Museum Report

Birthplace of the Flying Boat

In New York's Finger Lakes region, Hammondsport sits at the southern end of Keuka Lake. It is home to the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum, which is within walking distance of the aviation pioneer's birthplace and his early aircraft factories. Because of Curtiss' work with the Navy-he trained the first naval aviator and pioneered the launch and recovery of aircraft from ships-he is considered the father of naval aviation.

The calm lake was a boon to Curtiss' early aircraft design and testing. In winter, its frozen surface provided a smooth, flat runway for wheeled or ski-equipped aircraft. Today, Keuka Lake hosts the museum's Seaplane Homecoming Weekend, a September gathering of vintage and contemporary seaplanes and an event well worth attending.

The planes featured at the spacious, well-planned museum are primarily from the early years of aviation, roughly 1908 to 1928. Some are reconstructed originals, others are replicas-new aircraft built from original plans and photos, made whenever possible from identical materials. Among many notable aircraft on display are the 1908 June Bug, a 1911 A-1 Triad, a 1913 Model E (the world's first flying boat), and a JN-4D Jenny.

But the queen of the airfleet is the replica of the 1914 Curtiss America. The first aircraft built to cross the Atlantic, this wooden-hulled biplane was also the first multi-engine flying boat. Its glass-enclosed cockpit and modern fuselage were a clear break from the kite-like aircraft of its era. Powered by two original reconditioned 100-horsepower Curtiss OXX-6 water-cooled, counter-rotating V-8s in the pusher mode, the America replica was flown successfully at the 2008 and 2009 Seaplane Homecoming Weekends. Quickly clearing the water and flying at about 60 mph, it made for an impressive sight.

World War I prevented the America from making its Atlantic flight. It and a backup eventually did cross the ocean, shipped under tarps to Liverpool on the Mauritania. Too fragile for combat, they served as the basis for the "Small America" and "Large America" patrol boats, the only American-built warbirds to see combat in the Great War. In 1919, a Navy Curtiss NC-4 made the first transatlantic flight.

Visiting the museum's restoration shop, off to the side of the aircraft-display area, is a must. Not only are visitors welcome, they may even be put to work. I wound up helping clean a crankshaft from a 1918 engine. This area is a complete machine and woodworking shop. On the walls hang full-size spruce aircraft wings-replicas in the making. Storage racks hold spruce, ash, and construction bamboo. Rolls of polyester fabric and epoxy adhesives fill the shelves, having replaced cotton, silk, and animal glues.

Presently under construction is a replica of the Albany Flyer, which won the New York World's $10,000 prize in 1910 by flying from Albany to Manhattan. If all goes well, it will make a 100-year anniversary flight in summer 2010.

The Navy has asked the museum to fly its reproduction of the A-1, the first plane sold to the service, in the San Diego and Pensacola festivities for the 2011 Centennial of Naval Aviation. The Albany Flyer may also participate.

The museum houses a collection of vintage motorcycles and bicycles, the latter of which were Curtiss' first love. That led him to manufacture and race motorcycles, then lightweight motorcycle engines, aircraft engines, and finally aircraft. Wine-making equipment, firearms, toys, 19th-century firefighting equipment, and turn-of-the-century, beautifully varnished wooden boats display the area's rich history.

Children especially enjoy the miniature version of an early Curtiss pusher. They can sit in the pilot's seat of this mechanical model, operating the controls. The aileron control cables are linked to the pilot's seat, and leaning left or right takes one in that direction. "Pilots" can look back at the wings and watch the flight surfaces respond to their control.

The Glenn H. Curtiss Museum is seven miles north of Bath, New York. You can't miss it; a C-46 military transport plane marks the entrance. Plan to spend a day. It's in the heart of New York's wine country, and many wine-tasting tours are available around the lake. The closest cities are Buffalo (100 miles) and Rochester (70 miles).