Canada's first aerodrome. The airport was opened by the Curtiss Flying School, part of the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Com ...
, Training in the Curtiss JN-3.
*1915
Newport News, Virginia Harbor. Site of training for the Canadian
Royal Flying Corps. Disbanded in 1922.
*1918 Camp Claudio,
Parañaque,
Philippine Islands
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
, in training the Philippine Constabulary Air Corps, which became the forerunner of the
Philippine Army Air Corps
The Philippine Army Air Corps ( fil, Pulutong Himpapawid ng Hukbong Katihan ng Pilipinas; es, Cuerpo Aéreo del Ejercito Filipino) was created in 1935 as the air component of the Philippine Army. It was the predecessor of the Philippine Air F ...
and
Philippine Air Force.
*1929
Stratford, Connecticut Shortly afterword became
Curtiss-Wright
The Curtiss-Wright Corporation is a manufacturer and services provider headquartered in Davidson, North Carolina, with factories and operations in and outside the United States. Created in 1929 from the consolidation of Curtiss, Wright, and v ...
Flying School. The historic Curtis Hangar
still stands.
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting pilot, engineer, film producer, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and richest people in th ...
and
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...
once frequented the hangar.
Amelia Earhart kept a plane there. It was home to the prototype for the
Vought F4U Corsair
The Vought F4U Corsair is an American fighter aircraft which saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Designed and initially manufactured by Chance Vought, the Corsair was soon in great demand; additional production contract ...
Lindbergh was a Corsair test pilot.
Instructors
The following were instructors in 1915:
*
Walter Edwin Lees
Walter Edwin Lees (July 16, 1887 – May 16, 1957) was an early American aviator who set a flight endurance record in 1931.
Biography
He was born on July 16, 1887, in Janesville, Wisconsin, and attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He m ...
*
Victor Carlstrom
1st Lieutenant Victor Carlström (April 13, 1890 – May 9, 1917) was a record-holding Swedish-American pioneer aviator. He set a cross-America flight air speed record until the record was beaten by Ruth Bancroft Law.
Biography
He was born i ...
*
Victor Vernon
The name Victor or Viktor may refer to:
* Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname
Arts and entertainment
Film
* ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film
* ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...
*
Jimmy Johnson (aviator) Jimmy, Jim, or Jimmie Johnson may refer to:
Sports American football
*Jimmy Johnson (quarterback) (1879–1942), American football player
*Jimmy Johnson (cornerback) (born 1938), American football cornerback
*Jimmy Johnson (American football coa ...
*
Carl Batts Carl may refer to:
*Carl, Georgia, city in USA
*Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
*Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name
*Carl², a TV series
* "Carl", List of Aqua Teen ...
*
Steve MacGordon
*
Ted Hequemburg
*
Lawrence Leon
*
Bertrand Blanchard Acosta
*
Andrew Cogswell
Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is frequently shortened to "Andy" or "Drew". The word is derived ...
Students
*
Fred Banbury (1893-1918) in 1916.
*
Lincoln Beachey
Lincoln Beachey (March 3, 1887 – March 14, 1915) was a pioneer American aviator and barnstormer. He became famous and wealthy from flying exhibitions, staging aerial stunts, helping invent aerobatics, and setting aviation records.
He was k ...
(1887–1915) in 1910.
*
Joseph Bennett (aviator).
*
Morris Maxey Titterington (1891–1928) in 1914.
*
Harold Frederick Pitcairn
Harold Frederick Pitcairn (June 20, 1897 – April 23, 1960) was an American aviation inventor and pioneer. He played a key role in the development of the autogyro and founded the Autogiro Company of America. He patented a number of innovations ...
(1891-1960) in 1916.
*
Arthur Whealy (1895-1945) in 1916.
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
* https://www.marinersmuseum.org/sites/micro/cbhf/century/wwi003.html
Aviation history of the United States
Aviation schools in the United States
Curtiss-Wright Company
Companies based in New York (state)
Educational institutions established in 1910
1910 establishments in California
History of Newport News, Virginia
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