That’s a stretch. Sort of like saying the Grumman F3F would become the Hellcat.

I flew “against” that Harrier, albeit with a Beagle 206S in another class…

Curtiss did later go on to design some significant advanced water cooled “V” engines…

According to Paul Kennedy’s interesting new book “Engineers of Victory,” one of them was the source of the Merlin.

“The American-designed Curtiss V-12 engine was way ahead of its competitors at the time,and Royce and his team had no qualms about buying one in the United States, shipping it over, stripping it down for analysis and then rebuilding it as, variously, the Rolls-Royce Kestrel, Griffon and Merlin.”

First time I’ve heard this, and I’m not sure I believe it. But then Kennedy is a Brit…

I might start a separate thread, see if I can get a broad spectrum of opinions.

To me, the main negative about catapult takeoffs was that it meant the flying machine really wasn’t an “airplane”: it couldn’t go anywhere other than back to its point of takeoff, otherwise the catapult would have to have been disassembled and transported to the landing-out point.

I think it was Bleriot who first put wheels rather than skids on an airplane, thus making possible cross-countries…like from France to England.

When I used to drive buses , kids used to say ” Can I get a ticket to town ? ” My stock reply was ” I give up –can you ? “

It’s like the old “Can you call me a cab?” “Sure. You’re a cab.”

there are clubs there using the name Aero Club. Including the Aero Club of the United States of America.

It was actually the Aero Club of America, and in 1922 it became the National Aeronautics Association, which is essentially a record-keeping body. It has no more to do with the actual flying of airplanes than the International Olympic Committee has to do with the actual playing of sports, if you know what I mean.

I tend to use ” Aircraft ” singular & plural !!

Nothing wrong with that, as lomg as you intend to include balloons, helicopters and the like.