Two months later, on January 18, 1911, Ely landed his Curtiss Pusher airplane on a platform on the armored cruiser USS "Pennsylvania" anchored in San Francisco Bay. Ely flew from the Tanforan Racetrack in San Bruno, California and landed on the "Pennsylvania", which was the first successful shipboard landing of an aircraft. This flight was also the first ever using a tailhook system, designed and built by circus performer and aviator Hugh Robinson. Ely told a reporter: "It was easy enough. I think the trick could be successfully turned nine times out of ten."