To appreciate what we have—and how far we’ve come, now is the time to celebrate the centennials of aviation’s many achievements. In the process, we might attract some new participants, which is surely aviation’s more pressing concern as it marches into its second century. It sure seems to be working for the US Navy and its nationwide naval aviation extravaganza.
Now is the time to start celebrating, because 1911 is when thing started to happen again in aviation. As the Wisconsin Aviation Hall of Fame reminded me during a program celebrating the centennial of the first flight in Green Bay, most of the time between the Wrights’ first flight and 1911 was spend in court, fighting patent lawsuits. With most of the lawsuits settled, the inaugural aviation events to celebrate will grow rapidly, so dig out your aviation history books and get to work.
About four dozen people of all ages surrounded me at the the WAHF presentation. Held in the spotless Jet Air hangar at Green Bay’s Austin Straubel International airport, I wasn’t the only one who noticed the difference between the rickety airplanes on screen and the sleek Cessna Mustang, Cirrus Turbo, and MU-2 parked in the corner. Before the program began, the aviators in the room showed others around and answered their questions.
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