The oldest names in aviation joined forces in 1929, when Wright Aeronautical and Curtiss Aeroplane formed the giant Curtiss-Wright Corporation. Curtiss airplanes were already "the best things with wings," while Charles Lawrance had made Wright powerplants the leader in American radial engines. Aviation founding father Glenn Curtiss, along with superstars Charles A. Lindbergh, Jimmy Doolittle, Admiral Byrd, and "Wrong-Way" Corrigan, all blazed skytrails with Wright engines and Curtiss wings. Tiny Sparrowhawk biplane fighters flew from airborne dirigibles. Huge factories poured out war birds in tens of thousands for World War II. Pilots flew them everywhere, from the African desert to Alaskan ice, South Sea islands, and even the Taj Mahal. Relive those days when women, old men, and teenagers kept the factories roaring, and follow Curtiss-Wright clear into the 21st century.

Kirk W. House, a noted aviation historian and former director curator of the Glenn Curtiss Museum, has authored or coauthored six Arcadia books, including Flying High: Pioneer Women in American Aviation and Glenn H. Curtiss: Aviation Pioneer. He is a historian member of the OX-5 Aviation Pioneers and lives with his family in western New York.