Dayton Aviation Heritage

Two mens' dream to fly: Wilbur and Orville Wright were the first to fly a machine heavier than air on a cold windy beach on December 17, 1903 at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. This poster will be shown at the Tucson International Airport between December 1, 2003 and February 29, 2004. Please stop by the airport and take a look at the aviation artwork. The drawing is titled, "Centennial of Flight" to commemorate the 100 years of aviation. The artist is Michelle Rouch, who was inspired to draw the Flyer after visiting Dayton, Ohio last July 2003.

 

The Wright Company

The Wright Company was located at Huffman Prairie Flying Field, off of Route 444, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio 45433. The Wright Company operated as a flying school, as well as a flight test company between 1910 and 1916. Figure 1 shows the site of the Wright brothers hangar. The plaque states Site of Wright Brothers 1910 Hangar, It was from the large hangar constructed at this site that the Wright brothers operated with Wright Company School of Aviation from 1910 to 1916 and trained many of the world's earliest pilots.

Figure 1

A replica of the Wright Company's hangar is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2

 

The Wright B Flyer

The Wright B Flyer and its hangar is located at Dayton-Wright Brothers Airport, 10550 Springboro Pike off of Route741, Miamisburg, Ohio 45342. The Wright B Flyer is an actual flyable look-alike of the Wright Brother's mass produced airplane that was manufactured by the Wright Company between 1910 and 1911. You can visit the Wright B Flyer website at www.wright-b-flyer.org for more information.

 

Carillon Historical Park

Carillon Historical Park is located at 1000 Carillon Blvd, Dayton, Ohio 45409. The park exhibits the most unique historical buildings of the Miami Valley area. In the John W. Berry, Sr. Wright Brothers Aviation Center ( Figure 3), one can see the original 1905 Wright Flyer III (Figure 4), the world's first practical airplane. In the hall is a replica of the Wright brother's wind tunnel (Figure 5).

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

 

Huffman Prairie Flying Field

The Huffman Prairie Flying Field is located off of Route 444, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio 45433. The site was ideal for Wilbur and Orville Wright to fly their experimental airplanes in 1904 with Flyer II and during1905 Flyer III. Kitty Hawk, North Carolina is known to be the first success flight, but Huffman Prairie was the actual place where the two brothers mastered true controlled flight.

 

Paul Laurence Dunbar

Paul Laurence Dunbar State Memorial is located at 219 N. Paul Laurence Dunbar St, Dayton, Ohio 45407. Paul Laurence Dunbar was an internationally known poet and writer. He had a gift to produce bodies of work that included novels, plays, short stories, lyrics, and published over 400 poems. Paul Laurence Dunbar was a high school classmate of Orville Wright, and the Wright brothers printed Dunbar's weekly newspaper.

 

Wright Brothers Memorial

The Wright Brothers Memorial is located off of Route 444, Kauffman Road, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio 45433. The memorial is on Wright Brothers Hill overlooking Huffman Prairie Flying Field (Figure 6), where Wilbur and Orville Wright performed multiple test flights. The Wright Memorial was dedicated on August 19, 1940, which was Orville Wright's 69th birthday.

Figure 6

 

Wright State University

The Wright brother's Special Collection and Archives can be found at Wright State University, 3640 Colonel Glenn Highway, Dayton, Ohio 45435. Wright State University (WSU) was named for the Wright brothers and holds one of the most complete records of Wilbur and Orville Wright's works. The university has collected over 6,000 items, including books, journals, photographs, papers, and diaries. They also have approximately 4,000 photographs documenting the Wright brother's invention.

 

The Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum

The Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum are located on 118 Woodland Avenue off of Brown Street, Dayton Ohio 45409. Wilbur and Orville Wright, their parents Milton and Susan, as well as their sister Katherine are buried in Woodland Cemetery.

 

The Wright Cycle Company

The Wright Cycle Company is located at 22 South Williams Street, Dayton, Ohio 45407. This is one of four major sites of the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Park. The two brothers, Wilbur and Orville Wright operated a bicycle shop in this building, see Figure 7, from 1895 to 1897. This is where it all started and unlocked the secret of flight. The knowledge the two brothers learned while manufacturing their own bicycles allowed them to learn the essentials of constructing the world's first flying machine. Today, the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Park Service operated the Wright Cycle Company.

Figure 7

 

Hawthorn Hill Estate, Oakwood, Ohio

The Hawthorn Hill Estate is located at Harman and Park Avenue in Oakwood, Ohio.