Sunday, June 26 at 11 p.m. – Glenn Curtiss: The Forgotten Eagle
(Rochester, NY) –Glenn Curtiss: The Forgotten Eagle, airing Sunday, June 26 at 11 p.m. on WXXI-TV/HD (DT21.1/cable 1011 and 11), is the story of the man who was the first to fly from city to city, going to Manhattan from Albany in 1910. Southern Tier native Glenn Hammond Curtiss was one of aviation's key founding fathers.
This fascinating story has nearly faded from history, overshadowed by the legend of the Wright Brothers. Interviews with numerous, credited historians are woven throughout this documentary. As the story unfolds, historians claim that Curtiss, more so than the Wright Brothers, had a significant influence on bringing the airplane into the modern age.
Glenn Curtiss: The Forgotten Eagle discusses the unknown controversies, in particular, the debate over the patent infringement of the wing design. For years, Curtiss and the Wrights battled in court over what the Wrights argued to be patent infringement. Curtiss' design using wind flaps, which the Wrights never specifically claimed in their patent, is a key element still used in aviation today.
Unknown to most, Mr. Curtiss is also considered the father of naval aviation. In 1912 on Keuka Lake, he reconstructed an airplane to have the hull of a boat, and was able to successfully fly and land in the water. Glenn Curtiss was the first man to prove that planes would be able to take off and land from a carrier at sea. His invention of the hydro-airplane is what we call today the flying boat.
Glenn Curtiss: The Forgotten Eagle was written and produced by WSKG's Brian Frey, who says "I want to tell the other half of the story regarding the birth of aviation, beyond what happened at Kitty Hawk." Mr. Frey has also produced The Flood of '35, Watkins Glen: the Street Years and Link: The Quiet Genius.
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