curtissflyingboat

Mentioned in this wikipedia article on flying boats: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_boat

Here is another Bain photo of a Curtiss flying boat. Glenn Curtiss tested his flying boats on Lake Keuka, one of the Finger Lakes in upstate New York. He lived in Hammondsport, at the south end of the lake. His first flying boat, the Model E, or Flying Fish, was built in 1912, and is depicted in the photo on this page at the website of the U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission. I'd say it's the same plane in this Bain photo. This New York Times article of November 23, 1912, describes the test of the craft the previous day. The flying boat in the Bain photo to which I linked in my first paragraph above has a slightly different design—especially noticeable in the tail—and I suspect it may be Curtiss's second such craft, the America, built in 1914.

whyaduck: Thanks for this information. We'll update the source catalog and reload the description.

www.nasm.si.edu/research/aero/aircraft/curtiss_eboat.htm

This Curtiss Hydroaeroplane is seen taking off from the surface of Lake Keuka, Hammondsport, New York.

Glenn Curtiss debuted his first "Flying Boat," the "Flying Fish," in January, 1912.

Picture shows Jack Vilas standing proudly for an early Curtiss Flying Boat. Remark that the caption of Bain News Service is Vilas and the LC has made Villas of it =:). There is beautiful reprint of an original book written by Jack Villas for his children in 1929, edited and augmented by Rustic Books www.rusticbooks.net/rustic_reflections.htm#aviator . It is ISBN 978-09771137-2-9 Cheers Kees

The hull of this very aircraft still exists. It is a part of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum collection (Inventory Number: A19490022000). Jack Vilas donated the hull of his Curtiss Model E Flying Boat to the museum in 1949.

Great that Vilas preserved this early flying boat hull during all these years. So it still exists. It must be one of the few original flying boat hulls from the period. Pity that it is far away from the public, in storage. Have you ever seen a picture of it, so the condition and / or the markings of the hull can be seen? Cheers Kees

Here's a link to a recent photo of the hull. Vilas apparently painted the hull green sometime after this flight. No markings are visible in the photo posted by the Smithsonian. collections.nasm.si.edu/code/emuseum.asp?profile=objects&...

Thanks for the information. The hull looks good for a piece dating from 1913 and having been stored in a barn or something during 36 years (!) Cheers Kees