Hammondsport is the proud hometown of Glenn H. Curtiss, a legendary figure in early flight and the Father of Naval Aviation. It was here, between 1904 and 1915, that Curtiss collaborated with other aviation pioneers, including Alexander Graham Bell, to foster significant advancements in the field. In 1908, John Newton Williams achieved the first U.S. manned vertical lift with a Curtiss engine. The Curtiss School of Aviation, founded in 1910, witnessed Blanche Stuart Scott’s historic flight as the first woman to solo an aircraft in the U.S.
1904
Main Category: Aerospace & AviationSub Category: AerospaceEra: 1900-1909DateCreated: 19048419 NY-54HammondsportState: NYZip: 14840Country: USAWebsite: https://aiaa.org/about-aiaa/history-heritage/historic-aerospace-sites/Creator: Curtiss, Glenn H.
Image Caption: Hammondsport Launch 1913
YearAdded:
Image Credit: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics2025
Image Caption: Hammondsport Launch 1913
YearAdded:
Image Credit: Public domainImage Caption: The second prototype of a track-type tractor built by the Holt Machinery Company of Stockton, California in 1905.
1982
On this 84-acre meadow in 1904 and 1905, the Wright Brothers successfully mastered the mechanics of controlled, powered, heavier-than-air flight. The brothers also built the world’s first airport here, and in 1910 the Wright Company School of Aviation established a flying school on the site and trained many of the world’s first pilots, including some of the first military pilots, such as Thomas DeWitt Milling.
"The Alexanderson radio alternator was a high-power, radio-frequency source which provided reliable transoceanic radiotelegraph communication during and after World War I. Ernst F.W. Alexanderson (1878-1975), a General Electric engineer, designed radio alternators with a frequency range to 100 kHz and a power capability from 2 kW to 200 kW.
YearAdded:
Image Credit: Public Domain; Produced prior to 1/1/1923Image Caption: Alexanderson Radio AlternatorEra_date_from: 1904
1992
Opened July 9, 1904, this lift lock is the highest of its type in the world, transferring boats between two water levels in a single 19.8 m (65 ft.) lift. Designed in place of conventional locks, which would have lengthed the time considerably to transverse a gradual drop, this lift lock was a unique solution made feasible. It operates on a balance principle. Each boat chamber is supported by a ram, 2.28 m (7.5 ft.) In diameter. These move up and down inside water-filled cylinders connected by a pipe.
YearAdded:
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/Mac Armstrong (CC BY-SA 2.0)Image Caption: Peterborough Hydraulic Canal Lift LockEra_date_from: 1904
1999
Plans to build a rapid transit system in New York were first made in 1831. By 1868 the first elevated railway was erected. As the "El" became crowded, construction of an underground railway was proposed. Ground was broken on March 24, 1900. The original subway, which took opened October 27, 1904, ran 9.1 miles from City Hall to 145th Street and Broadway. The fare was a nickel. Extensions to the Bronx opened in 1905 and to Brooklyn in 1908, completing the first subway.
YearAdded:
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikipedia/Adam E. Moreira (CC BY-SA 3.0)Image Caption: Interborough Rapid Trasit System Original LineEra_date_from: 1904
1978
Innovations
Plans to build a rapid transit system in New York were first made in 1831. By 1868 the first elevated railway was erected. As the "El" became crowded, construction of an underground railway was proposed. Ground was broken on March 24, 1900. The original subway, which took opened October 27, 1904,… Read More
Opened July 9, 1904, this lift lock is the highest of its type in the world, transferring boats between two water levels in a single 19.8 m (65 ft.) lift. Designed in place of conventional locks, which would have lengthed the time considerably to transverse a gradual drop, this lift lock was a…
Read More
"The Alexanderson radio alternator was a high-power, radio-frequency source which provided reliable transoceanic radiotelegraph communication during and after World War I. Ernst F.W. Alexanderson (1878-1975), a General Electric engineer, designed radio alternators with a frequency range to 100 kHz… Read More
On this 84-acre meadow in 1904 and 1905, the Wright Brothers successfully mastered the mechanics of controlled, powered, heavier-than-air flight. The brothers also built the world’s first airport here, and in 1910 the Wright Company School of Aviation established a flying school on…
Read More
Hammondsport is the proud hometown of Glenn H. Curtiss, a legendary figure in early flight and the Father of Naval Aviation. It was here, between 1904 and 1915, that Curtiss collaborated with other aviation pioneers, including Alexander Graham Bell, to foster significant advancements in the…
Read More