The Curtiss No. 1 also known as the Curtiss Gold Bug or Curtiss Golden Flyer was a 1900s
American early experimental aircraft, the first independent aircraft designed and built by
Glenn Curtiss
Glenn Hammond Curtiss (May 21, 1878 – July 23, 1930) was an American aviation and motorcycling pioneer, and a founder of the U.S. aircraft industry. He began his career as a bicycle racer and builder before moving on to motorcycles. As early a ...
.
Development
After his success with designing aircraft for the
Aerial Experiment Association
The Aerial Experiment Association (AEA) was a Canadian-American aeronautical research group formed on 30 September 1907, under the leadership of Dr. Alexander Graham Bell.
The AEA produced several different aircraft in quick succession, with eac ...
, Glenn Curtiss formed his own company, the Herring-Curtiss Company, in March 1909, in association with
Augustus Herring. Earlier in the same month, the Aeronautical Society of New York had placed an order from Curtiss for a new aircraft. The Curtiss No. 1 was the first aircraft both designed and built by Curtiss. Curtiss flew the aircraft to win the ''Scientific American'' trophy (which he had won before in the
AEA ''June Bug'' that he had designed). Encouraged by this success, Curtiss entered the aircraft into the first international air show to be held at
Reims in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
in August 1909. Before the international competition, the aircraft crashed and was badly damaged;
The Curtiss Aircraft Damaged
light International 24 July 1909 Curtiss decided not to rebuild the aircraft and built a new aircraft, the Curtiss Reims Racer for the competition.
Specifications
References
Further reading
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External links
Aero-web
{{Curtiss aircraft
1900s United States experimental aircraft
01
Single-engined pusher aircraft
Canard aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1909