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The National Aviation Heritage Area is a part of the National Park Service's National Heritage Areas program.
September 4, 2013
Air & Space tackles 1st flight question
Photo of Gustave Whitehead on ground with 1901 flying machine
Whitehead with 1901 machine (Photo: NASM)
Claims that the Wright brothers weren't first to make controlled flights in a powered, heavier-than-air flying machine aren't new. One of the most persistent is the claim that Gustave Whitehead made powered flights in Connecticut in 1901 and 1902.

While historians and serious scholars long ago dismissed the claim, it resurfaces every few decades and has done so again this year. Tom Crouch, senior curator of aeronautics at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum and a NAHA trustee, takes up the question "Who Flew First" in the September issue of Air & Space magazine. Read his column here.
Mumford & Sons draws crowds to Troy and historic WACO Field
Aerial photo of WACO Field during Mumford & Sons concert
WACO Field during Mumford & Sons concert (Photo: WACO)

Mumford & Sons' Gentlemen of the Road Troy Stopover Last week drew 23,367 people-nearly equal to the Miami County city's population-to Troy Memorial Stadium, according to an article in Wednesday's Dayton Daily News. The report said local officials expect the event to result in a $20 million economic impact for the community. WACO Historical Society's Historic WACO Field and Museum served as a park-and-ride location. WACO is a NAHA partner.
Band's selection of Troy shows economic value of aviation heritage
Image of Mumford & Sons Troy stopover ticket booklet showing pages about Troy
 
Mumford & Son's Gentlemen of the Road Stopover in Troy, Ohio, had a huge financial impact on the city and boosted its image far beyond Miami County. Troy's aviation heritage was an important ingredient in the event's success.

It was clear that aviation heritage figured strongly in the band's choice of Troy, one of only three U.S. towns selected for the stopover tour. Its logo for the Troy stopover was a biplane. Its passport-style ticket booklet cited Troy's "strong ties to the golden age of aviation" as part of its charm and included a bit of history of WACO (Weaver Aircraft Company), America's leading aircraft producer in the 1920s and '30s.
'Honor Flight' film to show monthly at Air Force Museum Theatre

Promotional photo of Air Force Museum Theatre

The Air Force Museum Theatre will screen the award-winning documentary 'Honor Flight' monthly beginning Sept. 8, 2013.  These special screenings will take place on the second Sunday of every month for the remainder of 2013. Visit the theater's schedule web page for show times and pricing, as well as information about other films.

  

"Honor Flight" is a heartwarming documentary about four living World War II veterans and a Midwest community coming together to give them the trip of a lifetime. Volunteers race against the clock to fly thousands of WWII veterans to Washington, DC to see the memorial constructed for them in 2004, nearly 60 years after their epic struggle. Honor flights are conducted by participants in the Honor Flight Network, an organization founded in Springfield, Ohio.
 
"Honor Flight" premiered at the Air Force Museum Theatre in April at the freshly renovated theater's Reel Stuff Film Festival. The foundation is bringing it back it by popular demand. The Air Force Museum Foundation supports the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, a NAHA partner.
The National Aviation Heritage Alliance (NAHA) is a private, not-for-profit corporation designated by Congress as the management entity of the National Aviation Heritage Area. The Heritage Area encompasses an eight-county area in Ohio (Montgomery, Greene, Miami, Clark, Warren, Champaign, Shelby and Auglaize counties.) NAHA's vision is to sustain the legacy of the Wright brothers and make the Dayton region the recognized global center of aviation heritage and premier destination for aviation heritage tourism.

PO Box 414 * Wright Brothers Station * Dayton, OH 45409