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Wright Places


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Meanwhile:
How about a
little music?

We have a selection of tunes that were popular during the first days of aviation, performed by Sue Keller, courtesy the Ragtime Press:

Alexander's Ragtime Band
Irving Berlin 1911
Aviation Rag
Mark Janza 1905
Maple Leaf Rag
Scott Joplin 1909
St. Louis Rag
Tom Turpin 1903
Waiting for the Robert E. Lee
Gilbert/Muir 1912

Want to ask a question? Tell us something? Arrange a showing of one of our airplanes? Ping:
mailto:[email protected]

he following sites either played an important role in the story of the Wright brothers, or they offer a major collection of Wright artifacts, or both.

Carillon Park, Dayton, OH -- Part of the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historic Park, Carillon Park houses the restored 1905 Wright Flyer, the world's first practical airplane.

College Park Aviation Museum, College Park, MD -- This is where the Wright Brothers set up the first flying school for military aviators in 1909. From this location Wilbur Wright carried the first women passenger to fly from American soil, Mrs. Ralf Van Deman. He also made his last public flight from College Park on November 2, 1909.

Fort Meyer, VA -- This was the former estate of Robert E. Lee, and was once used to test both lighter- and heavier-than-air flying machines provided to the US Army on contract. Orville Wright demonstrated the Wright Military Flyer here in 1908 and 1909.

Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, PA -- Orville Wright gave the Franklin Institute many of his important scientific papers and artifacts, including the Wright wind tunnel balances. The Franklin Institute has the world's only complete and original Wright Model B.

Greenfield Village, Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn, MI -- Henry Ford moved the right brothers home a 7 Hawthorne Street and their bicycle shop at 1127 West Third Street form Dayton, Ohio to this location in the 1930s. It is maintained among the homes and workshops of other great American innovators.

Huffman Prairie, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH -- The Wright brothers perfected their powered aircraft here in 1904 and 1905, then began a flying school and flight research facility on this spot from 1910 to 1915. On May 25, 1910 Wilbur and Orville flew together at Huffman Prairie for the first and only time. This is part of the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historic Park.

Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, AL -- Orville set up a flight school here in the winter of 1910 to train the Wright Company first exhibition pilots, the "Wright Fliers." The school continued to operate until 1911.

Montgomery County and Dayton City Public Library, Dayton, OH -- The main library in Dayton contains an enormous collection of Wright papers and memorabilia, including the Wright genealogical history and the minutes of the Ten Dayton Boys Club, a last-man club to which both Wilbur and Orville belonged.

Montgomery County Historical Society, Dayton, OH -- The society has a large collection of Wright papers and memorabilia, including a massive collection of photos and news clippings that were once in the archives of the National Cash Register Company. These include images of and information about Dayton's industrial past, including the Wright Company and Wright Flying School.

National Air & Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC -- The Smithsonian is the steward of three Wright aircraft, including the 1903 Wright Flyer, the first aircraft to make a controlled, sustained powered flight; the 1909 Wright Military Flyer, the US Armed Forces first aircraft; and the 1911 Vin Fiz, the first aircraft to fly across the North American continent -- or any continent.

Paul Laurence Dunbar Library Archives, Wright State University, Dayton, OH -- The archives house the largest collection of Wright papers and photos -- larger even than the Library of Congress when you consider the Dunbar Library has copies of everything the Library of Congress chose to archive plus a great deal more they left in Dayton. The Dunbar Library also offers material on Curtiss and other pioneer aviators.

United States Air Force Museum, Dayton, OH -- The USAF Museum displays one original Wright Model B in the same condition it was in when it was retired, plus a replica of the 1909 Military Flyer. You can also find a Bleriot XI and a Curtiss Model D here.

Wilbur Wright Birthplace, Millville, IN -- This small museum preserve the tiny farmhouse in which Wilbur Wright was born, and maintains several other buildings that tell the story of the Wright brothers. The displays include a replica of the 1903 Wright Flyer.

Wright Brothers National Memorial, Kill Devil Hills, NC -- This is where the Wright brothers flew their gliders, developing their flying skills and testing a revolutionary new dynamic aircraft control system. It's also where the Wrights made the first sustained, controlled powered flights on December 17, 1903. The displays include replicas of a 1903 Wright Flyer and a 1902 Wright Glider.

Wright Cycle Shop, Dayton, OH -- This is the fifth of six locations in where the Wright brothers sold and manufactured bicycles, and the only one that is still standing on its original location. This is part of the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historic Park.


This is by no means a complete list of Wright brothers sites -- there are many scattered throughout the world, and we are slowly adding more as time permits. If you know of a site or museum that you think we might have missed, please tell us about it. Better yet, take some photos and send them to s, along with your impressions of the place. We'll include it in our exhibits and give you credit for it. Contact us at mailto:[email protected].

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