Curtiss No. 2

No. 2, "Reims Racer"
Curtiss at the controls of the Reims Racer
Role	Racing aircraft
Manufacturer	Herring-Curtiss Company
Designer	Glenn Curtiss
First flight	1909
Number built	1

The Curtiss No. 2, often known as the Reims Racer was a racing aircraft built in the United States by Glenn Curtiss in 1909 to contest the Gordon Bennett Cup air race in Reims, France that year. It was based on the design of his Golden Flyer, and like it was an open-framework biplane with two-bay unstaggered wings of equal span. It had a biplane tail but the elevators were carried separately, as a biplane canard unit. The landing gear was wheeled and tricycle in configuration, with the main units carrying dual wheels. Large ailerons were carried in the interplane gap. While resembling the Golden Flyer, the Reims Racer was a larger aircraft and was powered by an engine that had been stripped down and specially lightened for the race.

Operational history

Curtiss' participation in the race was sponsored by the Aero Club of America, which had offered to back him after a similar offer was turned down by the Wright brothers. While not as fast as its European competitors, the Reims Racer was more maneuverable, and Curtiss, who piloted the machine himself, was able to take advantage of this by paying special attention to his turns. The second-last competitor to fly, Curtiss recorded a time of 15 minutes 50.4 seconds to complete the two 10 km circuits required. When Louis Bleriot made the final flight of the competition, he recorded a time 5.8 seconds longer, leaving Curtiss to claim the FF 25,000 prize. Curtiss's flight, at an average speed of 47.06 mph (75.48 km/h) was also a new airspeed record.

After Reims, Curtiss took the aircraft to Italy, where he won events at a competition at the Air Show in Brescia in September. There, he won the overall grand prize by flying the required five 10 km circuits in 49 minutes 24 seconds. He also won the quick starting prize, starting his engine in 8.2 seconds, and took second place to Henri Rougier in the altitude prize, climbing to 165 ft (51 m). While at Brescia, Curtiss gave Italian poet Gabriele d'Annunzio a short joyride, but declined a similar request by Princess Laetitia on the grounds that the seat would be unsuitable.

Returning to the United States, Curtiss flew the Reims Racer in the country's first air meet at Dominguez Hills in October, setting a new airspeed record of 55 mph (88 km/h).

Curtiss sold the Reims Racer to Charles Hamilton, who crashed it in Seattle on 12 March the following year.

Specifications

General characteristics

• Crew: One pilot
• Capacity: 1 passenger
• Length: 30 ft 4 in (9.25 m)
• Wingspan: 34 ft 0 in (10.37 m)
• Powerplant: 1 × Curtiss vee-8, 63 hp (47 kW)

Performance

See also

References

• Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. pp. 278. 
• airracinghistory.freeola.com
• aerofiles.com
• NASM
• centennialofflight.gov
• New York Times 13 September 1909