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2016 Seaplane Homecoming. Hammondsport, NY


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2016 Seaplane Homecoming, Finger Lakes area, NY

2016 Seaplane Homecoming. Hammondsport, NY

Curtiss Seaplane Homecoming on Keuka Lake, Hammondsport. Please join us at the south end of Keuka Lake the weekend of Sept. 16-18. (1 week after Greenville International Seaplane Fly-In)

Friday no planned activities, but town docks and amphibian ramp available. Those who arrive have a great time in the local bars and restaurants. Saturday local flying and seaplane parade around Keuka. Unicom 123.45. Sat night: Cocktail hour, dinner, guest speaker; all in the museum, seated amongst the antique Curtiss Hydroaeroplanes. Pilot and copilot free, others $35. 607-569-2160 or http://www.glennhcurtissmuseum.com

Be careful at the docks. If you pull in nose first there is no facing on the boardwalk. The floats can go under the boardwalk, exposing your prop and cowling to damage. If the wind is out of the north, making the docks unusable, there is a good beach on the southeastern shore. Amphibs may drive up the ramp just west of the docks. Landplanes: there is a small grass strip, Kolo Field, uncharted, about 1 mile south of town just east of Route 54. Try on 123.45 to get a ride, or call the museum.
 
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Posted

Very cool.  Man I am envious of you folks down south sometimes.  The history and the flyins you have available to you are pretty incredible!

Thanks for posting this Doug.

 

:BC:

 

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Posted

I'm going.

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Posted

I hope to join up at this one

 

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Posted (edited)

Hi all floatplane enthusiasts,

Last reminder...

Remember that dinner is comped for arriving pilots and 1 guest/co-pilot, but we need you to be sure and register.  Just let Karen (below) know that you are an arriving pilot.  The food this year is being provided by the Pleasant Valley Inn so I believe you'll notice a significant step up.  Pilots will receive a commemorative engraved bottle of Best Western Champagne too.

 
Also, plan to come to the "After Party" at "The Barn".  It's awesome!
 
New this year, the Best Western Plus will be providing local shuttle service for pilots and their guests the entire weekend, whether you're staying there or not, so "no car" is no problem.
 
Also, in case you forgot, we have the double, super secret discount for pilots at the new Best Western Plus (and wait till you see it) of 30% off!  Have you booked your room yet?  A number of guys have - Myron, ET, Chris, to name a few.  There's a full lot breakfast included. 
 
You'll notice a number of great changes to the event this year including award winning BBG with local wine and craft beer at the park, the new hotel, the after party, shuttle service for pilots, WAY better food at the dinner, etc.  I'm building this thing again and have lofty goals that I believe are attainable over time - in large part because I have the right people with me now. Included among those "right people" are the new (35 year old) Executive Director at the museum Ben Johnson, and Steve McCaughey from SPA who both share my enthusiasm and vision for this event.  Steve McCaughey will be with us again this btw.
 
Also, don't forget the 1st Annual Hammondsport Classic and Exotic Car Show happening on Sunday the 18th at the Best Western Plus!  Plan to stick around and enjoy it with us and besides, what better way is there to work off a hangover?!  With the addition of the car show, it's now a weekend well worth spending in Hammondsport for you guys, of course, but also for the public!
 
I'm looking forward to seeing you soon!


Best regards,

Cameron Dunlap

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Have you reserved your seat?

The Glenn H. Curtiss Museum invites you to join us for the Seaplane Homecoming  and Banquet 2016. 

After an exciting day at Depot Park, join us for an evening of food, drink, and fun during the Seaplane Banquet 2016. This year's guest speaker is author William T. Coleman, whose book Floatplane Odyssey chronicles Tom Casey's historic 1990 solo around-the-world adventure in a Cessna floatplane. 

TICKETS ONLY $35 - Includes happy hour and dinner provided by the Pleasant Valley Inn.

When: Saturday, September 17, 2016
           6 PM - Happy Hour
           7 PM - Dinner,
           Followed by Mr. Coleman's brief presentation regarding his book
                Floatplane Odyssey (Cover Art Below)
Where: Glenn H. Curtiss Museum
             8419 State Route 54
             Hammondsport, NY 14840


SEATING IS LIMITED!

Contact Karen Trepes at 607-569-7054 to reserve your seat today!

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Edited by dholly

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Posted (edited)

Oh, I almost forgot. Remember, it's not all about seaplanes, Curtiss was one of the first to design and manufacture motorcycles. The Museum also features several early Curtiss motorcycles. My local motorcycle shop is sponsoring a ride down to the Museum on Sunday as well. Should be a fun time for all with plenty to see and do if the Wx cooperates. :) *fingers crossed*

One Last Ride!
Sunday September 9/18 10am-5pm

Join us for our last ride of the year to the Glenn H Curtiss Motorcycle and Aviation Museum!
A beautiful ride, soaking up motorcycle history and a lovely lunch at the Village Tavern in Hammondsport.
Please  bring $7 museum admission and money for lunch.
Please RSVP by clicking the flyer below or responding to this email!
 
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Edited by dholly

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Posted

Good time !

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Posted (edited)

Fun indeed. Beautiful Wx Fri nite and Sat. A good thunder boomer and some badly needed rain around midnight but sunny again for those departing Sun am and for the afternoon antique/muscle car show. As always, the pilot dinner in the Curtiss Museum was a real treat among the antique aircraft, watercraft and motorcycles. A few pics:

037.thumb.JPG.26b7c694a4979fd1ffebac795cDesigned by Glenn Hammond Curtiss, the "June Bug" became the first aircraft to fly a distance of one kilometer. On July 4, 1908, Curtiss piloted the original "June Bug" on the flight that was to win him the Scientific American Trophy and ultimate honor of being awarded U.S. Pilot's License No.1. This flight is considered to be the first pre-announced, public flight in America. It was also the first American airplane to fly successfully using ailerons and tricycle gear with steerable nose wheel. The museum's reproduction was built by volunteers from the Mercury Aircraft Corporation in Hammondsport, NY and flown successfully during the museum's Bicentennial Celebration, on June 23, 1976.

 

050.thumb.JPG.271c8948c06d3d296ec983b99aDinner was served in the shadow of the 1914 Curtiss America. The aircraft, including the two counter-rotating OXX-6 engines, crew, fuel and oil, weighs 4100 lbs. With its 72-ft. upper and 46-ft. lower wing spans, sporting a 7-ft. chord, the America has approximately the same wing area to weight ratio as the Piper J-3 Cub and rotates off the water at just 38mph with no need to get up on step. Notice the horizontal stabilizer is a positive airfoil, unlike modern aircraft which utilize a negative airfoil for dynamic stability.

 

062.thumb.JPG.10a96120ff3fc0c4935089c280This 1928 Travel Air was donated by a friend of mine and restored by the museum. Located in Wichita, Kansas, the Travel Air Manufacturing Company was formed in 1924 by Lloyd C. Stearman and Walter H. Beech, with Clyde V. Cessna joining a few months later. Their Travel Air 2000 was built with horn-balanced control surfaces copied from the German Fokker D-VIII of WWI fame. Travel Air became a division of the Curtiss-Wright Corporation in 1930 but, unfortunately, was shut down in 1932 due to the Great Depression.

 

058.thumb.JPG.f81b3c2605e22d2faa5515f82cPrior to Charles Lindbergh's historic 1927 flight from New York to Paris, biplanes dominated aviation. Designed for the civil market by the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company, the 3-seat Curtiss Robin monoplane was introduced in August of 1928 and became one of the most successful light aircraft of its time. Some 750 Robins were built by the Curtiss-Robertson Airplane Manufacturing Corporation before the Depression and competition from newer types called a halt to production late in 1930. One of aviation's most delightful records was set in a Curtiss Robin by Douglas 'Wrong Way" Corrigan. He left New York for California in July 1938 and touched down in Ireland 28 hours later, claiming he accidentally read his compass backward. The plucky pilot -who had been denied official permission to fly the Atlantic- thus earned his nickname and delighted the world. This plane is displayed partially disassembled so you can see how it was built.

 

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This original 1929 Mercury Chic T-2 was Mercury Aircraft's most successful design. Constructed of steel tube throughout and fabric covered, the parasol design was intended as a primary trainer with good cross-country and small field operating characteristics. To promote sales, a Chic was entered in the 1930 National Air Tour. Piloted by Harvey Mummert, Chief Engineer for Mercury Aircraft of Hammondsport, NY, it placed 17th with an average speed of 95.6 mph. Given the Chic was powered by a 90-hp LeBlond radial, this was an outstanding performance. The US Registry listed 14 Chics with four of them owned by the Curtiss-Wright Flying Service in Glenview, Illinois. World War II saw the end of aircraft production for Mercury. During the war the company produced aluminum fuel and oil tanks.

 

060.thumb.JPG.1a746d9218c15605f5eb30d1dcThis 1931 Curtiss-Wright CW-1 Junior was a moderately priced, two-seat tandem pusher style sport aircraft with parasol wing produced before the Depression for the general public. Its affordability, short field capability, sturdy construction, low handling speed, and good visibility made it an easy and safe plane to fly. The Junior cruised economically at 70mph with a 3-cyl 40hp air cooled Szekeley radial engine and soon became the most popular flivver-type airplane of the early 1930s. Retailing for $1,490 new, it represented a significant milestone in the "everyman" aircraft movement of the period. A total of 270 were made in 1931 -the only year of production- before the Depression hit. Unfortunately, an amphib version of the CW-1 Junior known as The Duck was designed and tested with great success but never put into production due to the economic conditions.

 

063.thumb.JPG.0b5170b0872e3181cc57723cccThe The Mercury S-1 racer was designed and flown by Harvey C. Mummert in 1931. He flew the S-1 at several air races in the 1930s. At the 1932 Chicago Air Races he placed third in the Free-For-All Edelweiss Trophy 25-Mile Race at the speed of 139.8 mph. Lawrence A. Wood restored this beautiful airplane to an airworthy configuration and flew it once in the early 80's. The Wood Family later placed the aircraft on permanent loan to the Curtiss Museum.

 

066.JPG There are many, many more vintage aircraft and historical items in the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum collection, including this flyable 3/4 scale reproduction of a 1940 P-40E Warhawk. Between 1939 and 1945, Curtiss produced 13,920 P-40 fighters. Deployed to every theater of World War II, the P-40's were known for their durability, especially in China, where they were the legendary mounts of the AVG, an American volunteer group better known as the "Flying Tigers". Well worth the trip!

Edited by dholly
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Posted (edited)

Not only was Curtiss actually the first to manufacture and sell airplanes in the U.S., Curtiss was also known for his watercraft engines and design. Some utilized surplus aircraft engines for power. The Museum collection includes several vintage wooden boats with canvas or aircraft covering and dope to cover hulls.

 

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This 1924 Curtiss design16-ft. runabout built by Curtiss Airships, Inc. was Glenn Curtiss's personal boat.

 

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The 17 1/2-ft. long Penn Yan Imperial, featuring a stern-mounted inboard with a Johnson outdrive, was built in 1931 as a prototype for Penn Yan boats using this new type of inboard/outboard (I/O) drive system. The Penn Yan Boat Company, which produced a wide range of popular wooden powerboats, sailboats, canoes and rowboats was founded in 1921, and derived its name from the location of its headquarters, Penn Yan, NY at the opposite end of Keuka Lake from Glenn Curtiss' hometown of Hammondsport, NY.

 

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This rare 1927 33-ft Gar-Wood 'Baby Gar 55' is unique in that it is powered by a converted 1,650 cubic inch aluminum 12-cylinder Liberty aircraft engine making over 500hp. The super light weight engine does not even have valve covers and weighs in at only 890 pounds. Although the engine is 90 years old it produces over 50% more horsepower per pound than modern marine engines. The Virginia Dare II had a long career on Keuka Lake and was donated to the museum in July 2013.

Edited by dholly

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Sure makes me wish I could have made the trip this year. Maybe next time. Awesome pictures and collection there. 

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The Curtiss Museum also exhibits a truly excellent and varied collection of vintage motorcycles and antique motorcycles, more than half of which pre-dates WWI.

046.thumb.JPG.e302cd627179ab17600fa3aac0Curtiss grew 'the need for speed' as a young Western Union telegram delivery boy, where a quick delivery of a message often meant better tips from recipients, and the boss would often give more lucrative/important clients to the fastest cyclist. In 1899 Curtiss purchased a 'loose' E.R. Thomas engine kit for his bicycle, called the Auto-Bi, a 1hp single... the resultant machine became known as the 'Happy Hooligan'! Not satisfied, Curtiss had castings made to his own design in 1901, and by the spring of 1902 he was marketing his own motorcycle called the Hercules, a single-cylinder machine which was sold at his 3 bicycle shops, in Hammondsport, Bath, and Corning, NY. The engines were robust but light, and Curtiss pioneered the use of ball bearings throughout the engine, which reduced internal friction (compared to shafts running direct in poorly lubricated castings). By 1905, the 'Hercules' name was forcibly dropped, as another company was found to own the name, and henceforth his machines were simply 'Curtiss'. The range included 2.5hp and 3.5hp singles, and the 5ph twin, all with direct belt drive. His engines gained renown for their strength and reliability, two qualities in rare supply back in '05! 

 

042.thumb.JPG.ab232175f3ef61de49a8666af2Curtiss was a full fledged track racer and became a well-known champion on the East Coast. He claimed his motors produced the most power of any motorcycle available. In January of 1907 Curtiss took a couple of his motorcycles to Ormond Beach, Florida, to participate in the official time trials for that year. He set a record time of 46.25 seconds in the Mile Run for two-cylinder cycles. Then he brought out his newest bike, powered by a 40 hp air-cooled V-8 engine designed to power aircraft (Museum reproduction shown above). Obviously not a standard cycle, the V-8 could not be entered in any race on the docket, but officials did agree to an official time trial. Curtiss was allowed a two-mile start to get up to speed. He shattered the world speed record, scorching through a 1-mile trap in 26.25 seconds at 136.3mph - the fastest speed of any powered human to date. It took him another mile to bring the bike to a stop. His 'return' run was marred by the disintegration of the direct shaft-and-bevel drive used at the rear wheel (and should one be surprised, with an exposed u-joint, 40hp, and a sand bath?), and the rear wheel locked at speed while the drive shaft flailed away at the rider... Curtiss' considerable track experience came to the fore, and he was able to haul the beast down without further drama. His Fastest Man On Earth world record would stand until 1911, when it was broken by an automobile. It would stand as a world motorcycle record until 1930 — the year Glenn Curtiss died. The original motorcycle is at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C..

 

039.thumb.JPG.12a38b2a55d311e5df85698557The Museum displays several single and V-twin Curtiss motorcycles, including a 1908 model with a very early version of a motorcycle sidecar which was indeed a Curtiss accessory. This particular example has a wicker seat and affords no protection in the event of a collision. The exhibit includes a photo of Mrs. Curtiss riding in this sidecar. Some of the other motorcycles on display:

 

043.thumb.JPG.c408c3cd99d04fbd3221c453921924 Model B Ner-A-Car features a single cylinder 15.5 (254cc) cubic inch engine and friction drive by means of a fabric coated wheel rubbing a flywheel to create motion. There is a lever to slide the wheel to different positions for changing ratios and acting as different gears (3 speed). Also unique to this motorcycle was the center hub steering system. The Ner-A-Car was produced with financing help from razor maker King C. Gillette, and aimed at people who wanted a comfortable vehicle but couldn't afford a car. It was advertised as "300 miles for a dollar" and 85-100 miles to a gallon with a speed of 35mph.

 

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Here's a beautiful 1917 Henderson Model G. Hendersons were the largest and fastest motorcycles of their time, a favorite of sport riders and Police Dept's and were subsequently marketed extensively overseas as well as in the U.S. This model scrapped the splash pan and introduced wet sump lubrication, a 3-speed transmission and a heavy duty clutch. Sales soared on the back of the success Henderson had enjoyed on the race tracks of North America. In 1917 Alan Bedell averaged 48 mph for 1154 miles at Ascot Park in California on a Henderson setting a new 24‑hour record. Then, on June 13, 1917, he also broke the transcontinental long distance record from Los Angeles to the city of New York (3,296 miles) in 7 days, 16 hours, and 15 minutes on a Henderson. The roads outside of towns were primitive by today's standards, and the ride would have been more like an off road ride than the highway tour of today, so it was quite a feat. 1917 was the last production year under the ownership of its original founders brothers William G. Henderson and Tom W. Henderson. The company was sold to Ignaz Schwinn, owner of Schwinn, the manufacturer of Schwinn bicycles and Excelsior motorbikes, and production was moved to Schwinn's Excelsior Motor Mfg. & Supply Co., 3701 Cortland Street, Chicago, Illinois. The summer of 1931 saw Schwinn call his department heads together for a meeting at Excelsior. He bluntly told them, with no prior indication, "Gentlemen, today we stop." Schwinn felt that the Depression could easily continue for eight years, and even worsen. Despite the full order book, he had chosen to pare back his business commitments to the core business, bicycle manufacture. By September 1931 it was all over.

 

041.thumb.JPG.85b25b2febcd68ee551697cfbaFeatures of this 1937 Indian Chief include a new headlight with high and low beams, chrome exhaust pipes and mufflers, new recirculating oiling system (standard on Indians since 1933) and a leaf spring front end, which riders appraise as providing as good or better handling than the more familiar coil spring fork designs of the era (Harley riders derided the new bike as ugly). Twin Zenith carburetors replaced the delicate and unreliable Marvel single carb, and dual aluminum manifolds carry fuel to the 4-cylinder "upside down" engine. While earlier (and later) Indian Fours had cylinder heads with overhead inlet valves and side exhaust valves, the 1936-1937 Indian Four had a unique cylinder head with the positions reversed. In theory, this would improve fuel vaporization, and the new engine was more powerful. However, the new system made the cylinder head, and the rider's inseam, very hot. This, along with an exhaust valve train that required frequent adjustment, caused sales to drop. The engine design was returned to the original configuration in 1938.

Lots of other bicycles, motorized bicycles and motorcycles on display. Stop in and visit the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum if you're passing thru, you will enjoy your visit.

Edited by dholly
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