There was Curtiss-Wright Corp founded by Glenn H Curtiss and the Curtiss-Wright Corp founded by Curtis A Wright, right? Right, but wrong.

Two different companies, two different people, unrelated, and some bureaucratic confusion that resulted in two typographical errors, all of which made for some head-scratching by researchers and historians. We were among those thrown off by a "CW-1A Coupe" and "CW-1H Air Coach" which, interestingly, predated Glenn Curtiss' CW model names by several years.

There is quite a disparity in years with Curtis Wright's pre-war and post-war creations, as well as a scarcity of documentation, and it's easy to assume that he might have been capitalizing on Glenn H's notoriety. However, the real culprit was our Dept of Commerce (DoC), who inserted a hyphen into his name and added an extra "s"—note that Curtis Wright never did use a hyphen in late-1920s production.

Thanks to research by historian V J Berinati, correspondence between Curtis A Wright and DoC was located which herein clarifies at least the beginnings and shows how two minor typos can affect history.

[Bracketed notations by V J Berinati and K O Eckland.]

10/26/27 = DoC Aero Branch Form R8, Application for Airplane License. Another unsigned copy of R8 has "Airplane License" crossed out and "Identification" written, "Official No. A2566" crossed out and "#3435" written, and this information entered: "Curtis Wright Aeronautical Corporation, Halfway MI, Owner American, President Curtis A. Wright, Secretary-Treasurer Vemon [Vernon?] C. Lite, Vice-President George C. Flynn, to be used for carrying one person wholly within the US, usual station Curtis Wright Airport, Halfway MI, land monoplane, type Curtis Wright Coupe, manufacturer's number C.W.1.A. 177 sqft wing area, span 33 ft, length 24 ft, propeller wood Hamilton 60 Anzani, engine Anzani Radial, manufacturer's number 5270, 60hp, bore 4-1/2, stroke 5, manufacturer Anzani Aero Motor, gravity gasoline system, oil gauge, gasoline gauge, altimeter, tachometer, air speed indicator, switch, and compass. 4 hrs ground time, not registered in a foreign country, now located at Curtis Wright Airport, Halfway Mich, may be inspected at Curtis Wright Airport or Selfridge Field; signed Curtis Wright, Michigan, Macomb county, Curtis Wright, President of corporation, notarized 10/26/27."

11/12/27 = Letter from DoC to Curtis Wright Corp assigning "N3435 Licensed", scribbled out, obviously not sent. Handwritten "Form, Ident".

7/9/[no year] = Letter to DoC from J L Loftus, Detroit MI: "In Oct or Nov 27 applications for Identified or Licensed were sent you by Curtis-Wright [hyphen used] from Packard Field, Rosevlle MI, for two cabin monoplanes -- one a four-place and the other a two-place side-by-side. Please give me all available information, especially ownership, location, and whether any crack-up."
7/17/29 = Letter DoC to Curtis-Wright, form letter, no text. Likely was assigning N3435.

7/19/29 = Letter DoC to Loftus: "Curtiss-Wright [beginning of confusion with giant, newly-named C-W Corp] Halfway MI has been assigned Identification numbers 3435 and 3436 for (1) Curtiss-Wright Coupe, model C.W.1.A, seating one plus pilot, Anzani engine and (2) Curtiss-Wright Aircoach, model C.W.1.H. seating three plus pilot, Hispano-Suiza engine. No information on accidents, no report required."

2/18/30 = DoC annual form inquiry to Curtiss-Wright [erroneous name now entrenched] about "Coupe CW.1.A".

5/17/30 = Letter from DoC to Curtiss Wright [hyphen gone but name still mispelled], Halfway, cancelling N3435 due to no reply.