Explore Ohio’s Rich Aviation
and Aerospace History

Without the invention of flight, our world would be a different place. Thanks to Dayton brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright, it’s a world we don’t have to imagine. Their success in creating the first practical plane inspired others and led to more aviation milestones made in Ohio, including the first passenger airship, advancements in control systems for planes like the Benoist Type XII, and early monoplanes.

Ohio nurtured and drew creative minds to achieve innovation in air and space technologies. Because of this work, air travel is now our preferred method of long-distance travel. Explore Akron’s lighter-than-air development and the creation of the free-fall parachute at McCook Field in Dayton. Learn about an Ohio engineer’s contribution to stealth technology, how Ohio’s automobile industry inspired aviation breakthroughs, and ongoing discoveries that improve the efficiency, practicality, and safety of flying.

Ohio produced pilots, crews, planes, parts and materials for war efforts. During WWII, it was among the top states who contributed soldiers and played a key industrial role in supply production. Hear stories from Tuskegee airmen. Learn how women were vital in the war effort, working as “Rosies” in many Ohio factories, serving as pilots through the WASP program and training as engineers as Curtiss-Wright Cadettes. Ohioans also founded the Aerial Nurse Corps and the Civil Air Patrol.

The discovery of flight produced the need to train pilots. With the onset of each war, the need grew even greater. From the Wright Brothers Flying School at Huffman Field to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, discover how Ohio played a significant role in training pilots, both military and civilian. Explore early flight simulators, as well as NASA’s Space Shuttle Crew Compartment Container used to prepare crews for orbit. Ohio continues to launch state-of-the-art training and has recently announced construction of a commercial astronaut training program near Cleveland.

Among the 26 astronauts hailing from Ohio was the first astronaut to orbit earth and the first to place a boot on the moon. Ohioans advanced women in space, conducted important aerospace research, and produced key components that made space flight possible. Today, there are NASA research and testing stations, more than 550 aviation and aerospace manufacturers and world-class opportunities for STEM education that keep Ohioans reaching for the stars.

There are many places and people in Ohio dedicated to preserving historic aircraft and the stories that go along with them. In “‘ fact, the National Aviation Heritage Area is dedicated by Congress to preserve and promote the Dayton region’s legacy to aviation. Some of the trail sites provide flying experiences in vintage aircraft allowing you to experience flying for yourself.

Aviation at its heart is a quest for adventure. Stories abound about stunt-flyers, air races, movie flyers, and solo flights, like the one that Columbus native Jerrie Mock made as the first women to successfully fly around the world in 1964. As these courageous pilots take to the sky, they never know who’s watching. A 17-year-old John Glenn attended the Cleveland National Air Show with his father, and it changed history. Glenn says of the experience watching the air show, “Flying beckoned me like never before.”