, OH
Raised in an Ohio orphanage, Warren G. Grimes (1898-1975) ran away after finishing the ninth grade and at age 16 went to work for the Ford Motor Company in Detroit. He later became a partner in an electrical business where he was instrumental in designing and developing the first lights for the Ford Tri-Motor airplane. In 1930 Grimes moved to Urbana and founded a small lighting fixture plant, Grimes Manufacturing. The inventor of the familiar red, green, and white navigation lights found on the wing tips and tails of aircraft, Grimes, known as the “Father of the Aircraft Lighting Industry,” also developed other aircraft fixtures, including landing, instrumental, and interior lights. Every American-made airplane flown during World War II was equipped with Grimes lights. Grimes served as mayor of Urbana and chairman of the State of Ohio Aviation Board.
, OH
Huffman Prairie Flying Field, a unit of the Dayton Heritage National Historical Park, is the site where Wilbur and Orville Wright flew and perfected the world’s first practical airplane, the 1905 Wright Flyer III, after their first flights in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 1903. The Wright brothers mastered the principles of controlled, powered flight at Huffman Prairie during 1904 and 1905. From 1910 to 1915, they operated the Wright School of Aviation here, training many of the world’s first pilots, including many military pilots.
, OH
Marion A. Harrison established M.A. Harrison Memorial Airfield, formerly Harrison Airport, in 1946 on land encompassing 80 acres. This facility served to promote aviation activities in the Birmingham community with flight charters, flight instruction, and rides. Birmingham Metal Products was located here during World War II producing fighter aircraft fuel parts, and the airfield was used to train civilian pilots. Today, it remains dedicated to flight.
, OH
Interest in the new field of aeronautics grew dramatically when the United States entered the World War I in 1917. The army chose Dayton as the site for a research-and-development program for military aviation because of the area’s transportation links to major cities and its engineering and testing facilities. McCook Field, north of downtown between Keowee Street and the Great Miami River, was charged with researching, developing, and testing military airplanes and accessories. For nearly a decade, many advancements in aviation occurred at McCook Field. They included new aircraft, controllable-pitch propellers, bulletproof gas tanks, free-fall parachutes, and night-observation cameras. In the 1920s, larger and more-powerful aircraft overwhelmed the small field, which featured a large sign to warn pilots: “This field is small. Use it all.” In 1927, aeronautical engineering was transferred to newly-created Wright Field, now a part of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
, OH
The innovations of Dr. Karl Arnstein (1887-1974), an aerospace industry pioneer, form the foundation for lighter-than-air technology in use today. His mathematical proof and application of modern stress analysis allowed the construction of larger, stronger rigid airships. Born in Prague, he led airship design at the Luftschiffbau-Zeppelin Company in Germany. Dr. Arnstein immigrated to Akron, Ohio, in 1924 to serve as vice-president of engineering at Goodyear-Zeppelin Corporation. With his team of twelve German immigrant engineers, Arnstein oversaw development of the Navy’s dirigibles Akron and Macon. He received 35 U.S. aviation related patents, from designs for hollow metal girders to an aerodynamic airship hanger, the Airdock in Akron. From 1940 until retirement in 1957, Dr. Arnstein headed engineering at Goodyear Aircraft Corporation, a leading aerospace contractor, which produced more than 200 Navy blimps, 4,000 Corsair fighter planes, plus airplane and missile parts.
, OH
The first airport in central Ohio, Norton Field was named for World War I pilot and star Ohio State University athlete Fred William Norton, a Columbus native. On July 2, 1918, Capt. Norton led the 27th “Eagle” Pursuit Squadron in one of the earliest significant American air engagements of World War I. He died from wounds after his Nieuport 28 was shot down in northern France less than three weeks later. Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker attended the dedication ceremonies for Norton Field on June 30, 1923, as Columbus received its first air mail delivery. Norton Field became the headquarters for the 308th Observation Squadron, made up of local reservists, many of whom were members of the Aero Club of Columbus that had lobbied for the establishment of the airport by the War Department.
, OH
Lewis Albert Jackson (December 29, 1912-January 8, 1994) was an African American aviator remembered for training Tuskegee Airmen during World War II. As a teenager in Indiana, he began flight lessons and soloed in 1932, flying his own Waco 10. Jackson spent 1932-1937 barnstorming to save money for college while earning his Transport Pilot’s License. He re-rated to a Commercial License with Instructor Rating in 1939, and then completed advanced acrobatic training at Coffey School of Aeronautics. In late 1940, he was appointed Director of Training in the Army Air Force 66th Flight Training Detachment at Tuskegee Institute. After the war he moved to Ohio and served as an FAA Flight Examiner from 1947 to 1960. The Lewis A. Jackson Greene County Regional Airport was posthumously renamed to honor this true aviation pioneer.
, OH
Ernest “Ernie” C. Hall, a pioneer of early flight who is widely recognized for his long career in aviation, was born near Warren, Ohio in 1890. A friend of the Wright brother, Hall built his first powered airplane in 1909 and flew in 1911. He began his career as a civilian flight instructor in 1913, opening a flying school in Pennsylvania in 1915. During World War I, he transferred to Call Field in Wichita Falls, Texas, where he trained over 500 military pilots for combat. In 1922, Hall relocated his flight school to Warren, Ohio, where he taught unitl his death in 1972. His 1911 monoplanes have been displayed at the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum in Washington D.C. and the National Museum of U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.
614.297.2300
Contact Us
