Famous Firsts in Aeronautics at Fort Myer

Famous Firsts in Aeronautics at Fort Myer (HM1CDJ)

Location: Arlington, VA 22211 Arlington County
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Country: United States of America
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N 38° 52.908', W 77° 4.937'

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Inscription
Here for the first time in the world, an airplane flew over an hour. That was on September 9, 1908, when a Wright Brothers' "Flyer", piloted by Orville Wright took off from the north end of the Fort Myer drill field and circled continuously over this area for one hour, two minutes and 15 seconds.

The same day Lieutenant Frank P. Lahm, U.S. Army, became the first person in the world to fly in an airplane as a military observer. That flight of six minutes and 24 seconds as a passenger with Mr. Wright was a world record flight for two men. The next year in another Wright "Flyer", they made a world record passenger flight here of one hour, 12 minutes and 40 seconds.

The first cross-country flight of an airplane in America was made July 30, 1909, from Fort Myer to Alexandria and return, a continuous round trip of ten miles averaging about 42½ miles per hour. Orville Wright was pilot, and Lieutenant Benjamin Foulois, U.S. Army, was passenger.

Following these official tests that Wright "Flyer" of 1909 was accepted and purchased by the War Department. It was the first successful military airplane in the world. It remained in active service with the Signal Corps' Aviation Section until 1911. It is now in the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum. In 1908 the Army's first dirigible airship, the "SC-1" was test-flown from this field.

Dedicated July 30, 1959 by the Early Birds of Aviation
An organization of those who flew solo before December 17, 1916
Details
HM NumberHM1CDJ
Tags
Year Placed1959
Placed ByEarly Birds of Aviation
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Monday, September 22nd, 2014 at 4:41am PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)18S E 319383 N 4305720
Decimal Degrees38.88180000, -77.08228333
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 38° 52.908', W 77° 4.937'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds38° 52' 54.48" N, 77° 4' 56.22" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)703, 571
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 401-403 Sheridan Ave, Arlington VA 22211, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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