The Curtiss Aviation Book

by Glenn Hammond Curtiss; Augustus Post

After becoming familiar with its workings, so that it becomes second nature to make the right movements, get into the machine and when the air is perfectly still run it over the ground. When there is no more novelty in the sensation and the machine is in a good position to get up speed you raise the elevator a little and try making short jumps into the air. The other pupils standing in a group at the end of the field are usually hoping and praying that you will not smash the machine before their turn comes and so cause delay until it is repaired.

In San Diego, there was great rivalry between the Army and the Navy. Witmer and Ellyson used to get up by sunrise and go over to the island and take out the old machine we used for teaching, which was nicknamed "Lizzy." They did this secretly because there was only one machine and they did not want the Army to smash it and so keep them down on the ground. After making their practice, they would go home and come back later, pretending that it was their first appearance.

When the officers began their schooling they fell steadily into my way of looking at the problem, and not one of them spared himself bruised hands or grimy clothing. For the first ten days I did not offer them a chance even to give the motor its full power while they were in the aviator's seat. After they had worked around the aeroplane long enough, however, and were familiar with all its details, they were allowed to make "runs" over the half mile course, straight-away.

That is, they took their seats in the machine in turn, the propeller was started, and the machine propelled along the ground on its wheels, like an automobile, without being able to rise. To prevent the machine rising while one of the men was in it, the throttle of the engine was so arranged that it only got half power, which was not sufficient to give it lifting power, but enough to drive it along on the ground at twenty or twenty-five miles an hour. This "grass cutting," as the boys soon dubbed it, gave them the opportunity to become used to the speed and the "feel" of the machine. It also taught them to steer a straight course by using the rudder and the front control, and to practise balance by the use of the ailerons. After a few days of these runs the throttle was given full vent, allowing full speed on the wheels, but the propeller was changed to one without the usual pitch. Thus, while the engine would drive the aeroplane at full speed on its wheels, this propeller did not have enough thrust to lift it from the ground. In this way the military pupils got the advantage of the speed, acquired balance, and adjusted their control to suit it, without the danger of getting up in the air too soon.

A little later, when they had thoroughly accustomed themselves to these conditions, still another propeller was put on. This one had just sufficient pitch to lift the aeroplane from the ground, when well handled, and it would make "jumps" of from twenty to fifty feet at a height of a few inches or, perhaps, a few feet.

These jumps served still further to develop the ability of the men to control the machine and perfect their balance, and it gave them the first sensation of being in flight at high speed, though not high enough to do any great damage should one of them be so unlucky as to smash up. A smash-up was what we particularly wished to guard against at all times, not only because of the cost of repairs and the delay, but largely because an accident, even though it may do no injury to the aviator, may seriously effect his nerves. I have known of beginners who, while making rapid progress in learning to fly, suffered a complete setback just because of an unimportant accident to the machine in flight, or in landing. Eagerness to fly too soon is responsible for many of the accidents that befall beginners. An ambitious young man may become thoroughly convinced after a few jumps that all he needs for making a long and successful flight is the opportunity to get up a hundred feet or so. The first chance he has, he goes up as he had planned, and unless he is lucky or an exceptionally quick thinker, the odds are that he will smash up in getting back to earth again.

I have never seen any one more eager to fly, and to fly as quickly as possible, than were these officers. Probably they were following the military bent of their minds or, perhaps, it was the enthusiasm of the pioneer in a new science.

As a rule, the mornings at San Diego are fine. There is seldom any wind during the forenoon, except when one of the winter rain storms blows in from the ocean. We tried to get in as much work during this calm period as possible. The mornings were found to be the best for doing this work. It was most desirable, not to say necessary, that the pupils should have a minimum of wind during their early practice work. Even the lightest wind may sometimes give serious trouble to the beginner. A gust may lift the aeroplane suddenly and then just as suddenly die out, allowing the machine, should it be in flight, to drop as quickly as it rose. Such a moment is a critical one for an inexperienced man. He feels himself dropping and unless he keeps his head clear, he may come to grief through doing too much or too little to restore his equilibrium.

In the practice work all the officers, as well as two private students, C. C. Witmer of Chicago and E. H. St. Henry of San Francisco, used the same machine. This was one of the older types of biplane, with especially strong wheels, and with a four-cylinder engine. This type was selected as best adapted to the strain of heavy work. It had sufficient power, under its regular equipment, to fly well, but had not the very high speed of the latest type, fitted with eight-cylinder engines. For beginners, I consider the four-cylinder machines the best.

While most of the practice runs and jumps were made during the hours of the forenoon, when there was little or no wind, there was plenty of work on hand to fill in the afternoons as well. We were all the while experimenting with various devices, some of them new, others merely modifications of the old. All of these, whether new or old, involved many changes in the equipment of the aeroplanes. There was seldom a time when at least one or more of the four machines we kept on the island was not in the process of being taken down or set up. Besides, there was the long series of experiments with the hydroaeroplane, which were carried on from day to day without affecting the regular practice work.