National Aviation Day

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 08/19/2019 at 12:35 • Filed to: wingspan, Planelopnik

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In 1939, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt chose August 19, Orville Wright’s birthdate, as the day on which we honor the development of aviation and related sciences in the United States. Orville was still alive at the time, though his brother Wilbur had died of typhoid fever in 1912. Though he helped to usher in the age of flying, Orville piloted a plane for the last time in 1918. However, he went on to lead a life dedicated to aviation, and sat on the board of the National Committee for Aeronautics, the predecessor of NASA, for 28 years. His last flight was on board a Lockheed Constellation piloted by Howard Hughes. During the flight, Orville commented that the wingspan of the Connie was longer than his first flight just 45 years earlier. Orville Wright died in 1948 at the age of 76, just three months after Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier flying the Bell X-1. The airplane had gone from 6.8 mph in 1903 to beyond the speed of sound in one man’s lifetime.

This is a repost from last year because I forgot that today is National Aviation Day!

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For more stories about aviation, aviation history, aviators and airplane oddities, visit !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

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LOREM IPSUM > ttyymmnn 08/19/2018 at 12:45

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This was an extremely educational post for me, and I thank you. Aside from the obvious, I always thought FDR’s middle name was “ Delanor” for some reason. Now I know, more things.

Just Jeepin' > LOREM IPSUM 08/19/2018 at 12:48

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Probably because his wife was named Eleanor. Brains are tricky things.

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > ttyymmnn 08/19/2018 at 12:58

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just popping in to say i enjoy your posts and apreciate the time you must put in to them

i know nothing of planes... im learning here :)

ttyymmnn > farscythe - makin da cawfee! 08/19/2018 at 13:04

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Thank you! It is a lot of work, but it is a labor of love. I enjoy learning about this myself, and I’m always pleased when I can teach something to somebody. Once a teacher, always a teacher!

Quadradeuce > ttyymmnn 08/19/2018 at 14:07

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Honestly, if Orville had lived into his 90s, he might have seen a man walk on the moon. Truly amazing progress.

It makes you wonder “why can’t we make progress like that anymore?”. Then I think about the state of computers when I was a kid in the 80s, then I think of where we might  go with computers by the time I’m 76...

TheRealBicycleBuck > ttyymmnn 08/19/2018 at 15:36

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How are you celebrating? I’m celebrating by flying. Today’s beast of burden: Piper Archer.

ttyymmnn > TheRealBicycleBuck 08/19/2018 at 15:51

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Unfortunately, I’m celebrating by posting airplane pictures on Oppo. On the bright side, at least one person has learned something interesting about Orville Wright, so that’s a plus. I’ll try to celebrate later this week with a photo trip down to AUS.

Steve in Manhattan > ttyymmnn 08/20/2018 at 00:16

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General Yeager is on Twitter, and he’s funny - still on top of his game.

CaptDale - is secretly British > ttyymmnn 08/20/2018 at 14:32

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I apparently took my first flight lesson on aviation day

ttyymmnn > CaptDale - is secretly British 08/20/2018 at 14:33

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Serendipity!

CaptDale - is secretly British > ttyymmnn 08/20/2018 at 14:39

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Yup, didn’t even know that was a thing till today. 

jchapa > ttyymmnn 08/21/2018 at 10:33

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I've enjoyed your posts, keep up the good work.

ttyymmnn > jchapa 08/21/2018 at 11:39

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Thanks for letting me know! And thanks for reading.

facw > Just Jeepin' 08/19/2019 at 12:43

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Note that Elanor was also a Roosevelt (her dad was Teddy’s younger brother). To bring this back to aviation, Teddy Roose velt was the first president to fly in a plane, though he did so after his presidency had ended (and really more on than in):

TheRealBicycleBuck > ttyymmnn 08/19/2019 at 12:43

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Being a repost, I cannot add another well-deserved  star!

ttyymmnn > TheRealBicycleBuck 08/19/2019 at 12:56

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It’s kind of interesting to see what people were up to a year ago. Much the same for me.

TheRealBicycleBuck > ttyymmnn 08/19/2019 at 12:58

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I’m still doing the same job, but now I can fly without an instructor! I was planning some plane time later this week.

Ash78, voting early and often > TheRealBicycleBuck 08/19/2019 at 13:04

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Oooh, fancy. Still has the wheel fairings and everything. I remember when those paint schemes started rolling off the line at the Vero Beach factory when I was a kid as Piper was in its renaissance ( Late 80s, maybe) . Before that, a lot of them still had the 60s-70s brown, tan and yellow paint that the whole industry loved.

My mom’s reaction to your Archer’s paint ? “Why does it look like a credit card?” 

How the hell did I just remember that?

TheRealBicycleBuck > Ash78, voting early and often 08/19/2019 at 13:20

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It looks like a credit card because that’s what makes it go....

I’ll be flying a lowly 140 later this week. The Archer is for the big spenders. 

Ash78, voting early and often > TheRealBicycleBuck 08/19/2019 at 13:50

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Taildraggers FTW.

I’ll never forget the first time Piper put a turboprop in the Malibu and it reached the million-dollar mark. That was a shocker, especially as a kid 30+ years ago.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > ttyymmnn 08/19/2019 at 14:09

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People relish in the mockery of Ohio, and to be fair this state does have many faults. However, there is not one state in this precarious union that is truly perfect.

But despite its imperfections, I truly do believe that living in Ohio helped the Wright Brothers and Neil Armstrong achieve such greatness. Being bored allows the mind to contemplate the unknown. And if there is anything truly universal about the Ohio experience it is dealing with stretches of boredom.

Some may attempt to deride Ohio by implying that the Wrights and Armstrong wanted so desperately to leave that they invented flight itself or signed up for the only way to leave the planet respectively. I see this as a point of pride. Because when one is constantly barraged with entertainment seeking your attention, one does not ponder the unexplained. 

TheRealBicycleBuck > Ash78, voting early and often 08/19/2019 at 14:14

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I was referring to a Piper Cherokee 140. :)

I went back and forth with another pilot friend of mine about this. You’d think I would have learned the first time around. I should always include either a model name or a brand.

Ash78, voting early and often > TheRealBicycleBuck 08/19/2019 at 14:15

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Especially with the Cherokee, which has 714 different variants :)

If anyone in general aviation says “140" I’m always going to vintage Cessna.

Chariotoflove > ttyymmnn 08/19/2019 at 14:25

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I think it interesting that Orville, having had a consuming enough interest in flight to invest all he did on it, was not interested enough after to continue as a pilot.

ttyymmnn > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 08/19/2019 at 14:33

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You should read David McCullough’s book about the Wright Brothers. He speaks often about how Dayton the place had such an important role in making the Wrights who they were. They might have done what they did anywhere, but there was something about where they were that fostered and encouraged their curiosity and their work ethic. 

ttyymmnn > Chariotoflove 08/19/2019 at 14:38

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They never really did much to evolve their airplane either. Of course, much of their time was spent trying to protect the patents. It was Glenn Curtiss, IMO, who took what the Wrights did and really went nuts with it. It almost seems like the two of them were more interested in simply proving that it could be done and, once they had, they moved on. I wonder if things would have been different if Wilbur hadn’t died. My sense is that he was the real driving force in that relationship.

If you haven’t read David McCullough’s book about the Wright Brothers, you really should. It’s an easy and fascinating read, though at times I think it’s a bit shallow, at least for me. I don’t think a general audience would find it so, and that’s who it was written for. The end of the book also feels quite rushed. Still, it’s a fascinating look into the lives of the brothers and their family, and does a very good job in fleshing out the two men we really only know by name. 

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > ttyymmnn 08/19/2019 at 14:44

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That book is already in my library. I will get to it soon enough.

I recommend Grand Eccentrics by John Ashber y. Dayton was truly THE place for quite some time. Those days have long passed sadly.

Chariotoflove > ttyymmnn 08/19/2019 at 14:45

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I wondered that as well.

Thanks, I’ll check it out.  McCullough generally writes well.  I should see if he Wrights well also.

ttyymmnn > Chariotoflove 08/19/2019 at 14:47

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Only Vespas... > ttyymmnn 08/19/2019 at 15:17

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Great post...Let’s not forget about the origins of flight. Gliders/Sailplanes!

TheRealBicycleBuck > Ash78, voting early and often 08/19/2019 at 15:48

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I’m searching for a decent instructor for the tailwheel endorsement. That opens up other possibilities for a plane when I’m ready to buy one. 

ttyymmnn > Only Vespas... 08/19/2019 at 16:03

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We wouldn’t be here without the Glider King. 

August 1o, 1896 – The death of Otto Lilienthal, an early and influential pioneer of manned flight who was known as the Glider King for his experiments with, and development of, unpowered glider flight. Born on May 23, 1848, Lillienthal worked closely with his brother Gustav and made over 2,000 flights beginning in 1891, some of which covered distances of over 800 feet. While all those flights only accounted for five hours of total flying time, Lillienthal’s influence on the history of manned aviation far outstripped his hours in the air. The notoriety he garnered not only popularized the idea of future powered flight, but also influenced the early work of the Wright Brothers and other aviation pioneers. Lillenthal was killed in the crash of one of his gliders when he entered an unrecoverable stall at an altitude of about 50 feet and suffered a broken neck when his glider plummeted to the ground.