2017-01-10 Tue

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No....It’s a flying boat Airplane!

On 10th January 1912, the Curtiss Model E flying boat, an aircraft designed and built by American aeronautics pioneer Glenn Hammond Curtiss successfully completed its maiden flight! Glen Curtiss was an enthusiastic inventor and he has a many “firsts” to his name! He deserves the credit for pioneering the design of the floatplane and the flying boat.

Glen Curtiss’ contributions in designing and building aircraft led to the formation of the ‘Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company’, now part of ‘Curtiss-Wright Corporation’. His company built aircraft for the U.S. Army and Navy and, during the years leading up to World War I, his experiments with seaplanes led to advances in naval aviation. Curtiss civil and military aircraft were predominant in the inter-war and World War II eras.

This first flying boat flight of Curtiss’ Model E, led a foundation for naval aviation. The Navy site where he worked came to be known as "The Birthplace of Naval Aviation". On February 24, 1911, Curtiss made his first amphibian demonstration at North Island by taking off and alighting on both land and water.

Finally, in 1912, Curtiss produced the two-seat Flying Fish, a larger craft that became classified as a flying boat because the hull sat in the water and on 10th January 1912, this ‘Flying Fish’ made its maiden flight at Hammondsport!

Canada has issued in 1979 a 17 cent “Canadian Aircraft - FLYING BOATS CURTISS HS-2L” stamp to celebrate the 60th anniversary of its maiden flight! Glenn Curtiss was also honoured on a 35¢ airmail stamp issued on December 30th in 1980.

Did you know that the world’s most famous error stamp the “Inverted Jenny” features a Glen Curtiss invention the Curtiss JN-4 Bi-plane “Jenny” on it? This 24-cent airmail stamp was America’s first airmail stamp intended for mail carried on an experimental air service between Washington and New York! That’s too much history here!

We have a few articles and blogs written on such error stamps. Read the articles here and blog here.