Curtiss Aviation School offers flying lessons for everyone
Aviation legend Glenn Curtiss tests the waters (and more) in Florida
Though a native of Hammondsport, New York, born in May 1878, aviation legend Glenn Curtiss had an outsized impact on the development of aviation in the Greater Miami area. Often called the “Father of Naval Aviation” for his development of flying boats used in pioneering navy flight training, Curtiss turned his sights on Miami in 1911.
Winter lessons at the Royal Palm Hotel
Miamians got their first shot at learning how to fly when Charles Witmer, a representative of the Curtiss Aviation School, set himself and his Curtiss “hydro-aeroplane” up at the Royal Palm Hotel for the winter season of 1911-1912. The plane took off from a sandy strip across from the hotel and was flown as far as the Cape Florida lighthouse before returning to the Royal Palm. In addition to giving flying lessons, Mr. Witmer conducted numerous aerial exhibitions, introducing residents to “the most novel and sensational experience” of flying and paving the way for Miami to become a subsequent permanent base for year-round Curtiss Aviation Schools.
Move to Miami Beach & Hialeah
After a few more successful winter seasons at the Royal Palm, in November of 1916, a permanent Curtiss Aviation School was built on Miami Beach to train both civilians and U.S. Army Air reserve cadets. A few months later (in January of 1917), responding to the urging of the military for more aviation training facilities, the school added what were then still spacious prairie lands adjacent to the Everglades to its training grounds, in the area which was later to become Hialeah. In August of 1918, the future of the school was put on hold after being taken over by the U.S. Marines. It wasn’t until later in the 1920’s that the flying school was again able to resume its activities, albeit at a location further inland (see https://hangar5foundation.org/1920-1930/4/).
Above images courtesy “The Curtiss Flying School and U.S. Marine Flying Field,” by Donald C. Cody, South Florida History magazine, Summer 1991, courtesy HistoryMiami Museum Digital Publications: sfh-1991-3.pdf
Additional reading:
Stories: Glenn H. Curtiss – Pioneer of the Air, Godfather of Miami Aviation
- https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-miami-herald-herald-28-march-1912/157680555/
- https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-miami-herald-herald-9-dec-1916-cur/157683460/
- https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-miami-herald-ng-field/157684352/