With his fortune made, Glenn had time to turn his interest to his other enjoyment. He was an avid outdoorsman and enjoyed his many hunting trips with friends. To make the outdoor setting more pleasurable he developed a folding tent-type trailer in 1917. The very streamlined 5th wheel trailer evolved from this initial design and became known as the Aerocar. This 1919 idea incorporated aircraft construction in its design, using a spruce framework, covered with thin plywood and canvas. The first models were built at the Curtiss Engineering Corporation in Garden City Long Island. Due to the closing of the Curtis Aeroplane Motor Company in Hammondsport after World War I, manufacturing was transferred to Keuka Industries. The operations were placed under the control of G. Carl Adams, Glenn Curtiss' half-brother. In 1930, Glenn underwent a routine appendectomy. He failed to survive the surgery. He was 52 years old. In 1974, a group of volunteers got together to build an exact replica of the 1908 June Bug. It was completed by May 26, 1976 using approximately 4500 man hours and at a cost of $4000 not including the engine and instruments. The replica was built to be a permanent display for the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum of Local History, but Bicentennial plans prompted this group to have it fly. The original June Bug made its historic flight July 4, 1908 flown by Glenn H. Curtiss. The Aerial Experiment Association Aerodrome's No. 2 and No. 3 June Bug, were the first American airplanes to fly successfully using ailerons and a tricycle gear with a steerable nose wheel. On June 23, 1976, the plane was flown over the original 10 mile course taken by Glenn Curtiss on July 4th, 1908.
Glenn Curtiss is not the only attraction at the Museum. There is a section on women in aviation with many historical pictures and accounts of events in the early 1900. There is also a section on the Finger Lake Wineries of New York, and a large room in the rear used for restorations and reproductions. Take a few minutes to visit the theater for a short film about the man and the museum.

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