DAYTON, Ohio — Air show performer Patty Wagstaff has added her voice to those urging the restoration of America’s first airplane factory — the Wright Company factory in Dayton. “I’m completely honored to be standing here,” Wagstaff says in a new video filmed inside the historic but unrestored factory. “I want to know what it was […]
Wright Brothers
Wright Company factory draws students from China
DAYTON, Ohio — The Wright Company factory showed its potential to draw international travelers Wednesday, Sept. 28, when a group of 22 students from China and their chaperones toured the West Dayton buildings that launched America’s aviation industry. The 17 students, ages 7 to 11, and five adults walked in the footsteps of Wilbur and […]
Campaign to save Wright factory wins support
DAYTON, Ohio — The campaign to save the Wright brothers’ factory has won a new supporter — David McCullough. The author of the best-selling book “The Wright Brothers” endorses the effort in a new video filmed inside the historic factory. You can see the video below. “I applaud all of you who are working to […]
National Park Service tells Wright story at AirVenture
By Tim Gaffney OSHKOSH, Wis.— For one week in late July every year, flight enthusiasts from around the world gather for what’s billed as the world’s greatest aviation celebration — the Experimental Aircraft Association’s AirVenture convention and fly-in. More than 500,000 visitors, including more than 2,000 from 80 foreign countries, flock to EAA’s headquarters at […]
Award-winning author notes Wright brothers factory ‘important to world’
DAYTON, Ohio — The Wright brothers’ factory should be preserved because its two buildings contain stories of importance to the world, Pulitzer Prize-winning author David McCullough said Tuesday, April 19, after touring the century-old factory. They’re also symbolic of a time when industrial cities like Dayton took great pride in the products their workers turned […]
President’s budget includes funding to buy Wright brothers factory building
The President’s 2016 fiscal budget will include $450,000 for the National Park Service to acquire the original Wright brothers factory buildings in Dayton, Ohio. Plans call for the buildings to be restored as part of the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park. In a public-private partnership, some of the five buildings — which are now empty […]
Destination: Dayton
For those who love general aviation, as well as history, a visit to the National Aviation Heritage Area in Ohio is a must. The federally designated heritage area surrounds Dayton, the hometown of the Wright brothers. The eight-county area is chock-full of aviation sites, from the original Wright brothers’ bicycle shop, to Huffman Prairie, where […]
First flight anniversary events slated in Dayton
DAYTON, Ohio — The National Aviation Heritage Alliance (NAHA) and its partners will celebrate the 112th anniversary of the Wright brothers’ first powered flights with a series of events in the Dayton area on Dec. 17. Between 10 and 11 a.m., NAHA officials and Ohio Rep. Rick Perales will join officials from Wright-Patterson Air Force […]
Ohio lawmakers repudiate Connecticut, defend the Wright brothers
COLUMBUS, Ohio—The Ohio Senate stood with historians and scholars on Wednesday, Dec. 9, in passing a state resolution in which Ohio repudiates Connecticut for claiming the Wright brothers were not the first to fly. Senators unanimously passed House Concurrent Resolution 8 (HCR 8), a measure that defends Ohio’s distinction as the “birthplace of aviation” and […]