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Article: Pilots license #1.(how Glenn H. Curtiss influenced development of aircraft)
- Article from:
- Cobblestone
- Article date:
- December 1, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Carus Publishing Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Neighbors in Hammondsport, New York, knew Glenn H. Curtiss as a tall, young bicycle racer who could fix just about anything. In 1901, he hitched a mail-order engine to a bike, creating an early motorcycle.
Curtiss soon began designing and shipping his own motorcycles and engines. Some of these engines powered the first American dirigibles. In 1907,
Curtiss drove along a Florida beach at 136 miles per hour on the world's first V-8 motorcycle. The quiet Curtiss was the fastest man on Earth.
Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone, convinced Curtiss to join Bell's new Aerial Experiment Association (AEA).
No one on this team had ...