Al Welsh
Arthur L. "Al" Welsh (August 14, 1881 – June 11, 1912) was a Russian-born American pioneer aviator who became the first flight instructor for the Wright Brothers. He was killed in an aircrash in 1912. Early life He was born as Laibel Welcher on August 14, 1881, in Kiev, Ukraine, which was then part of the Russian Empire. He was one of six children of Abraham and Dvora Wellcher. In 1890, the family emigrated to Philadelphia, speaking no English. He attended both public school and Hebrew school there. His father died when he was 13 years old and he was sent to Washington, D.C., to live with relatives shortly after his mother remarried. He was a top student who did best in math and mechanics, and was excellent at swimming. He changed his surname to "Welsh" when he joined the United States Navy as a 20-year-old, expecting greater success in the Navy with a name that did not sound "too Jewish". He received an honorable discharge after a tour of duty that lasted four years. He c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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George William Beatty
George William Beatty (August 28, 1887 – February 20, 1955) was an American pioneer aviator who set early altitude and distance records, including one record set on the same day that he flew his first solo flight. Early life Beatty was born on August 28, 1887, in Stephensburg, New Jersey. He graduated from high school in 1904 and worked in the printing industry as a linotype machine operator in New York City. Early aviation career Beatty became involved in a gliding club in New York City, and in 1909–10 helped build a homemade Santos-Dumont Demoiselle using a three cylinder engine from Anzani. In 1911, he attended the Wright Flying School on Long Island, where he was taught by Arthur L. Welsh. He had his first lesson on June 24, 1911 and soloed on July 23, 1911. That same day, he flew as a passenger with Welsh to establish a new American two-man flight altitude record of . On August 5, 1911, Beatty broke his own record, flying to with Percy Reynolds as his passenger. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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First Solo Flight
The first solo flight is when a new airplane pilot completes a takeoff, and usually a short flight and safe landing, by themselves. Flying such a flight is a milestone known as soloing. Being solo pilot of an aircraft is different from most other situations in that the pilot has not only to be able to fly and navigate the machine in a competent manner but they also have to be able to cope with unpredictable developments like mechanical failure, bad weather etc. on their own and without advice from other sources (most air traffic controllers are not pilots and may not be contactable anyway). Requirements Depending on the country, there may be a requirement for some minimum number of training hours to have been completed by the student pilot before they are allowed to solo. In most countries, it is assumed that such students will be familiar with (and may have to pass an examination on) the relevant air laws or regulations, and will have completed exercises in handling aircraft ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, ma ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical rift developed between more traditional ground-based army personnel and those who felt that aircraft were being underutilized and that air operations were being stifled for political reasons unrelated to their effectiveness. The USAAC was renamed from the earlier United States Army Air Service on 2 July 1926, and was part of the larger United States Army. The Air Corps became the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) on 20 June 1941, giving it greater autonomy from the Army's middle-level command structure. During World War II, although not an administrative echelon, the Air Corps (AC) remained as one of the combat arms of the Army until 1947, when it was legally abolished by legislation establishing the Department of the Air Force. The Air ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Henry H
Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, Henry of Burgundy, Count of Portugal (father of Portugal's first king) ** Prince Henry the Navigator, Infante of Portugal ** Infante Henrique, Duke of Coimbra (born 1949), the sixth in line to Portuguese throne * King of Germany **Henry the Fowler (876–936), first king of Germany * King of Scots (in name, at least) ** Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley (1545/6–1567), consort of Mary, queen of Scots ** Henry Benedict Stuart, the 'Cardinal Duke of York', brother of Bonnie Prince Charlie, who was hailed by Jacobites as Henry IX * Four kings of Castile: **Henry I of Castile **Henry II of Castile **Henry III of Castile **Henry IV of Castile * Five kings of France, spelt ''Henri'' in Modern French since the Renaissance to italianize the name and t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ralph Johnstone
Ralph Greenley Johnstone (September 18, 1880 – November 17, 1910) was the first American person to die while piloting an airplane that crashed. He and Archibald Hoxsey were known as the "heavenly twins" for their attempts to break altitude records. Biography Johnstone was born on September 18, 1880, in Parsons, Kansas.The birth date of September 18, 1880 comes from his July 21, 1904 and September 19, 1905 applications for a United States passport. His March 6, 1902 passport application uses September 18, 1881. His tombstone uses September 18, 1879. The Centennial of Flight commission erroneously says: "Born 1886, Kansas City, Missouri". Johnstone started as a vaudeville trick bicycle rider who performed a midair forward somersault. He became a Wright exhibition team pilot. On August 17, 1910, he survived a crash at Asbury Park, New Jersey. On October 27, 1910, the International Aviation Tournament was held at the Belmont Park racetrack in Elmont, New York. The meet ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Frank Trenholm Coffyn
Frank Trenholm Coffyn (October 24, 1878 – December 10, 1960) was a pioneer aviator. Biography He was born in Charleston, South Carolina on October 24, 1878 to Julia (Haskell) and George M. Coffyn, a banker. His brother was William Henry Coffin, an artist who took his own life in 1941. He married Louise D. Adams in 1902 and had two children: Nancy Lou Coffyn Stralem (1902-1995) and Kingsland A. Coffyn (1904–1983). After they divorced, he married Pauline Louise Neff in 1919. They divorced in 1928. He became interested in flight after witnessing a flight by Louis Paulhan in New York City in December 1909. His father knew one of the Wright Company's executives, and arranged a meeting with Wilbur Wright. Wilbur invited Coffyn to Dayton, Ohio where he began flight instruction in May 1910. Coffyn flew with the Wright Exhibition Team until December 1910 where he trained pilots in Dayton, Ohio and he delivered aircraft to the United States Army in Texas. In 1912 he was hired b ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Test Pilot
A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testing of the Airplane.'' American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., 1996, p. 265 History Test flying as a systematic activity started during the First World War, at the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) in the United Kingdom. An "Experimental Flight" was formed at the Central Flying School. During the 1920s, test flying was further developed by the RAE in the UK, and by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in the United States. In the 1950s, NACA was transformed into the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA. During these years, as work was done into aircraft stability and handling qualities, test flying evolved towards a more qualitative scientific profession. In the 1950s, test pilots were ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place just east of Dayton, Ohio, in Greene County, Ohio, Greene and Montgomery County, Ohio, Montgomery counties. It includes both Wright and Patterson Fields, which were originally Wilbur Wright Field and Fairfield Aviation General Supply Depot. Patterson Field is approximately northeast of Dayton, Ohio, Dayton; Wright Field is approximately northeast of Dayton. The host unit at Wright-Patterson AFB is the 88th Air Base Wing (88 ABW), assigned to the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center and Air Force Materiel Command. The 88 ABW operates the airfield, maintains all infrastructure and provides security, communications, medical, legal, personnel, contracting, finance, transportation, air traffic control, weather forecasting, public affairs, recreation and chaplain services for more than 60 associate units. The base's origins begin with the establishment of Wilbur Wright Field on ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Huffman Prairie
Huffman Prairie, also known as Huffman Prairie Flying Field or Huffman Field is part of Ohio's Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park. The 84-acre (34-hectare) patch of rough pasture, near Fairborn, northeast of Dayton, is the place where the Wright brothers ( Wilbur and Orville) undertook the difficult and sometimes dangerous task of creating a dependable, fully controllable airplane and training themselves to be pilots. Many early aircraft records were set by the Wrights at the Huffman Prairie. History The Wrights began using Huffman Prairie in 1904 with the permission of the field's owner, Dayton banker Torrence Huffman. It was located near an interurban trolley stop called Simms Station, outside the brothers' hometown of Dayton. In April, they started testing their Wright Flyer II. The Wrights made about 150 flights at the field in 1904–1905, leading to development of the 1905 Wright Flyer III, which they considered to be the first practical airplane. Th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 2020 census, Montgomery's population was 200,603. It is the second most populous city in Alabama, after Huntsville, and is the 119th most populous in the United States. The Montgomery Metropolitan Statistical Area's population in 2020 was 386,047; it is the fourth largest in the state and 142nd among United States metropolitan areas. The city was incorporated in 1819 as a merger of two towns situated along the Alabama River. It became the state capital in 1846, representing the shift of power to the south-central area of Alabama with the growth of cotton as a commodity crop of the Black Belt and the rise of Mobile as a mercantile port on the Gulf Coast. In February 1861, Montgomery was chosen the first capital of the Confederate States of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |