BGuthrie Photos: OH -- Dayton -- Huffman Prairie Flying Field Interpretive Center Wright Memorial

OH -- Dayton -- Huffman Prairie Flying Field Interpretive Center Wright Memorial:

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. HPFFWM_120805_001.JPG: Huffman Prairie Flying Field Interpretive Center What dreams we have and how they fly Like rosy clouds across the sky... Then flies forever, -- dreams, ah -- dreams! [The complete quote, by Paul Laurence Dunbar, is ... "What dreams we have and how they fly Like rosy clouds across the sky; Of wealth, of fame, of sure success, Of love that comes to cheer and bless; And how they whither, how they fade, The waning wealth, the jilting jade -- The fame that for a moment gleams, Then flies forever, -- dreams, ah -- dreams!" ]
2. HPFFWM_120805_018.JPG: The Skies Over Huffman Prairie: On December 17, 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright made history when their airplane successfully flew over the sands of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. A few months later another equally important chapter in the Wright brothers' story began unfolding right here -- at an old cow pasture then called Huffman Prairie. Here the two bicycle makers from Dayton, Ohio took their invention and made it better. Using the pasture as a flying field, they tested, redesigned, and rebuilt their aircraft until they perfected it, making it the first fully controllable, practical airplane ever. In the process, they taught themselves to fly and created a legacy of invention and innovation that changed the world forever. "Imagine a locomotive that has left its track, and is climbing up in the air right toward you -- a locomotive without any wheels... but with white wings instead... and you will something like what I saw." -- Amos J. Root, 1904
3. HPFFWM_120805_030.JPG: Patent Pending: "We honestly think that our work of 1900-1906 had been and will be of value to the world, and that the world owes us something as inventors." -- Wilbur Wright It had taken the Wright brothers more than six years to solve the problems of practical flight. And they did it with no outside help, paying for each step in the process out of their own pockets. When it came time to market their invention, Wilbur and Orville took an extremely protective approach. They refused to divulge details about the plane or even give public demonstrations until they had a signed contract or were awarded the patent they first applied for in 1903. This practice kept potential buyers at bay. Finally, the United States Patent Office granted them their patent in 1906. It gave them a virtual monopoly on flight until it expired in 1923 and moved the two men closer to the time when they would reveal their invention to the world.
4. HPFFWM_120805_033.JPG: The Quest for Practical Flight: "I sort of felt sorry for them. They seemed like well-meaning, decent enough young men. Yet there they were, neglecting their business to waste their time day after day on that ridiculous flying-machine. I had an idea that it must worry their father." -- Luther Beard, managing editor of the Dayton Journal 1904-1905: When Wilbur and Orville came home in December 1903, they knew that they were standing at a crossroads. The longest of their straight-line flights that month had lasted only 59 seconds. It was enough to prove that mechanical flight was possible, but not enough to prove that it was practical. The solution lay somewhere in the near future and the Wright brothers were determined to find it. They turned the daily operations of their bicycle shop over to trusted employee Charlie Taylor and dedicated themselves to the business of flying. By January 1904, they were already working on their new machine.
5. HPFFWM_120805_036.JPG: Torrence Huffman's Prairie: "We are in a large meadow ... The ground is an old swamp and is filled with grassy hummocks some six inches high, so that it resembles a prairie-dog town." -- Wilbur Wright In the spring of 1904, Wilbur and Orville began looking for a nearby field to test their Wright Flyer II. They chose a horse and cow pasture owned by local banker Torrence Huffman about eight miles northeast of Dayton. The bumpy, tree-lined field offered none of the wind and wide-open spaces that Kitty Hawk had. But it was close to home, easily accessible by interurban railway, and still provided enough isolation for the two men to conduct their experiments in relative privacy. Torrence Huffman did not charge the Wright brothers a fee for using his pasture, but he did make them promise to move the cows and horses before they did any flying.
6. HPFFWM_120805_039.JPG: Taking Off: "We built another machine during the winter and spring of 1904, almost exactly like the one used at Kitty Hawk, excepting that the parts were built heavier and stronger." -- Orville Wright By late May 1904, the new Wright Flyer II was assembled and ready to go. Over the next few months, the Wright brothers tried to get their plane up into the air and had little success. At first they used the same rail system that had performed so well at Kitty Hawk, but they quickly learned that it did not work. Huffman Prairie Flying Field offered little headwinds for take-off. Frustrated and concerned for their own safety, the two men devised a catapult launch system that solved the problem. Within a week, they were flying longer than ever before. The Wright Flyer II: Built and flown in 1904, the Wright Flyer II was similar to the Wright brothers' original airplane. A few of the major design differences are shown in this illustration. The Wright Flyer II made 105 flights and recorded 49 minutes flying time. It was the first airplane to turn in a full circle in the air.
7. HPFFWM_120805_043.JPG: Learning to Fly: "With only one life to spend we did not consider it advisable to attempt to explore mysteries at such great height from the ground that a fall would put an end to our investigations and leave the mystery unsolved." -- Wilbur Wright In addition to designing and building the world's first practical airplane, Wilbur and Orville had to teach themselves to become the world's first airplane pilots. It was a dangerous pursuit and they approached it cautiously. Even so, accidents occurred almost daily in the beginning. Cut, bruised, and shaken, the Wright brothers dissected what went wrong and returned to the skies. By October 1905, mishaps were rare and the two men flew their airplane with the skill of master pilots.
8. HPFFWM_120805_046.JPG: Success! "From the beginning, the prime object was to devise a machine of practical utility, rather than a useless and extravagant toy...." -- The Wright Brothers In spring of 1905, the Wright brothers poured everything they knew about aeronautics into the design of their Wright Flyer III. Longer and taller than earlier versions, the machine featured a new configuration that finally gave the pilot full control of the aircraft. But the airplane proved difficult to fly from the start and seemed capable of only making short hops. Then a harrowing crash in July forced the two men to re-examine their design. They elongated the forward section of the airplane and increased the surface area of the elevator. The changes worked. By October, there was no doubt. The plane took off and landed safely, turned gracefully in the sky, and flew for as long as the gas tank held fuel. A remarkable machine, it was the world's first practical airplane. The Wright Flyer III: Built in 1905, the Wright Flyer III featured many design changes including an improved control system that, for the first time, gave complete control of the aircraft to the pilot. In 1905, the Wright Flyer III made more than 40 successful flights and spent over 5 hours in the air.
9. HPFFWM_120805_052.JPG: Fliers or Liars? "The Wrights have flown or they have not flown. They possess a machine or they do not possess one. They are in fact fliers or liars. It is difficult to fly. It is easy to say, "We have flown.' " -- New York Herald Editorial (Paris Edition), February 10, 1906 1908-1909: Wilbur and Orville's refusal to fly in public after 1905 meant that only a handful of people had witnessed the two men take to the sky. Some were friends of the Wright brothers. Others lived in the area surrounding Huffman Prairie Flying Field. Bits and pieces of their story filtered out to the rest of America and Europe, but with so few eyewitnesses to confirm it, a growing wave of skepticism began to build. The brothers were called bluffers and liars. Then in early 1908, the Wrights found two buyers for their invention -- a group of French investors and the U.S. Army. After preparing new planes, Wilbur headed to France and Orville left for Ft. Myer, Virginia. Finally, they were ready to fly.
10. HPFFWM_120805_057.JPG: The Wright Company: "We wished to be free from business cares so that we could give all our own time to advancing the science and art of aviation, but we have been compelled to spend our time on business matters instead..." -- Wilbur Wright, 1911 1909-1916: After shuttling between Europe and the United States and teaching the world what it meant to really fly, the Wright brothers returned to Dayton. They established The Wright Company in November 1909. Wilbur became president; Orville served as vice president. The two men were busier than ever before. Under the umbrella of their new company they operated a flight school; organized an aviation exhibition team; designed and built new planes; and aggressively protected their patent claims in court. Throughout it all, they continued to rely on Huffman Prairie Flying Field. They used it as a pilot training ground and test site for their company's latest aircraft.
11. HPFFWM_120805_061.JPG: Signal Corps Specification No. 486: "We would be ashamed of ourselves if we had offered our machine to a foreign government without giving out own country a chance at it..." -- Wilbur Wright 1908-1909: When the Wright brothers began marketing their airplane in early 1905, one of the potential customers they sought out was the United States Army. Unfortunately, a few years earlier the military had ventured into mechanical flight with Samuel Langley's Aerodrome and the experiment failed miserably. Stung by the experience, the Army initially declined to buy a Wright aircraft. Disappointed, Wilbur and Orville actively sought other buyers, but always hoped that one day the Army would purchase their Flyer. Finally in December 1907, the government issued Signal Corps Specification No. 486, requesting proposals for a heavier-than-air flying machine. The two Dayton aviators submitted their proposal in January 1908 and began adapting the 1905 Wright Flyer III to conform to the requirements of the specification.
12. HPFFWM_120805_065.JPG: The Military Flyer: The Wright brothers built their 1909 Military Flyer to satisfy the general requirements listed in Signal Corps Specification No. 486. * Carries two people * Reaches a maximum speed of 40 mph * Carries enough fuel for 125 mile flight * Capable of landing in a field without damage Other important notes: * Capable of flying for one hour without landing. * Easily assembled and transportable. * Uses simple starting device. * Proposal winners will train two Army officers as pilots.
13. HPFFWM_120805_070.JPG: Catastrophe at Fort Myer: "Quick as a flash, the machine turned down in front and started straight for the ground..." -- Orville Wright While Wilbur was in France impressing the Europeans in 1908, Orville set out for Fort Myer, Virginia, to fulfill the requirements for Signal Corps Specification No. 486. Orville arrived in August and soon took to the skies in front of military observers. He awed the American spectators, making flights that rivaled his brother's in Europe. Then disaster struck. One of the propellers shattered while Orville and passenger Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge flew above the testing ground. The plane crashed, killing Selfridge and severely injuring Orville. Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge sits next to Orville before the fatal flight, September 17, 1908. Onlookers rush in search of survivors. Orville suffered multiple injuries. Mortally wounded, Selfridge became the first man to die in an airplane accident.
14. HPFFWM_120805_076.JPG: Sealing the Deal: "I'll be back next year with a new machine. We will make good on our contract." -- Orville Wright, 1908 The day after the 1909 Dayton homecoming celebration, Wilbur and Orville boarded a train for Washington, DC to continue the airplane trials that had bee cut short by tragedy a year earlier. An air of anticipation hovered over Fort Myer as Orville prepared to complete the tests. The brothers had built a new machine for the event and, at first, they had trouble keeping it in the air. Then after a few adjustments, it performed spectacularly, passing all the acceptance guidelines, and earning them a $30,000 payday. With Lieutenant Benjam D. Foulois aboard, Orville races past the captive balloon during the speed tests. He finished with an average speed over 42 miles-per-hour; that won the Wrights a $5,000 bonus. The 1909 Military Flyer sits on the launching track at Fort Myer, July 1909. US President William Howard Taft and other participants watched the trials.
15. HPFFWM_120805_084.JPG: Daredevil Fliers: "There wasn't anybody there who believed an airplane would really fly. In fact, they'd give odds. But when you flew, oh my, they would carry you off the field." -- Aviator Beckwith "Becky" Havens In 1910, the new sport of exhibition flying thrilled spectators throughout the United States and Canada. People flocked to see daredevil pilots soar overhead in machines made of fabric and wood. Wilbur and Orville viewed the meets as an opportunity to make money and market The Wright Company. They assembled the Wright Exhibition Team and entered a series of tournaments. Their pilots earned awards for endurance, distance, and altitude flying, but the brothers decided that exhibition flying was too dangerous. After several of their men died in crashes, they disbanded the team in 1911. Representing The Wright Company, Wilbur and Orville demanded hefty fees to participate in tournaments. They charged $1,000 for each day they flew and $6,000 per man for a week-long meet plus any prize money that was won.
16. HPFFWM_120805_096.JPG: The Elder Statesman: "I got more thrill out of flying before I had ever been in the air at all -- while lying in bed thinking how exciting it would be to fly." -- Orville Wright In the midst of their patent battles in 1912, Wilbur Wright contracted typhoid fever and died. He was 45. The loss stunned the world and left Orville along to carry on the Wright brothers' legacy. Orville continued defending the Wright brothers' patents. At the same time, he began withdrawing from the business of flying. He sold his interests in The Wright Company in 1915, became a consultant, and conducted his own aeronautical research. During the 1920s, he developed an automatic stabilizer and the split-flap airfoil and then retired from research. In his later years, he was regarded as a living American legend. He sat on numerous boards and commissions and was honored at countless ceremonies and banquets. He died at age 76 in 1948, one of the most respected men in aviation. "A short life, full of consequences. An unfailing intellect, imperturbable temper, great selfreliance and as great modesty, seeing the right clearly, pursuing it steadily, he lived and died." -- Bishop Milton Wright on his son Wilbur, May 10, 1912
17. HPFFWM_120805_102.JPG: At the Factory: "Everything that enters into construction of our machines is designed and built in our factories under the personal supervision of the Wright Brothers." -- "Wright Flyers", 1912 product brochure for The Wright Company Between 1910 and 1912, Wilbur traveled often in order to protect the brothers' patents. Orville remained in Dayton and watched over the company's day-to-day operations. At the factory, both men were meticulous. Employees called Wilbur "Eagle Eye," and they shrugged when Orville slipped away to design and fabricate the smallest metal fitting on his own. Their attention to detail ensured that The Wright Company made some of the world's best built planes. Yet, with the exception of the Model B, their products offered little in the way of technical innovation. Competitors had finally caught up and passed the men who invented the airplane.
18. HPFFWM_120805_106.JPG: Making Airplanes: A few months after The Wright Company incorporated, Wilbur and Orville broke ground for a new factory. The facility opened in November 1910 and became the first building constructed in the United States dedicated to the commercial manufacture of airplanes. Another building was added a year later. By 1915, The Wright Company had produced a total of 100 airplanes for military and civilian customers.
19. HPFFWM_120805_110.JPG: Wings Over Dayton: "We are... in more than one sense, building upon the foundation laid by the Wright brothers..." -- Dwight F. Davis, United States Secretary of War, 1925-1929 By 1916, the Wright brothers no longer used Huffman Prairie Flying Field as a flight-training and testing center. Wilbur had died four years earlier and Orville moved on to other work. A seminal era in aviation came to an end. But it was not the end of aviation advancement in the Miami Valley. In preparation for World War I, the United States Army selected the area around Huffman Prairie Flying Field to serve as one of its first military airfields. They named it Wilbur Wright Field. At the same time, they established a research and airplane engineering center at McCook Field north of downtown Dayton. Although much has changed over the years, the military has been here ever since. Today, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base continues to build on the Wright brothers' legacy of invention and innovation that began more than a century ago.
20. HPFFWM_120805_114.JPG: Avionics: "Instrument flying is when your mind gets a grip on the fact that there is vision beyond sight." -- U.S. military magazine circa World War II During the early days of flight, airplanes had few on-board instruments. Aviators literally "flew by the seat of their pants," relying on their own wit and experience to pilot their planes from one place to another. But as aircraft evolved, designers began adding electronic instrumentation to help pilots navigate, communicate, and control their increasingly complex airplanes. The new technology was called aviation electronics. Later, the two words were combined, creating the term "avionics." Over the past several decades, researchers at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and its predecessors have contributed to the science of avionics by making advancements in cockpit displays, flight control, "radar camouflage," and more.
21. HPFFWM_120805_122.JPG: Stealth Technology: Radar testing at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base advanced during the late 1940s with the construction of what came to be one of the most recognizable structures on the base. Building 821, also called "the Cathedral" or "the Barn," was more than an unusual structure. For more than 40 years, it was home to the development and testing of stealth technology. Here researchers learned how to reduce an object's "radar signature." This enabled designers to make an airplane with a wingspan extending more than 60 yards appear on a radar screen as a much smaller flying object, such as a hawk or eagle.
22. HPFFWM_120805_124.JPG: Balancing & Steering: "This inability to balance and steer still confronts students of the flying problem... When this one feature has been worked out the age of flying machines will have arrived..." -- Wilbur Wright, 1901 When the Wright brothers first began studying flight in 1899, one of the qualities that set them apart from all others was their conviction that control was the key to solving the problem of flight. Their 1905 Wright Flyer III was a practical airplane because it could be controlled on all three axes of movement: roll, pitch, and yaw. Researchers in Dayton's Miami Valley have held to that same standard. Over the past century, they have worked to find new ways to control airplanes as they fly higher, faster, and farther.
23. HPFFWM_120805_132.JPG: Fly By Wire: One of the "major flight control triumphs" at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base was the development of fly-by-wire technology, enabling pilots of control their aircraft more precisely and efficiently. This breakthrough technology eliminated traditional mechanical linkages such as cables and rods that ran from the cockpit to the various control surfaces on the aircraft and replaced them with electrical wires. In the years since it was first developed, fly-by-wire has helped streamline pilot workload and has improved the airplane's performance, handling, safety, and survivability. The technology was used first for military aircraft, then applied to commercial airliners.
24. HPFFWM_120805_136.JPG: Automatic pilot: The idea of automatic pilot flight control systems has been around since the days of the Wright brothers. Orville won the prestigious Collier Trophy for an "automatic stabilizer" system that he unveiled in 1913. Unfortunately, it never became popular. Instead, plane makers opted for the gyroscopic stabilizer invented by Lawrence Sperry. Nonetheless, the Dayton area proved to be a prime developing ground in subsequent years. Scientists and engineers produced a wide range of advanced automatic pilot systems including automatic landings and terrain recognition systems. On August 23, 1937, this Fokker C-14B, equipped with locally developed flight systems completed the first automatic landing in history.
25. HPFFWM_120805_139.JPG: Ejection Seats and Parachutes: Most pilots prefer to leave an airplane after it has safely touched down on the ground. But what happens if the aircraft experiences catastrophic mechanical failure or is disabled by enemy fire while it is in the air? Since the 1920s, McCook Field and its successors have been leaders in the development of parachute and ejection seat technology. The first emergency freefall parachute jump was made here by McCook Field test pilot Lieutenant Harold R. Harris on October 20, 1922. Almost a quarter century later, in the skies above Huffman Prairie Flying Field, Sergeant Lawrence Lambert became the first American to eject from an airplane in flight by means of an ejection seat.
26. HPFFWM_120805_144.JPG: More Power, More Speed: "For the first time, I was flying by get propulsion... Later when asked what it felt like, I said, it felt as though angels were pushing." -- German Luftwaffe Lieutenant General Adolf Galland reflecting on his first jet flight One of the most underrated contributions the Wright brothers made in the pursuit of mechanical flight was their work on engines and propellers. They designed and built their own propulsion system for their 1903 Flyer without the help of previous references because none existed at the time. It was a ground-breaking accomplishment. And it still awes aeronautical researchers today. For the past century, military researchers in the great Dayton area have kept the Wright brothers' pioneering spirit alive by continually making advancements in propeller and engine technology. They set the standard for research, development, and testing, and enabled modern aircraft to meet the challenges of flying higher, faster, and farther.
27. HPFFWM_120805_156.JPG: The Gift of Wings: "More than anyone I have ever known or read about, the Wright brothers gave me the sense that nothing is impossible. I like to think... that the Air Force has rooted its traditions in that spirit." -- General H.H. "Hap" Arnold, Wright brothers' student and later Commander Army Air Forces World War II.
28. HPFFWM_120805_171.JPG: Final Honors "The Wright brothers were the most memorialized of Americans in the 20th century. Of all their countrymen, only Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln have inspired commemorative zeal to match." -- Wright biographer Tom Crouch To perfect a flying machine was nothing short of a miracle. Dayton's two most famous sons were soon hailed throughout the world for making the ancient dream of flight a reality. After Wilbur Wright died unexpectedly in 1912, prominent Dayton leaders initially thought that Huffman Prairie Flying Field, which you can see from this bluff, would be the best place to build a memorial. The committee wanted a simple, classic design "thoroughly in keeping with the unassuming modesty of Wilbur and Orville Wright." But the devastation of a great flood in 1913 postponed efforts to build any monument until 1938. This Wright Memorial fittingly overlooks the place where their greatest work was done. On August 19, 1940, Daytonians joined some of the Wrights' earliest student flyers, including General Hap Arnold (right), then the commander of the Army Air Corps, to dedicate this monument. It was Orville Wright's (second from right) 69th birthday. Civilian Conservation Corps crews helped the Miami Conservancy District build this memorial between 1938 and 1940. The Conservancy gave the memorial to the Air Force in 1978 in celebration of the 75th anniversary of powered flight.
29. HPFFWM_120805_188.JPG: In commemoration of the courage, perseverance and achievements of Wilbur and Orville Wright Through original research, the Wright brothers acquired scientific knowledge and developed theories of aerodynamics which with their invention of aileron control enabled them in 1903 to build and fly at Kitty Hawk, the first power-driven man-carrying aeroplane capable of flight. Their further development of the aeroplane gave it a capacity for service which established aviation as one of the great forward steps in human progress. As scientists, Wilbur and Orville Wright discovered the secret of flight. As inventors, builders and flyers, they brought aviation to the world
30. HPFFWM_120805_192.JPG: The area surrounding this hill is not only inseparably associated with the early days of the aeroplane but continues today as an important factor in aviation activity. Wright field lying in the direction of the arrow is the headquarters for the development and testing work of the United States Army Air Corps. It is named after the Wright brothers and typifies in its purpose the spirit of research and experiment which marked their efforts.
31. HPFFWM_120805_197.JPG: Centuries ago this hill was a center of life and culture of the mound builders. Two large burial mounds and four small ones have been identified here by the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society. They were once part of a mound community which from all indications was a place of importance in the mound builders era. Thus from a site with considerable prehistoric interest rises a shaft commemorating one of the greatest advances in the history of mankind.
32. HPFFWM_120805_206.JPG: Pioneer flyers who were trained at Wright Brothers Field Maj. Gen Henry H. Arnold, U.S.A. Appointed Chief of Air Corps, U.S. Army, 1938 Brig. Gen. Frank Lahm, U.S.A. First military man to go up in an Aeroplane. One of first two military pilots in America Capt. John Rodgers, U.S.N. First attempted flight from United States to Honduras 1925. Longest made by seaplane to that time - distance 1840 miles Capt. A. Roy Brown Canadian Royal Air Force, Holder of a distinguished record for outstanding military accomplishment. Col. Charles DeF. Chandler, U.S.A. Air Corps officer and former Chief of Lighter-than-Air Division. Col. Thomas DeW. Milling, U.S.A. One of the first military pilots Griffith Brewer First Englishman to fly in an aeroplane Cal P. Rodgers First transcontinental flight from east to west Robert G. Fowler First transcontinental flight from west to east.
33. HPFFWM_120805_210.JPG: One and one half miles east of this hill was written much of the opening chapter in the history of aviation. The arrow points to a marker which indicates the exact location of the original hanger on the flying field used by the Wright Brothers. Following their historic flights at Kitty Hawk December 17, 1903 they continued their work at this field. During 1904 and 1905 one hundred and sixty flights were made here including the first in a complete circle. The knowledge gained from these flights enabled the Wright brothers to make important advances both in aeroplane design and the art of flying. During a later period many of the pioneer flyers of this an other countries learned to fly here. Earth from the site where the original hanger stood has been brought to the top of this hill and underlies the shaft itself and the area surrounding it.
34. HPFFWM_120805_226.JPG: Biplanes to Rocket Science Here, on Wright Brothers Hill, on all sides you are surrounded by the vast research complexes and runways of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Problem solving done here since 1917 has taken aviators from Huffman Prairie Flying Field to the moon and back. In the early 1920s, McCook Field near downtown Dayton proved too small to be safe for further experimental aircraft work. Community leaders formed the Dayton Air Service Committee, buying the lands surrounding this bluff and donating them to the federal government in 1924. Wright Field was then built, keeping the Army Air Corps engineering braintrust in town. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base remains America's premier center for aeronautical research, development and acquisition, continuing engineering traditions that Orville and Wilbur Wright started when they first learned how to fly over these same fields in 1904. Wright Field (1927) - Combat aircraft for World War II were designed at Wright Field. Experimental warplanes were test-flown from both fields in the 1940s. Patterson Field (1917) - The airfield you see ahead honors Lt. Frank S. Patterson, a test pilot killed in a crash in 1918. At that time, the base was called Wilbur Wright Field. Spacesuits worn by early astronauts, such as Ohioan John Glenn, were developed at Wright-Patterson in the 1960s. Early development work on the Space Shuttle was also done here.
35. HPFFWM_120805_246.JPG: Cow Pasture to Flight School Look two miles beyond this overlook to see a true cradle of aviation. The flags you see far below outline the pasture that became the first airport in history. After their success at Kitty Hawk, the Wright brothers returned to Dayton, looking for a "flying field" closer to home, they relocated to the rough pasture of Torrence Huffman's farm in the valley below. In 1904-05, flying 40 feet high over Huffman Prairie Flying Field, the Wrights solved the complex problems of controlling a machine in powered flight: how to turn, bank, launch, and land. The pasture where the world's first airplane pilots learned to fly. In 1910 the Wrights returned to this same pasture to start their School of Aviation- the world's first permanent flight school. Many pilots, both military and civilian, who would shape the future of aviation first took to the air here. Look for the flying field between here and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base's active runways you see in the distance. You may be able to make out the flags which show the flying field's historic boundaries.
36. HPFFWM_120805_254.JPG: In Case of Floods ... Huffman Prairie Flying Field lies to the right of Huffman Dam, the long earthen barrier you see below. The dam is one of five 'retarding basins' built by the Miami Conservancy District after the catastrophic 1913 flood. This dam, along with many miles of riverbank levees, protects downtown Dayton from future inundation. Because the land behind this dam can go underwater if the Mad River should rise, and because there are active Air Force runways nearby, Torrence Huffman's pasture has never been developed. Today's visitors can see the oldest of all flying fields much as the Wright brothers would have known it in the early years of the 20th century.
Wikipedia Description: Huffman Prairie
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

... The associated Huffman Prairie Flying Field Interpretive Center is located at the Wright Memorial on an overlook about 2 miles (3.2 km) from the flying field. This facility addresses the specific problems Orville and Wilbur Wright encountered while they were perfecting their flying machine, their first demonstration flights in the United States and in Europe, their exhibition team, and their manufacturing facility in Dayton, Ohio. The center also highlights the continuing legacy of Orville and Wilbur Wright as embodied in the development of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the continuing aeronautical research at this Air Force facility.
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