Tag: Glenn Curtiss

What Was Barnstorming? The History of Barnstorming Explained!
History

What Was Barnstorming? The History of Barnstorming Explained!

At air shows today, you may see pilots perform all sorts of crazy maneuvers, from high-G stunts, to creating shapes and symbols with the help of other aircraft to drawing pictures in the sky with smoke from their engines. But none of this can rival the thrilling display of barnstormers. Barnstormers were out-of-work military pilots who used the supposedly useless Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" biplanes of the First World War to perform dangerous air stunts to entertain the many Americans who had never seen an aircraft before. Barnstorming made heroes of many of the former military men who embraced it. From doing remarkable acrobatic maneuvers while parachuting to doing unbelievable stunts on a plane, barnstormers did not just become heroes but inadvertently set the pace for civil aviation...
How The Wright Brothers Failed…
History

How The Wright Brothers Failed…

By all accounts, the Wright Brothers succeeded where seemingly everybody else failed: They performed the first powered flight of a heavier-than-air aircraft. But they were also colossal failures, namely how they failed to monopolize the aviation industry. At one point, they had a monopoly on the industry and were by all accounts the kings of aviation. Yet within a few years, this monopoly had disappeared and the Wright Brothers were quickly overtaken in terms of wealth and size by other aircraft manufacturers. When Wright Aeronautical merged with Curtiss Aeroplane & Motor Company in 1929 to form Curtiss-Wright (which still exists today), not only were they the smaller of the two main firms in the merger, they had the humiliation of putting the Wright name last. As for...
13 Most Famous Aviators From History
History

13 Most Famous Aviators From History

Every year, thousands of people become aviators. These people aren't just pilots, but aircraft designers, maintainers and more! This begs the question, who are the most famous aviators? Here's who are... (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 13. Clyde Cessna Anyone interested in general aviation should recognize his last name. His company, Cessna Aircraft Company has been one of the largest producers of general aviation aircraft since 1927! In fact, Clyde Cessna, alongside many other aviators, settled in Wichita, Kansas the self-proclaimed "Air Capital of the world"! By being at the center of one of the largest aircraft manufacturers, Clyde became a mini-celebrity in his own right! Cessna also became a household name through its Cessna 152 and Cess...