A Curtiss Jenny on a training flight Curtiss Flying School at North Island, San Diego, 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 Wright brothers, Orville Wright (August 19, 1871 – January 30, 1948) and Wilbur Wright (April 16, 1867 – May 30, 1912), were American aviation List of aviation pioneers, pioneers generally credited with inventing, building, and flyin ...

. The first example was located in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. 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 E ...

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 primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

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 coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. Training in the

Curtiss Model D The 1911 Curtiss Model D (or frequently "Curtiss Pusher") is 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 o ...

. *1912

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. 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 *1915

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

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 Co ...

, Training in the Curtiss JN-3. *1915

Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an Independent city (United States), independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the List of c ...

Harbor. Site of training for the Canadian

Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...

. Disbanded in 1922. *1918 Camp Claudio,

Parañaque Parañaque, officially the City of Parañaque (, ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of ...

Philippine Islands The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, in training the Philippine Constabulary Air Corps, which became the forerunner of the

Philippine Army Air Corps The Philippine Army Air Corps () was created in 1935 as the air component of the Philippine Army. It was the predecessor of the Philippine Air Force, created in 1947. History The Air Corps was created by the Philippine National Assembly' ...

and

Philippine Air Force The Philippine Air Force (PAF) () is the aerial warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Initially formed as part of the Philippine Army as the Philippine Army Air Corps (PAAC) in 1935, the PAAC eventually saw combat ...

. *1929

Stratford, Connecticut Stratford is a New England town, town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is situated on Long Island Sound at the mouth of the Housatonic River. The town is part of the Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, Connecticut, Greater Bri ...

Shortly afterward became

Curtiss-Wright The Curtiss-Wright Corporation is an American 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 (business), consoli ...

Flying School. The historic Curtis Hangar

still stands.

Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American Aerospace engineering, aerospace engineer, business magnate, film producer, and investor. He was The World's Billionaires, one of the richest and most influential peo ...

and

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, and author. On May 20–21, 1927, he made the first nonstop flight from New York (state), New York to Paris, a distance of . His aircra ...

once frequented the hangar.

Amelia Earhart Amelia Mary Earhart ( ; July 24, 1897 – January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer. On July 2, 1937, she disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to become the first female pilot to circumnavigate the world. During her li ...

kept a plane there. It was home to the prototype for the

Vought F4U Corsair The Vought F4U Corsair is an American fighter aircraft that saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Designed and initially manufactured by Vought, Chance Vought, the Corsair was soon in great demand; additional production con ...

Lindbergh was a Corsair test pilot.

Instructors

The following were instructors in 1915: * Walter Edwin Lees * Victor Carlstrom * Victor Vernon * Jimmy Johnson (aviator) * Carl Batts *

Steve MacGordon Stephenson MacGordon (February 29, 1892 – June 6, 1916) was a record-holding pioneer aviator who died in a crash in 1916. Biography He was born on February 29, 1892, in Menominee, Michigan, to Charles Hackley McGordon (1871–1921). He was ...

* Ted Hequemburg * Lawrence Leon * Bertrand Blanchard Acosta * Andrew Cogswell

Students

* Agustín Parlá Orduña (1877-1946) in 1912. * Fred Banbury (1893-1918) in 1916. *

Lincoln Beachey Lincoln Beachey (March 3, 1887 – March 14, 1915) was a Aviation in the pioneer era, pioneer American aviator and barnstorming, barnstormer. He became famous and wealthy from flying exhibitions, staging aerial stunts, helping invent aerobati ...

(1887–1915) in 1910. * Joseph Bennett (aviator). * Morris Maxey Titterington (1891–1928) in 1914. * Harold Frederick Pitcairn (1891-1960) in 1916. * Arthur Whealy (1895-1945) in 1916.

References

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 {{Aviation-org-stub

Locations

Instructors

Students

References

Further reading

External links