News Details
CURTISS-WRIGHT CELEBRATES 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF FLIGHT
May 14, 2003
Company With Direct Ties to Orville and Wilbur Wright Joins US,
GLOBAL INITIATIVES
ROSELAND, N.J., May 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Curtiss-Wright Corporation (NYSE: CW; CW.B), the only company in the world with direct ties to Orville and Wilbur Wright, has launched a year-long celebration of the Centennial of Flight.
Joining in a worldwide initiative that kicked off in December 2002, on the 99th anniversary of man's first powered flight, Curtiss-Wright is partnering with a variety of organizations, including the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, the First Flight Centennial Foundation in Raleigh, N.C., the Wright Experience in Warrenton, Va., and the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Long Island, N.Y. Curtiss-Wright will also be participating this summer in Centennial of Flight activities planned for the Paris Air Show 2003 in June in Le Bourget, France.
Founded by the Wright brothers and fellow aviation pioneer Glenn Hammond Curtiss in 1929, the company has become an international provider of integrated subsystems solutions, products and services for the aerospace and defense industries, as well as for commercial and industrial applications.
In addition to its link to the historic first flight along the sand dunes of Kitty Hawk, N.C., Curtiss-Wright and its predecessors, the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company (1916-1929) and the Wright Aeronautical Corporation (1919-1929), pioneered the development of aeronautical power plants. Curtiss-Wright recently announced that it has donated its complete inventory of aeronautical engine blueprints to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum and Wright State University.
This unprecedented collection of more than 1,300 reels of microfilm and 30 large cabinets of paper drawings document the conceptualization, design, manufacture and overhaul of Curtiss-Wright aeronautical engines from 1916 to 1960. According to museum curators, the collection is more than likely the most complete technical record of its kind in existence.
Innovative designs include: the 610 horsepower V-1400 racing engine that powered Jimmy Doolittle's Schneider Trophy-winning Curtiss R3C-2; the 225 horsepower J-5 Whirlwind that carried Lindbergh across the Atlantic in the Spirit of St. Louis; and the 2,200 horsepower R-3350 turbosupercharged radials of the Boeing B-29 Enola Gay. All three aircraft are in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum collection.
The company is also serving as a Pavilion sponsor for North Carolina's First Flight Centennial Foundation, which is building a semi-permanent structure near the scene of the historic first flight to house exhibits and special programs about the Wright brothers and their contributions to aviation. The Pavilion is being developed by the foundation in partnership with the Wright Brothers National Memorial and the National Park Service.
Curtiss-Wright also recently announced that it has become a major sponsor of the Wright Experience, which has built an authentic replica of the original Wright Flyer and is recreating the 12-second, 120-foot flight at 10:35 a.m. on December 17, 2003 -- the event's 100th anniversary. Thanks in part to the support of Curtiss-Wright, the Wright Flyer replica will make its worldwide debut at the annual Paris Air Show in June. Curtiss-Wright is also a supporting sponsor of the Wright Experience's recreation of the 1911 Wright Model "B" and the NOVA film, "Inventing the Flying Machine."
With an aviation pedigree that stretches from the historic Wright Flyer to the unmanned Global Hawk used in the liberation of Iraq, today the diversified company is continuing that tradition of innovation in a variety of industries.
"We're extremely proud of our founders' contributions to innovation and aviation, and we're pleased to be able to share their stories of tenacity and invention with the world," says Martin Benante, Chairman and CEO of Curtiss- Wright Corporation.
ABOUT CURTISS-WRIGHT CORPORATION
Curtiss-Wright Corporation (NYSE: CW; CW.B) is a diversified company headquartered in Roseland, New Jersey. The Company designs, manufactures and overhauls products for motion control and flow control applications and additionally is a provider of metal treatment services. The firm employs approximately 4,300 people. The company's motion control segment, Curtiss-Wright Controls, is headquartered in North Carolina. With manufacturing facilities in Gastonia, Shelby and around the world, Curtiss- Wright Controls is a leading technology-based organization providing niche motion control products, subsystems and services internationally. For more information, visit curtisswright2014.q4web.com.
ABOUT THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF FLIGHT
On December 17, 1903, amid the sand dunes of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, man's quest for powered flight became a reality when a small fabric and wood craft know as the Wright Flyer ushered in the aviation age. The team behind this legendary event, Orville and Wilbur Wright, along with aircraft designer Glenn Curtiss, gave birth to a new industry and founded Curtiss-Wright Corporation, today a multinational provider of metal treatment, motion control and flow control systems for the aerospace and defense industries. For more information about the Centennial Celebration of Flight, visit curtisswright2014.q4web.com/centennial.asp.
SOURCE Curtiss-Wright Corporation
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