Glenn+Curtis


 * Glenn Curtiss By Patrick Snyder**



In 1904, Curtiss started suppling engines for the California "aeronaut" Tom Baldwin. In that same year, Baldwin's California Arrow, powered by a Curtiss 9 HP V-twin motorcycle engine, became the first successful blimp in America.

Glenn Curtiss was born in 1878 in Hammondsport, New York.

He is said to be the Father of naval aviation. Curtiss started started the first flight school for Army and Navy personnel In San Diego, California. The site of this training encampment is now part of the Naval Air Station North Island and is referred to as the birthplace of Naval Aviation.

In 1917 the U.S. Navy commissioned Curtiss to design a long-range, four-engined flying boat large enough to hold a crew of five, which became known as the NC-4.