HydroplaneIn 1911, Glenn Curtiss piloted the first hydroplane flight at North Island, San Diego, California, with a successful take-off from water and landing on water. rose six feet and flew about two or three hundred yards. The airplane Flying Fish had pontoons in place of wheels. The rear pontoon was 6-ft wide and 5-ft long. The front one was narrower. He had made his first flight on his 30th birthday, 21 May 1908, in White Wing, a design of the Aerial Experiment Association, the group led by Alexander Graham Bell. Curtiss began building his own aircraft. He pioneered the design of the floatplane and the flying boat. Curtiss established an aviation school on North Island in San Diego Bay, Dec 1910. On 17 Feb 1911, He demonstrated the first hydroplane flight to a ship, the USS Pennsylvania.«[Image: Detail from a postcard photgraph, which is dated 25 Feb 1911, although other sources give 26 Feb 1911 as the date of the first hydraplane flight.] |
