georgeeahallett

"The bottle was wired tightly between two horseshoes to facilitate its breakage while also symbolizing good luck." After four failed swings (two by Masson, two by Porte) the bottle slipped out of its horseshoe sling and rolled on the ground..."As a last resort, the bottle was trussed to the prow and Porte grimly assaulted it with a sledgehammer. Both the hull and Porte's wearing apparel were doused with foaming champagne, to the 'considerable merriment' of the onlookers." from "Glenn Curtiss, Pioneer of Flight," by C.R. Roseberry. Syracuse University Press, 1972. p.373-74

In contrast to Porte's overkill sledgehammer, Glenn Curtiss appears to be holding a small ball-peen hammer. The right tool for the job, as always.

The earlier version of "America" had only two engines:

The same photo was published in Aerial Age Weekly, July 19, 1915, p. 423. The photo, at the bottom of page 423, has a caption which states: "A group of enthusiasts taken at San Diego, Cal. From left to right, George Hallett, Raymund V. Morris, Katherine Stinson, Lieut. R.A.B. Sutton, Lieut. Jose Morrow, Lieut. Bown, Lieut. Walter R. Taliaferro." books.google.com/books?id=znbmAAAAMAAJ&printsec=front... There are some slight misidentifications in the Aerial Age caption of the photo - "Raymund V. Morris" is Raymond V. Morris, "Lieut. R.A.B. Sutton" is Redondo B. Sutton (who would come to later infamy in a 1920's swindling scheme), "Lieut. Jose Morrow" is Joseph C. Morrow, Jr., and "Lieut. Bown" is Thomas S. Bowen. Given the identity of those in the photo, this almost certainly was taken at the Curtiss Aviation School at North Island sometime in the first half of 1915.