Curtiss Activity Sheet

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Interesting museums and stories we discovered in designing t-shirts for museum gift shops. Glenn H. Curtiss Museum, Hammondsport, NY

The story behind the image He rode how fast? On that thing? Glenn H. Curtiss, like the Wright Brothers, got into building aircraft from experience with bicycles, but Curtiss also developed motorcycles. The engine on this 1907 motorcycle was an early version of the engine that powered Curtiss aircraft, and the only brake was a bent piece of metal that rubbed against the rear tire.

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The story behind the image Glenn H. Curtiss started building engines for dirigibles, and from that got into building aircraft. His most famous aircraft, the JN-4D Jenny, was used as a trainer in WWI. Over 5,000 were made for the war, and the surplus aircraft became popular with barnstormers. The Jenny introduced many people to flying between the wars and led to the development of more and better runways, airports, and controls on aviation, as well as airmail and regularly scheduled flights.

How to find/contact the museum: http://www.glennhcurtissmuseum.org/ [email protected] (607) 569-2160 Glenn H. Curtiss Museum 8419 State Route 54 Hammondsport, NY 14850 Note especially the resources listed under the Educational tab

Museum hours and admission Summer (May 1 – Oct 31) Monday – Saturday, 9AM to 5PM Winter (Nov 1 – Apr 30) Monday – Saturday, 10AM to 4PM Closed Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s General admission: adult $10, children 7-18 $7, children 6 and under free School groups (contact to see how it applies to homeschoolers) adult $6, student $2.50, teachers free

Homeschool activity ideas The most obvious activities, replicating barnstorming or motorcycle races, are probably not what homeschool moms will want their children doing. Perhaps it is a good time for a discussion of the history behind the aviation saying that “regulations are written in blood.” Or on the other hand, discuss where the line falls between adventure and foolhardiness, and how much of aviation history would have happened if safety really was first. Read Rickenbacker: An Autobiography, by Eddie Rickenbacker, American ace of aces in WWI, for fascinating aviation history and a sense of what mothers of race car drivers felt in the days when seatbelts were unknown and deaths were commonplace.

Aerobatics and wingwalking were spectacular. Watch Ernst Udet (in WWI Germany’s number two ace, second only to the Red Baron) pick up a handkerchief with his wingtip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7sBJ7Qky8Y Read a brief history of wingwalking http://www.aerosuperbatics.com/historyofwingwalking, watch this video of wing walking Presented by historyonashirt.com

The views and opinions expressed do not necessarily express the views of the museums listed. Likewise, the views and opinions of the museums do not necessarily express the views of historyonashirt.com Historyonashirt.com Recommends https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALYhMEc4gYI and decide whether you would rather sit upside down on a right side up airplane or right side up on an upside down airplane. Then find climbing bars at a local park to pretend to be standing on an aircraft doing tricks.

Barnstormers were also called “gypsy flyers” for their roaming lifestyle. This film trailer http://www.barnstormingmovie.com/trailer.htm shows modern farmers’ reactions to an airplane just stopping by. Imagine your first experience with an airplane was one landing in your field. Draw a picture of what your family would do.

There are some control problems common to a bicycle and an aircraft. How do you turn either of them? Neither really turns just because it is steered in a different direction. Bicycles use angular momentum to turn in the direction they lean; try turning a bike without hands on the handlebars, just leaning to the side a bit. An aircraft changes direction by increasing the upward force on one wing while decreasing it on the other - essentially turning onto a slanted path of air that pushes it to the side rather than up. Try this with a paper airplane; make one with flaps turning it to one side, and hold it while “flying” it to feel the forces.

Look it up: did the Curtiss motorcycle or the Curtiss Jenny go faster? Why?

Glenn Curtiss had an eighth-grade education; does that make him better or worse educated than the average adult today? That depends on what education is considered important. There is a good discussion of the difference between an 1895 education and today’s here: http://www.snopes.com/language/document/1895exam.asp Certainly Curtiss would not have understood electronics, much less computer programming. On the other hand, how much of his life did he waste staring at a screen? What does your family value most in education and how different is that since Curtiss’ time?

Bicycle technology and aircraft technology have overlapped in many ways. What were the main challenges of developing the human-powered Gossamer Condor? What would have been Curtiss’s challenges in putting an aircraft engine on a bicycle without suspension, windshield, engine transmission, or brakes? Make a chart comparing human-powered aircraft to aircraft- engine powered bicycles, showing speed, year developed, control problems, and the current capabilities of the most recent descendant of the vehicle. See the following articles: http://www.wired.com/2010/08/0823gossamer-condor-human-powered-flight http://www.humanpoweredflying.propdesigner.co.uk/html/the_gossamers.html

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