Curtiss NC-4 Factory Desktop Model Seaplane Wooden and Hand Made Airplane Trophy Decor *SOLD*

Curtiss NC-4 Factory Desktop Model Seaplane Wooden and Hand Made Airplane Trophy

It is our pleasure to bring to market an incredible find from the Tampa Bay region of Florida; military and seaplane history central.

We have a very old desktop model of the NC-4 which was the First aircraft to fly across the Atlantic Ocean; it happened in 1919.  The base plate reads “Curtiss    NC-4      1919”.  -N our Navy.  -C for Curtiss

 The intricate base casting has a hole and grommet for a light cord and two lights; no lights were present when we received this. “Search” lighting would make sense, as the first Atlantic crossing used Navy searchlights to light up the path for aviators.The flight finally landed in Portugal, and we encourage readers to look up the history for themselves. This was a BIG deal for the history of aviation.

Construction is metal in the spars, canvas with a very heavy (and dusty) varnish coating, a wooden hull, wooden base, a cast base/searchlight area, metal (possibly gilded) decorative base plates, small nails, among other materials. It was a well made desktop model that we believe is quite old. The base has velvet on it, a common trait to fine and old toys & desk implements.

The dimensions are very large! The wingspan is an impressive 26″ (over 2 feet) x13″ length of fuselage and tail, by 10″ to the middle of the plane to desktop.

When we received this desktop model, it was very thick with dust.  We removed much of it, but left some of the signs of age and did not clean the wings much. Our thought was to show its age and allow the next owner/curator to do more thorough cleaning. Then one central propeller blade was broken and professionally fixed.

The NC-4 was a Curtiss NC flying boat that was the first aircraft to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, albeit not non-stop. The NC designation was derived from the collaborative efforts of the Navy (N) and Curtiss (C). The NC series flying boats were designed to meet wartime needs, and after the end of World War I they were sent overseas to validate the design concept.