Aeroplane Monthly 6-2001

Lost & Found

Mr Kittel's Curtiss

  THEY LOOK QUITE a friendly couple, but Mr and Mrs Kittel have been a thorn in my side for 20 or 30 years; ever since I bought the two photographs of them with Mr Kittel's "new type of Curtiss machine". Mr N.E. Kittel is described as an "aviator", and the caption says he will make an "experimental flight" in the aeroplane. Apart from the fact that the pictures were obviously taken in the USA, there are no other clues to the aeroplane's identity, such as State or date.
  The Curtiss connection seems to be indirect, as a search through the literature reveals no Curtiss-built aeroplane like this one, and no reference to Mr Kittel. It would probably be more accurate to describe the machine as a "Curtiss type", as it exhibits features typical of the early aeroplanes produced by Glenn Curtiss. It is a pusher biplane powered by a watercooled inline engine driving a pusher propeller. The occupants are seated side-by-side in front of the engine, in a nacelle, in rather luxuriously padded seats, and the pilot, on the starboard side, operates the lateral control by means of the shoulder-yoke system devised by Curtiss. This is well shown in the study of Mrs Kittel in the pilot's seat. The framework at her side is the right-hand side of the yoke, which rested close against the shoulders of the operator, who rocked from side to side to move the ailerons. The tailplane and elevator were carried on twin booms, and there seems to be a single fin and rudder mounted at its centre. A combined wheel and skid undercarriage is fitted, the skids projecting well forward to minimise the risk of nosing over.
  It is difficult to date the pictures, but a conservative estimate puts them somewhere between 1910 and 1915. I dearly hope that, one day, somebody will provide further details and perhaps a photograph showing the entire aeroplane. Meanwhile the Kittels continue to laugh at me, defying my futile attempts to discover anything more about them.

PHILIP JARRETT