On August 2, 1909, the U.S. Army acquired its first military aircraft, the 1909 Wright Military Flyer. Learn about its service, design, and preservation at the Smithsonian.

Summary The 1909 Wright Military Flyer is the world's first military airplane. In 1908, the U.S. Army Signal Corps sought competitive bids for a two-seat observation aircraft. Winning designs had to ...

In late July 1909, before such distinguished attendees as then-President Taft himself, the Wright Military Flyer embarked on a series of flights, one of just over 12.5 minutes above the one-hour ...

Just outside Washington, D.C., this hidden aviation landmark has been in use since 1909 and still welcomes pilots and curious visitors alike.

A 1909 Wright Military flier replica can be found at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force In his remarks, DeWine emphasized that the Wrights perfected flying in Dayton and above Huffman Prairie.

Wing rib from 1908 Wright Military Flyer. One of two wing ribs surviving from the aircraft that crashed at Fort Myer, Virginia, on September 17, 1908, during U.S. Army Signal Corps flight trials of ...

The trend started in 1909, when the U.S. Army Signal Corps bought a Wright Military Flyer from the Wright brothers for $30,000, and has kept apace for more than a century as dozens of aircraft ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio has adopted the 1905 Wright Flyer III as its official state airplane. Described as Orville and Wilbur Wright's crowning achievement, the world's first practical fixed-wing ...