Beatty became involved in a gliding club in New York City, and in 1909–10 helped build a homemade Santos-Dumont Demoiselle using a three cylinder engine from Anzani.
That same day, he flew as a passenger with Welsh to establish a new American two-man flight altitude record of 1,860 feet (570 m).
On August 6, 1911, he flew for his license and was awarded Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) pilot certificate number 41.
[1] At the 1911 Chicago International Aviation Meet at Grant Park, he set the new three-man endurance world record of 1 hour and 18 minutes on the August 13, 1911.
After the June 11, 1912, death of Al Welsh, he moved to College Park, Maryland, where he served as the chief test pilot and instructor at the United States Army Aviation School.