"America" Flies Again

Restoring the Curtiss Seaplane

- By Jim Poel, Kirk W. House

Although the Wright Brothers may have flown first, there are few who would argue that Glenn Curtiss was actually the driving force that developed the flying machine from a curiosity into an airplane and made it both a practical and controllable entity. Few of the Wrights' design innovations survived into even the '20s, but Curtiss gave us many basics, including the rudder/aileron/elevator control system that is common to all modern aircraft as well as tricycle landing gear.

As part of their mission to ensure that Curtiss's place in history remains visible, the Glenn Curtiss Museum (glennhcurtissmuseum.org) in Hammondsport, New York, Curtiss's old hometown, has been fabricating faithful flying reproductions of early Curtiss designs for some years. One of their more ambitious efforts was the twin-engine flying boat, America.

At Flight Journal's request, Jim Poel volunteered to tell us how "America" flies.

Building and flying the "America" is much easier than the older 1911 U.S. Navy A-1 Curtiss floatplane.. For one thing, it has conventional controls and a closed cockpit; where the older Curtiss had a shoulder yoke for the ailerons, the control wheel turned for the rudders and fore and aft for the elevators. Very unconventional. And on the "America" we had a better appreciation for the location of the center of gravity. Plus, we were happy to discover that it floats the same way as the old pictures show.