Lincoln Beachy

Lincoln Beachy was born in San Francisco in 1887. By the age of 18, Beachy built his own dirigible, more commonly known as an airship. His physical features included that he was a short man with a jutting jaw.

The first airplane to appear over Niagara Falls came in June 1911 in response to a $1,000 prize offered to anyone piloting an aircraft to attend the joint United States – Canadian International Carnival at Buffalo and Fort Erie.

The airplane was a Curtiss biplane and was piloted by Lincoln Beachy who, at that time, was employed by Curtiss Aircraft Company of Nebraska. The Curtiss biplane was a two winged plane with an open cockpit.

On June 28th 1911 at 5:40 p.m., Beachy took off from an airfield in Niagara Falls, New York. While gradually climbing into the sky, Beachy circled his plane over the falls several times. After he completed this performance he dove down into the mist of the falls, within 6 m of the waters surface. To complete this spectacle Lincoln Beachy flew under the arch of the Falls View Honeymoon Bridge. Beachy continued to fly his plane just above the river surface along the length of the gorge at a speed of 80 km/h (kilometres per hour) before ascending back up high into the sky, which was also prior to reaching the two rail bridges. Lincoln Beachy was the first person to fly under a Niagara Falls bridge.

Book Your Niagara Falls Hotel Stay Today