‘What dreams we have, and how they fly’
Standing in the center of the windswept field that is the birthplace of aviation, a gigantic C–5 Galaxy is seen taking off from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base less than two miles away, its silhouette blocking the sun, and a visitor can’t help but wonder, “What would Orville and Wilbur think?”
Of all the numerous sites dedicated to aviation in Dayton, Ohio—and there are many—it is probably this 84-acre field where the brothers taught themselves to fly that is most remarkable. It’s a rough-hewn cow pasture on which stands a humble wood replica of the Wrights’ hangar, now housing memorabilia. Next to the hangar is a replica of the launching device the brothers used to catapult their machine into the sky. It’s a rickety affair—what desire propelled the two young men to risk life and limb to study flying here in a pre-modern-medicine world of 1904? The field is remote from the city of Dayton, eight miles from the curious eyes of those whom the brothers feared would report on their activities and steal their ideas or stop their work. And, since it sits today on the border of the massive air force base—one of the largest in the world—the field offers the perfect place to reflect on the amazing invention that changed the world.
Huffman Prairie Flying Field is the place where it truly all happened. Oh, maybe, the dramatic first flight took place on a sand dune in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, in 1903, but this field is where it all began. Little has been done to the field save for a few historic markers and an unobtrusive trail, so it’s easy to imagine young men on bicycles stopping here to tinker and experiment more than 100 years ago. The brothers conducted more than 100 flights on the field after the historic first flight in North Carolina, and it was here that they established the Wright School of Aviation and trained more than 100 pilots in those early days of aviation.
From the Interpretive Center two miles away at the top of the hill, visitors can look out over the field and marvel at the massive base behind—2,000 acres, which became Wright Flying Field and now Wright-Patterson. The historic flying field, pockmarked by numerous groundhog holes, is open for self-guided tours most days, but it is part of an active military installation. It is located next door to a firing range. For safety, the field is closed to visitors when the range is active.
Famous sons
All of Dayton celebrates its most famous sons and their flying machine. Situated in the southwest corner of Ohio along the Great Miami River, Dayton is a Mecca for aviation enthusiasts. From Huffman Prairie to the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Carillon Park to the Wright Cycle Company Complex, the Wright brothers and their impact on aviation can be found everywhere. In Hoover Block in the center of downtown Dayton is the Wright Cycle Company Complex, the Wright-Dunbar Interpretive Center, and the Aviation Trail Visitor Center and Museum. This is the best place to start a tour. The block is a restored area that saw better days when the Wrights lived there, but lost its status and, with the restoration, is now an interesting blend of historic site and renewed neighborhood. The cycle company is a corner store situated on a cobblestone street and is the fourth of the bicycle shops the Wrights ran. Examples of early bicycles are on display, as well as displays that show how the bicycle influenced the brothers’ aircraft design. Connected to the shop is an interpretive center with wall murals telling the Wrights’ story.
A key player in the story is Paul Laurence Dunbar. The brothers started their careers as printers and operated their second print shop in their home on Hoover Block. The brothers edited and published newspapers here, including the Dayton Tattler, written by Dunbar, an African-American poet laureate and boyhood friend of Orville and Wilbur. Although he died of tuberculosis in 1906, Dunbar and his writings are tied to the Wrights. On brochures and other literature, Dunbar’s visage shares center stage with those of Orville and Wilbur. “What dreams we have and how they fly,” wrote Dunbar.
The aircraft
Dayton has a rich industrial history (see “Beyond Aviation,” below), which is celebrated in the city’s open-air museum, Carillon Park. In addition to telling the history of the area through artifacts and exhibits, the park’s centerpiece is the actual 1905 Wright Flyer III, preserved and on display in Wright Hall. The Flyer III was left in Kill Devil Hills after its flight in 1905. In 1911, the Berkshire Museum of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, obtained the parts and pieces until Orville requested them in 1946 to reconstruct the aircraft to be a part of Carillon Historical Park, a project of his friend Col. Edward A. Deeds. Painstakingly restored by Orville—who died before its completion—the aircraft is about 80 percent original. It sits in the exhibit hall in a pit-like setting surrounded by an iron fence. It is the only fixed-wing aircraft to be designated a National Historic Landmark by Congress.
A working replica of the 1911 Wright B Flyer—one you can actually fly with a docent—is on display at Dayton-Wright Brothers Airport in Miamisburg (see “America’s Airports: Birthplace of Aviation,” January AOPA Pilot). The idea to build a flyable lookalike version of the first production aircraft ever built germinated in 1973. The replica was built in 1975 by a series of more than 600 volunteers and took its first flight in 1982. Today it takes visitors on flights 10 to 12 times a day in the summer months.
But for the mother lode of aircraft, the place to be is the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB, the world’s largest and oldest military aviation museum and the official museum of the U.S. Air Force. More than 400 aircraft and aerospace vehicles are on display in the three massive hangars bordered on one end by the six-story, 500-seat IMAX theater and at the other end by a missile/space gallery. In the center of the museum is the National Aviation Hall of Fame where the roster of who’s who in aviation starts with the Wright brothers. Four new inductees will be announced December 17 at the 105th Anniversary of Flight dinner (it was announced at the NBAA convention in October that former Cessna chairman and CEO Russ Meyer Jr. is one of the inductees; the other three names are being kept secret until the dinner; AOPA President Phil Boyer is an honored speaker).
A good time to visit
Dayton celebrates aviation all year round, and although the temperatures may be low part of the year, the enthusiasm of the many volunteers and docents is always high. It’s a good time to remember the Wrights’ achievements in this 105th anniversary season.
E-mail the author at [email protected].
Beyond aviation
Dayton is a city of innovation. Its mark on the industrial age is evident throughout the city, if more now in historic sites and less in active manufacturing facilities. At one time there were 10 automobile manufacturers in Dayton, and it is here that Charles Kettering invented the electric self-starter for the automobile. Dayton is home to The National Cash Register Company, which was established here in 1884 (Kettering invented the first cash resister with an electric motor in 1906; he was a close friend of the Wright brothers).
At Carillon Park, a 65-acre historical park, much of this rich history is documented in a living history museum, which includes such sites as Culp’s Café, a replica of a cafeteria that was located in downtown Dayton in the 1930s; the Sun Oil Station circa 1924, which once stood in downtown Dayton; and the Deeds Barn, a replica of founder Col. Edward Deeds’ barn from 1900. The carillon for which the park is named is a 151-foot tower with 57 bells.
Other points of interest in Dayton include the Dunbar House, the first African-American home listed as a National Historic Landmark; the Aullwood Audubon Center and Farm, a 358-acre sanctuary and education center for the National Audubon Society; the National African-American Museum and Cultural Center; and the SunWatch Indian Village, an excavated prehistoric village site.
And then there’s Woodland Cemetery. Not many people put cemeteries on a must-see list, but this site in Dayton not only offers a panoramic view of the city and the Great Miami River, but it is one of the nation’s oldest rural/garden cemeteries and has more than 3,000 trees, some more than a century old. It is also the final resting place of Orville and Wilbur Wright. —JSW
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