• History,  News

    Trio of Daring Pilots Took Off From Fort Jay in 1911

    February is Aviation Month at the Governors Island Explorer’s Guide. The aviation world had one of its biggest events in its fledgling days on August 5, 1911, at Fort Jay. On this afternoon three aviators took off from the tiny Governors Island airfield destined for Philadelphia. The men, Lincoln Beachey, Eugene Ely, and Hugh A. Robinson, are all members of aviation history for their pioneering flights. Beachey, 24, was a stunt pilot and daredevil. Ely, also 24, was the first pilot to use a tail hook and land a plane on a Navy ship. Robinson, 30, was the third man to fly, after the Wright Brothers. The occasion of the…

  • Early Birds Monument
    History,  News

    The Early Birds Monument and Governors Island Aviation Pioneers

    Governors Island played an important role in the history of aviation. Each week this month will be a historical look at one event in the island’s contribution to the history of manned flight. The Early Birds Monument is the only tribute to the island’s part in the early days of aviation. It is located outside Liggett Hall (40.687967 N, -74.018033 E). The unique bronze monument is also the first public sculpture on Governors Island. This rough-cut granite marker has a bronze propeller that was cast from a wooden one used by Wilbur Wright on the Island in 1909. The monument was dedicated on Dec. 17, 1954 to honor pioneering aviators…

  • Glenn Curtiss
    History

    Glenn Curtiss and the 1910 Flying Marksman of Fort Jay

    Governors Island played an important role in the history of aviation. Each week this month will be a historical look at one event in the island’s contribution to the history of manned flight. Wilbur Wright snared glory in 1909 on Governors Island. The next year his chief rival, Glenn H. Curtiss, snared something much more valuable on the Island: military contracts. While Orville and Wilbur Wright earned one kind of fame, Curtiss sewed up War Department funding. Some of the first-ever military airplane demonstrations happened in the same spot where Liggett Terrace is today. Like the Wrights, Curtiss also came from a humble background and had a keen interest in…