I had the honor of test flying this Curtiss Model F last month. It is an actual 1914 barn find; restored to a very high level by Century Aviation of Wenatchee, WA.
Cass, a member here, of Ridgeline Aviation had the 100 year old OX5 engine running perfectly.

The airplane has shoulder controlled ailerons, the wheel controls the rudder. A couple of days later; I found it very relaxing to fly my 180!

The airplane will be in Hammondsport, NY for the annual seaplane fly-in. September 14-16.

That is fantastic!!

Very nice Aqua! Sounds like it is quite interesting to fly...

That is incredibly cool.

How wonderful is that? How amazing and fortunate to be a part of that project. Kudos to you folks for bringing this ship into her next chapter of life. Bravo.

I visited Hammondsport in 98....well worth the trip!!!!

Very cool. How do the shoulder-controller ailerons work? Like what range of shoulder movement is needed for full deflection?

The aileron control works as follows. Local theory holds that Glenn Curtiss transferred his extensive motorcycle experience to this control configuration

Picture a dining room armchair, with arms that are higher than normal. Now hinge the arm uprights both at seat level, and arm level. (both seats are attached together and hinged).

The pilot's lean angle is somewhat less than bank angle. However, with this configuration I'm reluctant to use much bank. The whole arrangement can be confusing, particularly with last minute adjustments in the flare. Normally, I'll fly with the rudder(the wheel); and nudge the ailerons around as needed.

That’s amazing!!!
I can barely operate the rudder pedals.

Love to hear more!!

Very cool! Hope this gets written up, with photos, in Water Flying magazine!

Pierre

Wow, what a thrill to have had the privilege to fly it. That prop is massive what is the normal rpm in level flight ?

A nice weekend for flying the Model F at it's birthplace, 104 years later.





As to the RPM question: the tach is the silver cylinder sticking out from the panel. It is displayed in a drum format. Redline is 1400, and the "cruise" RPM is around 1200. When I can steal a glance...

Very cool!!!! Sounds like it would be a hand full on a gusty day. Bet it is pretty loud too.

That was a great honor to be a part of that project I was not able to attend the Curtiss fly-in but have seen some video and the ox-5 engine we here at Ridgeline Aviation built seemed to be running great. What an awesome restoration ! And great job of piloting Rob.

Cass, the OX-5 ran great. I believe it started first pull on each of the 7 or 8 "legs" I've flown. Nice job!

Also, the density altitude was almost 2000' lower in Hammondsport. The RPM was right at specs, with the same prop we used in Moses Lake. Takeoffs were never in question.

Awesome ! Well great job. I’ve watched a lot of videos of it flying back there. Sure wish I could have been there.