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Just after the Wright Brothers drew the attion of the nation to Kitty Hawk, the U.S. government brought the Wrights themselves to College Park.   There, in 1909 they trained the first military pilots to fly the Wright Military Flyer.  The pilots they trained had been accomplished baloon pilots, and while flying a baloon and flying a plane seem to be completely different actions to you and me, back then, it was the closest skillset around.   

After serving as the birthplace of military aviation, college park would later be the home to the first air mail flight, and the first helicopter flight.   It was also a spot where the pioneers of aviation would all have to pass through, some setting up shops on or nearby the field. 

There is a museum there where this picture was taken, which contains around 12 airplanes to learn about and enjoy.  The museum takes you through the history of the field aviation, as it was being written in College park.  Much of the museum is geared towards kids, but there is plenty for an adult to see and learn as well.  Pictured in the background here is the Curtis JN-4d, the “Jenny,” a biplane used by the government as the workhorse of its airmail service.  

This entry was posted on Monday, March 16th, 2009 at 12:05 AM and is filed under Prince Georges. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.