June Bug aeroplane,1908. Also called 'Aerodrome number 3',the June Bug was a single-seat,single-engine biplane that was the third aircraft successfully designed and flown by the Canadian-based Aerial Experiment Association (AEA). The US aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss (1878-1930) was the designer and test pilot,flying the aircraft on most of its early flights at Hammondsport,New York,in June 1908. In a public display at this location on 4 July 1908,he flew the aircraft over a distance of 1500 metres,winning the Scientific American Trophy and a prize of 25,000 USD for flying a distance of more than 1 kilometre. This was the first aeronautical prize ever awarded in the USA |