A Moment in Air Force History

***image1***Question: Where did Orville Wright open the first Wright Flying School?

A. Dayton, Ohio
B. Fort Myer, Va.
C. Montgomery, Ala.
D. College Park, Md.

Answer: C. March 19, 1910, Orville Wright opened the first Wright Flying School at Montgomery, Ala., on a site that later became Maxwell Air Force Base.

Did you know?
The Wright brothers opened a flying school in Dayton, Ohio, a few months later. Fort Myer, Va., is where the Wrights conducted flight tests of their airplane for the U.S. Army. They began flight tests Sept. 3, 1908. On Sept. 17, 1908, the airplane crashed during a test, and Lt. Thomas E. Selfridge became the first military member to die in an aircraft accident. Orville Wright was injured. The accident delayed the acceptance of an airplane for about a year. The Army accepted its first airplane on Aug. 2, 1909, paying the Wrights $25,000 plus a $5,000 bonus for exceeding a 40 mile per hour flight speed. College Park, Md., is where the U.S. Army leased its first airfield on Aug. 25, 1909.

(Courtesy of the 435th Air Base Wing and 86th Airlift Wing History offices)