Following the Footsteps of the Wright Brothers (continued from page 8)

The Historic Aviation Trail, Dayton, Ohio

The camera that took the famous picture.

The canoe Wilbur Wright strapped to the Flyer III to use in case he went down during his flight around the Statue of Liberty in 1909.

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Overstating the obvious, Dayton is truly the Mecca of aviation history. There are twelve main stops on what is called the Dayton Historic Aviation Trail. Most of you are familiar with the Air Force Museum (definitely a must see if you have never been), but there are a couple of other notable sites that I found extremely humbling when it comes to walking in the footsteps of the Wrights.

Carillon Historical Park is located south of Dayton near the University of Dayton campus off of I-75. Among various buildings in this 65-acre complex celebrating the history of the Miami Valley, you will find a center devoted to the Wright Brothers called Wright Hall.

Wright Hall has various collections of Wright memorabilia including THE original 1905 Wright Flyer III. This aircraft was truly the first practical airplane and was flown at Huffman Prairie. Dubbed a national treasure in an act by Congress and called one of the most valuable artifacts in the history of technology, the Flyer III sits as it was when Orville Wright reassembled it for display in the park. You can even see Orville Wright's camera that John Daniels used to take the famous photo of the first flight.

Park hours are seasonal so contact them at http://www.carillonpark.org or call 937-293-2841 for more information.

The 1905 Wright Flyer III - first practical airplane.

Further east of town and nestled between Patterson Field and the Air Force Museum is the Huffman Prairie Flying Field site. This is the spot where the Wrights improved on their successes at Kitty Hawk and taught the world to fly. Managed by the parks service, you can see a replica of the hangar and launch catapult the Wrights used in 1904. The Wrights flew the first circlular pattern by air here and always flew around the Huffman Prairie area. The parks service has a trail where you can follow this path. The path is marked with various points of interest and turnpoints the Wrights used. There is also a wonderful interpretive center located at the Wright Brothers Memorial located further up the hill from the flying field that overlooks Patterson Field at the end of the Wright Field museum property.

Admission is free. For hours call 937-425-0008. There are guided tours by the parks service. If you would like to see more of the many sites on Dayton's Historical Aviation Trail you can go to their website at http://aviationtrailinc.org, or call for a free brochure at 1-937-425-0008 or 1-937-225-7705.

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