The couple moved to Portland, Oregon, in early 1910, where he got a job as an auto salesman, working for E. Henry Wemme. Soon after, Wemme purchased one of Glenn Curtiss' first four-cylinder biplanes and acquired the franchise for the Pacific Northwest. Wemme was unable to fly the Curtiss biplane, but Ely, believing that flying was as easy as driving a car, offered to fly it. He ended up crashing it instead, and feeling responsible, he bought the wreck from Wemme. Within a few months he had repaired the aircraft and learned to fly. He flew it in the Portland area, then headed to Minneapolis, Minnesota in June 1910 to participate in an exhibition, where he met Curtiss and started working for him. After an unsuccessful attempt in Sioux City, Iowa, Ely's first reported exhibition on behalf of Curtiss was in Winnipeg in July 1910. Ely received the Aero Club of America pilot's license #17 on October 5, 1910.