CURTISS MODEL F—A FLYING BOAT OF FIRSTS
GLENN CURTISS was the first in the U.S. to take off and land on water, January 26, 1911. And within a year, he commercialized this achievement with the Curtiss Model … Continue reading
AVIATION MARKETING 101: 1911–1913
THE INTERNET IS often likened to the Wild West because of its unruly activities, but today’s internet is fairly orderly in comparison to the early days of aviation. I’ve already … Continue reading
AIRBOATS—REAL AND VIRTUAL
ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL did more than patent the first practical telephone in 1876 (not to say later giving actor Don Ameche such an iconic movie role that the device was … Continue reading
DOMINGUEZ HILL 1910—AMERICA’S FIRST AIR MEET
AIRLINE PASSENGERS using LAX, Los Angeles’s major airport, may not realize it, but they’re near historic ground in pioneer aviation. The first air meet in the U.S. took place January 10 – 20, … Continue reading
HENRY FORD’S FIRST FLIGHT
HENRY FORD was 64 years old before he took his first airplane ride. Not that aviation was of little interest to him: Ford had already invested in an aeroplane (albeit … Continue reading
THE WRIGHT BROS. VS GLENN CURTISS
ON DECEMBER 17, 1903, on the windy sand dunes of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville and Wilbur Wright achieved the world’s first pilot-controlled, powered, heavier-than-air flight. Others before had piloted … Continue reading
GABRIELE D’ANNUNZIO: POET, PATRIOT—FLYGUY
GABRIELE D’ANNUNZIO, the Italian poet and patriot, also became enamored with aviation. At the 1909 air show in Brescia, in northern Italy, d’Annunzio conned his way aboard flights with aeronaut … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 