H'port readies for seaplane homecoming
BY DERRICK EK THE LEADER

PHOTO PROVIDED Curtiss Museum volunteers reassemble The America on Keuka Lake after building the seaplane replica in the museum workshop.

As many as 20 or 30 seaplane pilots will be in Hammondsport next weekend for a tribute to aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss.

The pilots will provide rides to the public Friday afternoon, Saturday, and Sunday morning over Keuka Lake, said Trafford Daugherty, director of the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport, which is organizing the fifth annual "Seaplane Homecoming."

The rides cost $50, and are on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Some of the "flying boats" date back to the 1940's, Daugherty said, such as a Seabee, an amphibious plane that can take off from land or water; and a Grumman Widgeon, a twin-engine seaplane.

There will also be modern planes, such as a Cessna with floats, the kind often used by bush pilots, Daugherty added.

On Saturday, there will be a "Glenn Curtiss Salute," in which all the pilots take off from Keuka Lake, paradestyle, and fly over Curtiss' grave in nearby Pleasant Valley and back.

The pilots will be offering rides to the public on the "Salute," scheduled to begin at 1 p.m., for $100.

At 2 p.m. Saturday, there will be a ceremony in The Depot park along the lakefront in Hammondsport to dedicate the "America," a replica of a 1914 Curtiss flying boat. Shortly after the ceremony, the "America" will take off on its inaugural public flight.

Because the event is dependent on the weather, the flight schedules are flexible, Daugherty said.

The Curtiss Museum is also hosting a cocktail cruise on Keuka Lake aboard the Viking Spirit, an 80-passenger boat, on Friday night; and a happy hour and banquet Saturday night at the museum. The seaplane pilots and their guests typically attend the events, which are also open to the public for a fee of $35 and $40, respectively.

For details, call 569-2160 or go to www.glennhcurtissmuseum.org.