Among the Curtiss Model E Flying Boats produced in 1913 was one sold to Logan A. "Jack" Vilas of Chicago. Vilas' Model E was powered by a 90-horsepower Curtiss OX engine. With this aircraft, Vilas made the first crossing of Lake Michigan, flying from St. Joseph, Michigan, to Grant Park on Chicago's waterfront in July 1913. Vilas donated the hull of his Model E Flying Boat to the Smithsonian Instit
The Curtiss N-9 was a seaplane version of the famous Curtiss JN-4 trainer used by the U.S. Air Service during the First World War. To make the conversion, a single large central pontoon was mounted below the fuselage, with a small float fitted under each wingtip. These changes required a 10-foot increase in wingspan to compensate for the additional weight. Further modifications to the standard Cur
The Smithsonian P-40E did not serve in the U. S. military. Curtiss-Wright built it in Buffalo, New York, as Model 87-A3 and delivered it to Canada as a Kittyhawk IA on March 11, 1941. It served in No. 111 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). When the Japanese navy moved to attack Midway, they sent a diversionary battle group to menace the Aleutian Islands. Canada moved No. 111 Squadron to Al
On Oct. 26, 1925, U.S. Army Lt. James H. Doolittle flew the Curtiss R3C-2 to victory in the Schneider Trophy Race with an average speed of 374 km/h (232.17 mph). The next day he flew the R3C-2 over a straight course at a world-record speed of 395 km/h (245.7 mph). In the Schneider Trophy Race of Nov. 13, 1926, this same airplane piloted by Lt. Christian F. Schilt, USMC, and piloted by an improved
Among the most successful early engines marketed in the United States were those designed and built by aviation pioneer and inventor Glenn Curtiss in his factory at Hammondsport, New York. Early Curtiss engines powered motorcycles, and were air cooled. Later, to achieve higher power, Curtiss began to develop liquid-cooled engines. Curtiss built this engine for the U.S. Navy in 1921 for experimenta
The greatest record for sustained flight was set five years later in a Whirlwind-powered Curtiss Robin J-1 Deluxe named Ole Miss. After two unsuccessful attempts in 1934, brothers Fred and Algene Key took off from Meridian, Mississippi, on June 4, 1935, and landed again 27 days later for a total flight time of 653 hours and 34 minutes. There to greet the exhausted fliers on the evening of July 1 w
This Junior, serial number 1143, NC 10965, was built in the summer of 1931 but the early years are unknown. In 1934, Les Maudlin of Brownsville, Texas, received a renewed license for the Junior after work was completed on the wing - fixing loose aileron hinges, nuts and bolts and drag wires. The total aircraft flight time was listed as 636 hours. G.C. Acord of Dallas, Texas, who owned the aircraft