Museum slates Antique Engine Day

HAMMONDSPORT, NY — There’s even more to enjoy at Antique Engine Day at the Glenn Curtiss Museum this year. The free outdoor event will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 11 on the museum grounds, with live demonstrations of antique engines from the museum collection, as well as the museum’s popular Wind Wagon and engines from many local enthusiasts on display.

New this year will be the Keuka Loop, a ride around Keuka Lake for motorcycles that are 350cc or smaller and/or 1985 or older. The Keuka Loop will start from the museum parking lot at 10 a.m. The Keuka Loop is sponsored by Odd Ball Old Dog Cycles, a Western and Central New York motorcycle group.

For those who wish to tour inside the museum, a reduced museum admission fee of $6 will be offered throughout the day. This special admission fee includes access to the Gettysburg! Civil War Exhibit, vintage and reproduction airplanes, classic automobiles and local history exhibits.

Glenn Curtiss was among the earliest American motorcycle manufacturers. He went into production in 1902, a year earlier than Harley-Davidson. He held numerous motorcycle speed records in the years prior to 1910 and the World Record he established in 1907 stood until 1930. He built a successful motorcycle manufacturing business and sold bikes nationwide until he decided in 1912 to manufacture aircraft full time.

Curtiss is better known for his pioneering work in aviation. He is considered to be the father of US Naval aviation.

The Glenn H. Curtiss Museum, which is located in the Finger Lakes Region of New York State, is home to a collection relating to early aviation, bicycle and motorcycle transportation and local history.