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Grumpy Gator
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In 1903 on Decoration Day bicycle racer , Western Union bike messenger and bicycle shop owner Glenn H "Hell Rider" Curtiss using a motor of his own manufacture competed and won a hill-climb and a 10 mile race and set a one mile record of 64mph {102kph}.
This 25 year old man had a need for speed and a talent for building and improving every thing he came across. The carburetor on his first motor was a tomato soup can with gauss as a wick to supply fuel through capillary action.
On the sand at Ormand Beach Florida in January 1907 using a 40 hp 269 cubic inch V-8 motor of his own design mounted in a home made frame he set a record of 136.27 mph {219.3kph} that made him the fastest man on earth.
That speed record for motorcycles stood for 20 years.
Curtiss when on to work with fellow pioneers of the time Alexander Graham Bell,Thomas Edison, Henry Ford and the Wright brothers. He turned his attention to aviation where he set many speed and distance records.His flyingboat aircraft were the first to cross the Atlantic. And planes of his helped win both world wars.
In 1911 he was granted pilots license #1 from the "Aero Club of America".His list of achievements is too long to list here.
This is one of the many men that took us from the horse and buggy to the age of flight.
Truly a first among firsts.
**G**
This 25 year old man had a need for speed and a talent for building and improving every thing he came across. The carburetor on his first motor was a tomato soup can with gauss as a wick to supply fuel through capillary action.
On the sand at Ormand Beach Florida in January 1907 using a 40 hp 269 cubic inch V-8 motor of his own design mounted in a home made frame he set a record of 136.27 mph {219.3kph} that made him the fastest man on earth.
That speed record for motorcycles stood for 20 years.
Curtiss when on to work with fellow pioneers of the time Alexander Graham Bell,Thomas Edison, Henry Ford and the Wright brothers. He turned his attention to aviation where he set many speed and distance records.His flyingboat aircraft were the first to cross the Atlantic. And planes of his helped win both world wars.
In 1911 he was granted pilots license #1 from the "Aero Club of America".His list of achievements is too long to list here.
This is one of the many men that took us from the horse and buggy to the age of flight.
Truly a first among firsts.
**G**