To coincide with the release this week of The Curtiss Aerocar 1928-1940, here's why I wrote the book and what to expect inside.
There are many early RVs that are fascinating, but none has preoccupied me in quite the same way as the Curtiss Aerocar. Its looks, its engineering and its inventor were crying out to have their stories told before they were lost to time. All good historians seek to explain not only the 'what' but also the 'why', and there is no early RV that needs it's 'why' explaining more than the Aerocar. It was not just years but decades ahead of its time.
Why the Aerocar?
Why would a pioneer aviator build an RV? Why did he build it using aircraft-inspired design? Why did Curtiss build a fifth wheeler? Did Curtiss invent the fifth wheel trailer? Did he build it himself or was it built by others? How come the Aerocar continued to be built a decade after Curtiss' premature death in 1930? How many were built? How many still exist?
My book answers all these questions. Finding the answers was not easy because historical records were scattered all over the place. Although the Glenn Curtiss Museum is the best place to look, its records are not yet digitised, making an in-person hunt through the archives compulsory – not easy for an Australian RV historian. The researcher must also follow in Curtiss' footsteps from New York to Miami and quite a few places in between. While Curtiss' aviation exploits were well documented, Curtiss' time in Florida and the Aerocar were not. But with the help of many people I finally managed to piece together the puzzle. For the answers to these 'whys', you'll need to read the book.
The results of this research left me more in awe of this road vehicle and its inventor than before. The story of the Curtiss Aerocar is the story of the American RV in the 1920s and 30s. It is the story (largely ignored by Curtiss aviation historians) of Curtiss' decade in Florida from 1920 to 1930. It's the story of a brilliant but modest engineering mind who thought outside the square. And it's the story of an inventor who placed collaboration above all else and relied on many friends and colleagues to turn his ideas into reality. I started learning about the vehicle and ended learning about the man.
The Aerocar Was Not an RV
I first though of the Aerocar as an RV – a trailer used for recreational purposes. This turned out to be a mistake. The Aerocar was in fact a multi-purpose road vehicle that accomplished many other things apart from taking wealthy people on vacations. I'll let you read the book to find out what these were, but suffice to say here that the Aerocar had a far-reaching impact in a number of commercial sectors including ground transportation, sales of many goods and services and even patient transport. What drew these businesses to the Aerocar was its radically comfortable ride, its light weight and its speed. No other American road vehicle of the 1930s was as fast and as flexible as the Aerocar. This should make the Aerocar story of interest to far more people than just RV enthusiasts.
Book Contents
As can be seen from the photo above, the cover of The Curtiss Aerocar 1928-1940 is a work of art. John Stone of Schiffer Publishing has a short video about it here.
The book has seven chapters:
Chapter One: The Machines of Glenn Curtiss explains how the seed for the idea of the Aerocar came not just from aircraft such as the Curtiss 'Jenny' but from other Curtiss road- and water-going inventions and experiments including an autoplane, a hovercraft and even a 'wind wagon'.
Chapter Two: "Auto-intoxication" is not about an obsession with automobiles but the effects personally felt by Curtiss after long periods in an automobile. An understanding of his negative sentiments towards road travel and automobile design is essential for an understanding of how the Aerocar came about and why it should be viewed as a road vehicle rather than an RV.
Chapter Three: The Adams Motorbungalo (1920-22) documents Curtiss' first venture into RV design and production with his half-brother Carl G. Adams. The Adams Motorbungalo was a commercial failure but Curtiss and Adams learned much, not only about how to design and market an RV, but also the importance of promoting a new form of travel and leisure to the general public.
Chapter Four: Curtiss in Florida (1920-30) describes a hitherto poorly documented period in Curtiss' life. Often relegated to a postscript in Curtiss aviation biographies, the last decade of Curtiss' life was an exciting rollercoaster ride into new ventures and territories. The Aerocar was born in Florida and we make new discoveries about the man and his machines in this period.
Chapter Five: The Curtiss Aerocar (1927-30) brings together the threads of the first four chapters into the tapestry of the first Aerocars. They came from surprisingly humble origins. Especially interesting is that Curtiss was likely to have been as amazed as anyone else as to how the Aerocar came into being.
Chapter Six: The Curtiss Aerocar (1930-40) follows events after Curtiss' death in 1930 and explores how the Aerocar Corporation managed to survive for another decade.
Chapter Seven: The Curtiss Aerocar Legacy summarizes the importance of the Aerocar and its remaining relevance today.
There are six appendices which draw together most of the technical and marketing information on the Aerocar which might have hindered a smooth reading of the book had these been included earlier. They include a brief history of the fifth wheel which demonstrates that the idea was around a least a hundred years before Curtiss.
Who Should Read the Book and Why?
As with Recreational Vehicles: A World History 1872-1939, I have tried here to broaden the rather narrow theme of RV history by including stories of the people behind the vehicles as well as something of the fashions, events and social history of the periods covered. The Curtiss Aerocar 1928-1940 should be read by anyone with an interest not only in Glenn Curtiss himself but also in the transport and leisure history of early twentieth century America. Curtiss' inventions were ground-breaking, but so were his achievements in architecture, horticulture, community building and support of minority groups.
The humble origins of the Aerocar mirror the character of its inventor. Leaving a mark while remaining humble is perhaps something that we can all aspire to.
Curtiss Motorcycles 1902-1912 by Rick Leisenring Jr.
This is the sister publication to The Curtiss Aerocar 1928-1940 and is published at the same time by Schiffer Publishing. Both books are intended to broaden our understanding of Curtiss' achievements beyond aviation. As the curator of the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum for over 20 years, author Rick Leisenring Jr. is in the ideal position to cover this topic. Rick has done a superb job in researching and documenting the pioneering motorcycles that set Curtiss on the road to his many other achievements.
I commend both books highly to everyone.
Andrew Woodmansey
September 2024