Unlocking the sky : Glenn Hammond Curtiss and the race to invent the airplane / Seth Shulman.

Format:

• Book

Author/Creator:

• Shulman, Seth.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

• Curtiss, Glenn Hammond, 1878-1930.
• Airplanes--History.
• Airplanes.
• History.
• Air pilots--United States--Biography.
• Air pilots.
• United States.

Genre:

• Biographies.

Physical Description:

viii, 258 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : HarperCollins, [2002]

Summary:

In 1908, inventor Glenn Curtiss created a functional plane. However, since 1903, the Wright Brothers had kept their Wright Flyer a secret while they attempted to file an exclusive patent on their design. Shulman reveals the story of Curtiss's historic fight against the monopolistic tendencies of the age and his unwavering devotion to the development of flight. 8-page photo insert.

Contents:

• Prologue: Langley's Folly 1
• Part I Rewriting Aviation History
• 1 Intrigue at Hammondsport 25
• 2 Wrights and Wrongs 41
• 3 America or Bust 60
• Part II Reaching for the Sky
• 4 Captains of the Air 81
• 5 Sky Dancing 103
• 6 Flight of the June Bug 122
• 7 Sky King 144
• Part III Warped Wings
• 8 Grounded 169
• 9 Flight of a Hero 186
• 10 New Beginnings 205
• Epilogue: All But the Legacy 223
• Appendix A Partial List of Inventions by Glenn Curtiss 231.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [235]-243) and index.

ISBN:

0060196335

OCLC:

49383700