1910 Curtiss Pusher by BeyondVR
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Description
1910 Curtiss Pusher
This is a model of the Curtiss Pusher used by Eugene Ely when he made the first takeoff from a ship, November 14, 1910. The takeoff was made from a temporary platform built over the bow of the light cruiser USS Birmingham, anchored at Hampton Roads, Virginia. The ship was supposed to be steaming for the test, but it had been delayed because of bad weather. On seeing another weather front coming, Ely took off with the ship still anchored. The landing gear actually touched the water, but Ely was able to keep the plane airborne.
Two months later, January 18, 1911, Ely made the first landing on a ship. This time it was on the armored cruiser USS Pennsylvania, anchored in San Francisco Bay. Anticipating the system used on all aircraft carriers today, the plane was stopped by ropes stretched across the platform, with sandbags tied to the ends.
Eugene Ely was born in Williamsburg , Iowa, and raised in my home town of Davenport. He died in a crash at an air show in Macon, Georgia, October 19, 1911. He was 24 years old. Rendered in Poser 6.
Comments (3)
steelrazer
Taking off of a ship in this was pretty adventurous. On that count alone, hats off to Eugene Ely. Interesting story and cool model of the pusher.
starship64
Beautiful model. I'm not sure I'd be brave enough to fly one of those!
Briney
tricycle landing gear too- took a while for that to catch on! Great looking model.