WSKG PRODUCER BRIAN FREY WINS
2005 NYS EMMY AWARD
for Glenn Curtiss: The Forgotten Eagle

WSKG Public Broadcasting proudly announces that producer Brian Frey has won a 2005 NYS Emmy Award for his documentary Glenn Curtiss: The Forgotten Eagle.

Mr. Frey received the award for "Best Historical/cultural Programming: Single Program or Special."

Glenn Curtiss: The Forgotten Eagle depicts the life of the aviator genius whose contributions to aviation were often overshadowed by the Wright Brothers. Glenn Curtiss is credited with the first publicly announced flight of an airplane in the United States, taking place in Hammondsport, NY on July 4, 1908. He was the first to fly from city to city, making his destination from Albany to Manhattan on May 29, 1910.

Mr. Curtiss is also considered the father of naval aviation. In 1912 on Keuka Lake, he took an airplane, reconstructed it to simulate the hull of a boat, and was able to successfully fly and land in the water. He was the first to prove that planes would be able to take off and land from a carrier at sea. His invention of the hydro-airplane is what we refer to today as the flying boat.

Comments WSKG Producer Brian Frey, “I love having the opportunity to tell stories about our local history, and it'ss nice to know that others enjoy the stories too. Glenn Curtiss was one of aviations great pioneers and his story is truly the story of aviation in America.”

This fascinating story has nearly faded from history, eclipsed by the legend of the Wright Brothers. This documentary interviews many historians arguing that Curtiss had accomplished much more than the Wright Brothers with pushing the airplane into the modern age. Glenn Curtiss: The Forgotten Eagle discusses the unknown controversies, in particular, the debate over patent infringement of the wing design. For years, Curtiss and the Wrights battled in court over what the Wrights argued to be patent infringement. Curtiss design using wind flaps, which the Wrights never specifically claimed in their patent, is a key element still used in aviation today.

WSKG Public Broadcasting President Gary Reinbolt states, “We at WSKG recognize that this area has great stories to tell. However, the quality with which Brian crafts his programs, and the recognition of his peers, reinforces our feeling that we have great resources which most people associate only with large cities. We are happy that Brian has brought WSKG and this area so many fine productions for so many years.”

Mr. Frey also produced Link: The Quiet Genius and The Flood of '35, for which he won two 2004 New York State Emmy Awards.