Today in Wheeling History: October 31--Captain R. C. Marshall and Captain V. E. Clark of the aviation department of the War Department inspect Kyle Smith's patented airplane in Wheeling, declaring it better than any Curtiss airplane and among the lightest, strongest, and most perfectly adjusted and constructed machines in the country (1916).
S. Kyle Smith was born in February 1889 in Wheeling, West Virginia, to Harry M. Smith and Carrie Smith. His grandfather, Philip Christopher Smith, was born in Baden-Baden, Germany, in 1835 and immigrated to America, settling in Wheeling's 3rd Ward where he worked as a barber. Kyle Smith became a pioneering aviator, inventor, and aircraft manufacturer who founded the Kyle Smith Aircraft Company in 1916, making him a leader in West Virginia's early aviation industry. Smith met legendary flier Glenn Curtiss in 1908 and thereafter built his own Blue J Monoplane, designing and constructing his aircraft entirely by hand, fabricating even the smallest components himself. The company maintained offices in Wheeling (Box 273) and operated a manufacturing facility in Huntington. On October 21, 1916, professional aviator Harmon J. Norton of the Curtiss Aviation School in Buffalo, New York, flew Smith's newly constructed monoplane over Warwood, performing loops and spiral glides before landing on Upper Sister's Island, praising it as one of the finest machines he had ever piloted. Ten days later, on October 31, 1916, War Department aviation officials Captains R.C. Marshall and V.E. Clark inspected Smith's aircraft and declared it superior to any Curtiss airplane. Smith's company advertised its "Only Original All-American Monoplane" with land models priced at $3,000 and water models at $3,100. The company was formally incorporated on May 28, 1917. Beyond aviation, Smith invented the "Terralite" lens, widely used by automobile owners. Kyle Smith died on September 2, 1987, at age 98 on the dance floor at Mountain Jack's in Akron, Ohio, and was buried at Rose Hill Burial Park in Fairlawn, Ohio.
To learn more: Aviastar.org (https://tinyurl.com/2u6rhc46), Wheeling Daily Register (https://tinyurl.com/5f2btum5), The Intelligencer (https://tinyurl.com/2s32wsx5) (https://tinyurl.com/4fjdhe8a) (https://tinyurl.com/mrxem5sn), Historic Wheeling Aviation Wiki (https://tinyurl.com/3x4bn876), Bizapedia Company Record (https://tinyurl.com/beujepx3), Facebook - West Virginia Heritage, History, and Memories (https://tinyurl.com/yf7jrzak), WorthPoint (https://tinyurl.com/4s48ykdw), Find a Grave (https://tinyurl.com/mtxbw3u7) (https://tinyurl.com/yhchk3tb)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; West Virginia Heritage, History, and Memories Facebook page, Wheeling Daily Register, Wheeling Intelligencer, WorthPoint
S. Kyle Smith was born in February 1889 in Wheeling, West Virginia, to Harry M. Smith and Carrie Smith. His grandfather, Philip Christopher Smith, was born in Baden-Baden, Germany, in 1835 and immigrated to America, settling in Wheeling's 3rd Ward where he worked as a barber. Kyle Smith became a pioneering aviator, inventor, and aircraft manufacturer who founded the Kyle Smith Aircraft Company in 1916, making him a leader in West Virginia's early aviation industry. Smith met legendary flier Glenn Curtiss in 1908 and thereafter built his own Blue J Monoplane, designing and constructing his aircraft entirely by hand, fabricating even the smallest components himself. The company maintained offices in Wheeling (Box 273) and operated a manufacturing facility in Huntington. On October 21, 1916, professional aviator Harmon J. Norton of the Curtiss Aviation School in Buffalo, New York, flew Smith's newly constructed monoplane over Warwood, performing loops and spiral glides before landing on Upper Sister's Island, praising it as one of the finest machines he had ever piloted. Ten days later, on October 31, 1916, War Department aviation officials Captains R.C. Marshall and V.E. Clark inspected Smith's aircraft and declared it superior to any Curtiss airplane. Smith's company advertised its "Only Original All-American Monoplane" with land models priced at $3,000 and water models at $3,100. The company was formally incorporated on May 28, 1917. Beyond aviation, Smith invented the "Terralite" lens, widely used by automobile owners. Kyle Smith died on September 2, 1987, at age 98 on the dance floor at Mountain Jack's in Akron, Ohio, and was buried at Rose Hill Burial Park in Fairlawn, Ohio.
To learn more: Aviastar.org (https://tinyurl.com/2u6rhc46), Wheeling Daily Register (https://tinyurl.com/5f2btum5), The Intelligencer (https://tinyurl.com/2s32wsx5) (https://tinyurl.com/4fjdhe8a) (https://tinyurl.com/mrxem5sn), Historic Wheeling Aviation Wiki (https://tinyurl.com/3x4bn876), Bizapedia Company Record (https://tinyurl.com/beujepx3), Facebook - West Virginia Heritage, History, and Memories (https://tinyurl.com/yf7jrzak), WorthPoint (https://tinyurl.com/4s48ykdw), Find a Grave (https://tinyurl.com/mtxbw3u7) (https://tinyurl.com/yhchk3tb)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; West Virginia Heritage, History, and Memories Facebook page, Wheeling Daily Register, Wheeling Intelligencer, WorthPoint
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