Aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss is known for having built the ubiquitous “Jenny” that trained a legion of American pilots, but he did much more than that, and now a group of local citizens is working to buy the site of his laboratory in upstate New York and turn it into Glenn Curtiss Memorial Park. Curtiss’ often overlooked feats include design of the first aircraft to cross the Atlantic, development of the aileron, pioneering work on amphibious aircraft, building the P-40 and the C-46 Commando, and setting many early aeronautical records. Curtiss’ laboratory was on the south shore of Keuka Lake in the Finger Lakes Region. The 11-acre lakefront site has been appraised at $1.35 million, and supporters say if they can’t raise the funds to buy it, it will be sold to commercial developers.
