John H. Whitney’s work for Glenn Curtiss

Life at North Island and Coronado

A typical day

The time, very early in 1911. The place, Spanish Bight, which separates North Island from Coronado in San Diego Bay. A group of men, some near the water, some in the shallow water, stood around a strange looking machine they held in place as it floated there. The upper part was apparently a standard Curtiss biplane of that period but the lower part was something new. A long narrow float or pontoon, half submerged and on the ends of the two lower wings, small cylindrical floats. It was the new Curtiss flying boat, just born and only a few days old.

A slim, active man in his early 30's climbs in the seat. He is dressed in an ordinary everyday business suit but has on long wading boots, such as duck hunters wear.

The propeller has been turning over slowly. He gives her the gun, the motor roars, the hands which have been holding the machine release it and it skims rapidly away, over the water. After a few seconds the disturbance that is wake, ceases. We know by that it has left the water and gotten into the air.

The machine travels rapidly in a wide circle, comes back and the mechanics prepare to steady it as it lands, but instead of landing it passes on. The mechanics glance at each other in surprise then shrug their shoulders and stand staring at the machine as it makes another wide circle in the air and comes back to us. This time it lands in the water with a mighty splash but so great is the speed that the tall, slim man running it is not wetted. Before the spray has time to reach up to him he is past it. He shuts off the power skillfully and it floats toward us. The services of the mechanics are hardly necessary to guide it to rest, so skillfully does its master handle it.

When the propeller has finally stopped with one quick, back ward flick of its blades, he calls to a photographer who stands by with his press Graflex and is removing the plate holder from it and putting it in the carrying case in line with many others already there — the harvest of the day’s aero pictures.

"Did you get it?" he calls. The photographer looks up, holds up two fingers and grins. "Good!" answers the airman. There is perfect understanding between the two. "I hope you did, since I stayed up and made another loop with a missing cylinder just to give you another chance." Again the photographer grins, and holds up the two fingers again.

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