[8][9][7][10][11][12] Although not publicized in the 1880s, these early flights were first described by Montgomery as part of a lecture delivered at the International Conference on Aerial Navigation at Chicago, 1893.

[13][14] These independent advances came after gliding flights by European pioneers such as George Cayley's coachman in England (1853) and Jean-Marie Le Bris in France (1856).

[34] In the early 1880s Montgomery began studying the anatomy of a variety of large soaring birds to determine their basic characteristics like wing area, weight and curved surfaces.

He returned to ornithology and noted how turkey vultures had significant dihedral and twisted their wings as a form of lateral balance.

Montgomery devised an inclined rail system so the piloted glider could roll from the top of a hill and attain flight speed.

""[41] Montgomery's own account made clear that he considered the technology of the second and third gliders of 1885 and 1886 as effective, but the airfoil designs were a disappointment in terms of lift-generation as they produced much shorter gliding flights in comparison to the first craft of 1884.

His work in the 1880s confirmed that mechanical systems used by a pilot could preserve lateral balance and some degree of equilibrium in gliding flight.

[43] In 1893 Montgomery visited the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, intending initially to attend a lecture by electrical expert Nikola Tesla.

Instead, Chanute presented his own comments on Montgomery's flight experiments in his article series Progress in Flying Machines, which was published serially in the American Engineer and Railroad Journal in 1893, and in the following year as a book of the same name.

Montgomery reprised his second lecture in a talk to the Aeronautical Society of New York in 1910, and the contents were later published in several journals and books.

[9] From 1893 to 1895, while teaching at Mount St. Joseph's College in Rohnerville, California,[45] Montgomery conducted further experiments into the physics of flow over a wing and lift generation using a smoke chamber and water table.

[10][46] Montgomery compiled his results into a 131-page manuscript titled Soaring Flight[47] and attempted to have it published by Matthias N. Forney and the editors of Scientific American with the help of Octave Chanute.

In 1895 and again in the period 1901 to 1904, Montgomery occasionally supplemented his aeronautical research with work in other branches of science, including electricity, communication, astronomy and mining.

In 1897 he took a teaching position at Santa Clara College and directed study of wireless telegraphy with Father Richard Bell.

[57][58] However, Baldwin abandoned their collaboration and instead constructed his own airship (the California Arrow) at San Jose incorporating Montgomery's propeller design and a 7-horsepower motorcycle engine (the Hercules of G.H.

On March 16, 17 and 20, 1905, in Aptos, California, Daniel Maloney made several successful flights in the glider at Leonard's ranch (Rancho San Antonio, now known as Seascape), after releasing from a hot-air balloon at high altitude.

[67][68][69][70][71][72][73] After this success, Montgomery gave a press conference to provide for the first time a history of his efforts in aeronautics and announced a patent application for his aeroplane and methods of wing warping.

In view of hundreds of spectators and members of the press, Maloney released from the balloon at an approximate altitude of 4,000 feet above Santa Clara College.

[6][78][79][80][81][82][83][14][84] In the following months Montgomery and Maloney made many exhibitions with The Santa Clara and another tandem wing glider The California in the San Francisco bay area.

On July 18, 1905, Maloney was killed when a rope from the balloon damaged the glider during the ascent, causing structural failure after release.

Montgomery began experimenting with a new control system in which pitch and roll of the glider were managed by wing warping, while the tail assembly was fixed.

In 1946, Columbia Pictures released Gallant Journey, a full-length movie[91] based on John J. Montgomery's life and work.

The film was directed by William A. Wellman, and starred Glenn Ford as Montgomery, Janet Blair as his wife Regina (née Cleary), whom he had married in 1910, and Charles Ruggles.

On May 20, 1950, Montgomery Field (KMYF) in San Diego, California, one of the busiest general aviation airports in the world, was named in his honor.

[114] A celebration was held March 18, 1934 at Santa Clara University to mark the 50th anniversary of Montgomery's first glider flight.

[119] On March 19, 2005, John J. Montgomery was the focus of a Centennial Celebration of Soaring Flight, held in Aptos, California at the location of some of his early glider experiments.

[120] On April 5, 2008, a celebration of the 125th anniversary of John Montgomery's first glide took place at the Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos, California.

[123] In June 2023, a replica of The Santa Clara glider was installed in the lobby of Crownair Aviation at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport in San Diego.