Charles B. Kirkham

In 1903, Kirkham and Curtiss delivered an engine to Thomas C. Benbow for future use in a dirigible.

[2] In 1905 he founded the Kirkham Motor and Manufacturing Company in Bath, New York with two others and $25,000 in capital.

[3] His father John Kirkham cast engine blocks for Glen Curtiss up until 1905.

[9] Later Kirkham would top rival Hispano Suiza with the Curtiss AB, a 300 hp aluminum blocked, twelve-cylinder engine for fighter use.

A biplane variant for the U.S. Army label the Curtiss P-86, was dropped after the crash of a prototype.