CHARLES C. WITMER 1882-1929

Charles Witmer in "Lizzie", 1911 US Naval Historical Center, collections of T.G. Ellyson and J. L. Callan From WALDO: Pioneer Aviator

 

CHARLES WITMER AT NORTH ISLAND, 1911      Charles Witmer, one of the civilian students, became a great buddy of Ellyson's. They were seen so much together that they earned the tag, "The Gold Dust Twins," after the popular powdered soap brand - or was it because Witmer had been an Alaskan gold miner? Once, when Curtiss was working on the new pontoon, he asked Witmer to accompany him aloft in order to observe how it behaved upon water contact, and the only place for Charlie to sit was upon the pontoon. To get into position he had to crawl under the wing and through a maze of wires and struts. Curtiss then took off and came in for a test landing. He misjudged his height and hit the water with a terrific smack, splitting the pontoon wide open and causing the plane to sink immediately to the bottom. Being in Spanish Bight, the water was quite shallow, only about 4 feet deep, and Curtiss simply stood up on his seat and didn't even get wet. But where was Witmer? We started to get worried, and Spuds was tearing off his clothes and rushing for the water when Charlie suddenly popped up like a cork. Even though a good swimmer, he'd had a devil of a time fighting his way out of that underwater cage.      Witmer later flew with the Curtiss Exhibition Team, and also spent a couple of years in Russia accompanied by Hugh Robinson with George Hallett as mechanician. They demonstrated the hydroaeroplane at Sevastopol in 1912 before the Grand Duke Alexander Michaelovitch, president of the Aerial League and a member of the Imperial Aero Club of Russia. The Czar's Navy then purchased several, and by 1914 over half of Russian aircraft were Curtiss. Witmer's own aviation career continued for many more years. From WALDO: Pioneer Aviator

 

Jimmy Ward & Charles Witmer courtesy Bob Flippen of Southside Virginia Historical Press in Farmville, VA, 2-17-06

 

GREAT LAKES RELIABILITY CRUISE      Not until 1913 was sufficient interest aroused in the United States to warrant a contest for water craft. Under the auspices of Aero & Hydro , a Great Lakes "Reliability Cruise" was organized for the week of July 8--the course to follow the shoreline from Chicago to Detroit via the Straits of Mackinac. It was heralded as the biggest competitive aerial event of the year.      Most of the pilots who had taken up the practice of flying over water were on the entry list - a total of fifteen names. John B. R. Verplanck, an affluent sportsman from the Hudson River Valley, and his seasoned pilot, Beckwith Havens, entered a Curtiss flying boat with a 90-hp Curtiss motor, as did Charles C. Witmer, Jack Vilas, G.M. Hecksher, and Navy Lieutenant John H. Towers, Antony Jannus, Hugh Robinson, and Tom Benoist entered Benoist flying boats, each with a Hall-Scott motor of 100 hp. From AERO & HYDRO, May 17, 1913

 

ONLINE RESOURCES      If you search for "Charles Witmer" +aviation, using the Google search engine, (2-18-06), you will find about 27 links. One of the most helpful is the following. If time permits, you will be rewarded by visiting the other sites which are listed.

 

Photographs 1911 The Birth of Naval Aviation      This page on Jack Carpenter's "GLENN H. CURTISS, Founder of The American Aviation Industry" website, offers a remarkable collection of photographs, many including Charles Witmer along with other Curtiss' pioneers. You may want to use the FIND function on Witmer to find each photo among the extensive collection. You can access the page by clicking on the title above.      If time permits, I heartily recommend that you visit the homepage of the site and take advantage of the many fine photos and stories which Jack had assembled over the years.

 

Charles C. Witmer was born on June 6, 1882 He died in 1929 Birthdate courtesy of Joe Gertler Date of death from The Early Birds of Aviation Roster of members, January 1, 1966

 

Recommended Further Reading: WALDO: Pioneer Aviator A Personal History of American Aviation, 1910-1944 by Waldo Dean Waterman with Jack Carpenter Arsdalen, Bosch & Co.

 

Recommended Links: Walter E. Lees on North Island, 1915

 

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