Waldo Waterman’s first powered creation (he built gliders in 1909), in 1910 in league with Kenneth Kendall, was a single place, open cockpit biplane, 2-cylinder Speedwell pusher.
It was so badly underpowered it had to be assisted by automobile tow to get off the ground, but it did and made a few flights before becoming ensnarled in the tow rope on a take-off. It crashed and Waterman earned two fractured ankles for his efforts. Although based on the Curtiss, it had an innovative concept of wheels that could be folded up via a lever-and-wires arrangement in order to land on its skids—this lever also shut off the motor at the same time.
All Aero 