 In July 1909, aviator and manufacturer Glenn Curtiss relocated his base of operation from his native upstate New York to Mineola.Curtiss, at the controls of his biplane the "Golden Flyer," circled the plains' Washington Avenue field for more than 52 minutes, demonstrating the aircraft's capabilities and earning the "Scientific American" prize for a flight of more than .Some 15 years later, the Hempstead Plains had earned the appellation "Cradle of Aviation".