Wilbur made headlines
again in the fall of 1909 with several spectacular flights
at New York’s Hudson-Fulton Celebration, a lavish event
honoring the centennial of Robert Fulton’s North River
Steamboat and the 300th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s
entry into New York Harbor. Both Wilbur and rising American
aviation star Glenn Curtiss were contracted to fly during
the event.
On October 4, 1909, Wilbur made a 20-mile flight up the Hudson
River from Governors Island to Grant’s Tomb and back
in 33 minutes. He lashed a canoe to the bottom of his airplane
in case of an emergency landing in the water. More than one
million New Yorkers witnessed the flight.
