Aviation

by Silverstein, Barrett A. Have you ever heard the phrase “the roaring twenties?” Also known as the Jazz Age, the decade of the 1920s featured economic prosperity and carefree living for many. The decade began with a roar and [...] (from Tar Heel Junior Historian, NC Museum of History.)

by Boyd, Sandra O. Today, women can pilot commercial airliners and military planes, but not too long ago, they could not get such jobs. After the Wright brothers flew the first airplane, both men and women learned to [...] (from Tar Heel Junior Historian, NC Museum of History.)

by Crumbley, Tony L. Airmail Service by Tony L. Crumbley, 2006 Airmail service developed after the Wright brothers' first flight at Kill Devil Hill in 1903, as aviators began to anticipate airplanes' practical [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Parramore, Thomas C. At 10:35 a.m. on 17 Dec. 1903, the first powered flight of an airplane was made from the base of Kill Devil Hill, a sand dune four miles south of the village of Kitty Hawk on the Outer Banks. The [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Parramore, Thomas C., Ellis, Clyde, Moyer, Stephen. The history of aviation and the airline industry in North Carolina encompasses more than Orville and Wilbur Wright's momentous flight at Kitty Hawk in December 1903. Before that, North Carolina [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Parramore, Thomas C. Few people know it, but North Carolina has played a big part in aviation. The first American airplane was built here in 1873. The first heavier-than-air, powered flight took place in North Carolina [...] (from Tar Heel Junior Historian, NC Museum of History.)

by Branch, Paul, Jr. Battleships Bombed by Billy Mitchell by Paul Branch, 2006 See also: Graveyard of the Atlantic In 1923 two surplus navy battleships were bombed and sunk by aircraft under the command of [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Lewis, Rebecca. Thomas Edison said that flying would never be practical “until someone invents a machine that can stop in midair and hover like a bird.” The machine that allows a pilot this degree of control is a [...] (from Tar Heel Junior Historian, NC Museum of History.)

by Bates, Doris McLean. Wilson Vash Eagleson II A Tuskegee Airman 1920 - 2006 by Doris McLean Bates Reprinted with permission from the Tar Heel Junior Historian, Fall 2003. Tar Heel Junior Historian Association, NC [...] (from Tar Heel Junior Historian, NC Museum of History.)

by Belton, Tom. Thomas Wilson Ferebee was born into a large farm family outside Mocksville in Davie County on November 19, 1918. He attended local public schools and excelled in sports in high school and college. At [...] (from Tar Heel Junior Historian, NC Museum of History.)

by Stephenson, E. Frank, Jr. James Henry Gatling, inventor, farmer, businessman, and wine maker, was born in Maney's Neck Township, Hertford County, the son of Jordan Gatling, an inventor and farmer, and Mary Barnes Gatling. He [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Holloman, Charles R. George Vernon Holloman, inventor and Army Air Corps officer, who from 1931 to 1945 pioneered in aeronautical engineering research and development, was born in Rich Square, the son of George Lycurgus [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Linville, Ray. Laurinburg-Maxton Army Air Base By Ray Linville, 2019 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International [...] (from NC Office of Archives and History.)

by Bishop, RoAnn. Before Charles Lindbergh made the first solo, nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean in May 1927, most Americans—including many North Carolinians—thought it too dangerous to travel by airplane. Two [...] (from Tar Heel Junior Historian, NC Museum of History.)

by Williford, Jo Ann. The Man Will Never Fly Memorial Society was formed in 1959 with the motto, "Birds Fly-Men Drink." Each year the society holds a party beginning the afternoon of 16 December and ending at 10:45 a.m. [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Parramore, Thomas C. Belvin Maynard "The Greatest Pilot on Earth" by Dr. Thomas C. Parramore Reprinted with permission from the Tar Heel Junior Historian. Fall 2003. Tar Heel Junior Historian Association, NC [...] (from Tar Heel Junior Historian, NC Museum of History.)

by Lemmon, Sarah McCulloh. McConnell, James Rogers by Sarah Mcculloh Lemmon, 1991 14 Mar. 1887–19 Mar. 1917 James Rogers McConnell, World War I aviator and author of Flying for France, was born in [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Howard, Joshua. Morris Field by Joshua Howard, 2006; Additional research provided by Christopher Luettger, 2006; Revised December 2021 Morris Field was conceived in 1936 as a New Deal Works Project [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Wegner, Ansley Herring. Mary Webb Nicholson was among the earliest women to be licensed as a pilot. Her license, from the U.S. Department of Commerce, is numbered 9562 and was granted Oct. 17, 1929. (She was not, however, [...] (from Research Branch, NC Office of Archives and History.)

by Turner, Walter R. Piedmont Airlines "Flies the Blue Skies" by Walter R. Turner Reprinted with permission from the Tar Heel Junior Historian. Fall 2003. Tar Heel Junior Historian Association, NC Museum of [...] (from Tar Heel Junior Historian, NC Museum of History.)

by Rains, Rusty. The Raleigh-Durham Army Air Field, an auxiliary training base for Army Air Corps (AAC) pilots during World War II, was located at the modern site of Raleigh-Durham International Airport. Air service [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Tucker, Glenn. Kiffin Yates Rockwell, American aviator in World War I and pioneer in aerial combat, was a charter member of the Lafayette Escadrille, an American volunteer squadron formed on 20 Apr. 1916, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Kirkman, Stacy N. Willis Howard Slane, Jr., aviator and businessman, was born in High Point, the eldest son of Willis Howard and Meredith Clark Slane. His primary education included studies at Raymond Riredon School [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. Michael John Smith, naval officer, test pilot, and astronaut, was born in Beaufort, the son of Robert Lewis and Lucille S. Smith. He was graduated from Carteret County High School, where he played [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Sumner, Jim L. Barely a half century after the Wright brothers’ first flight, people were flying in outer space. Numerous North Carolinians have played important roles in this ongoing effort to explore the “final [...] (from Tar Heel Junior Historian, NC Museum of History.)

by Agan, Kelly. State Aviation Hall of Fame and State Aviation Museums By Kelly Agan, Government & Heritage Library, 2014 See also: North Carolina State Symbols and Official Adoptions main page; North [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by Powell, William S. George Alton Stewart, pioneer aviator, was born in Buies Creek, Harnett County, the son of George Washington and Sally Jackson Stewart. He was educated in the schools of Buies Creek and at Coats High [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Harrington, Sion H., III. Tar Heels in World War II "Courage above and beyond the Call of Duty" by Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Sion H. Harrington III Reprinted with permission from the Tar Heel Junior Historian. [...] (from Tar Heel Junior Historian, NC Museum of History.)

by Powell, William S. Louise Marcellus McPhetridge Thaden, businesswoman and aviatrix, was born in Bentonville, Ark., the daughter of Roy Fry and Edna Hobbs McPhetridge. She attended the University of Arkansas (1921–25), [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Turner, Walter R. When World War I ended in 1918 and the troops came home, folks felt optimistic about the future and eager to get on with their lives. This optimism led to an extraordinary decade that brought major [...] (from Tar Heel Junior Historian, NC Museum of History.)

by Brenneman, Kurt, Elmes, Sherry M., Hauser, Edwin W., Rash, J. Dennis, Swartz, Nicholas J. Transportation part vi: Air and rail travel  by Edwin W. Hauser, J. Dennis Rash, Sherry M. Elmes, and Nicholas J. Swartz, 2005. Reprinted with permission from The North Carolina Atlas [...] (from North Carolina Atlas Revisited.)

by Belton, Tom. Today North Carolina is a major center for aviation-related military bases. These include the Coast Guard station at Elizabeth City; the Marine Corps Air Station at Cherry Point, which provides [...] (from Tar Heel Junior Historian, NC Museum of History.)

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by Knapp, Richard F. James Edwin Webb, administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and other federal agencies, corporate executive, management expert, and attorney, was born in Tally Ho, near Stem [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Wadelington, Charles W. In North Carolina, aviation experienced important developments in the late 1920s. In 1928 the state’s first airmail flight landed at Lindley Field in Greensboro. By 1929 Raleigh introduced commercial [...] (from Tar Heel Junior Historian, NC Museum of History.)

by Agan, Kelly. Eleanor Elaine Thompson was born on June 5, 1921 in Salisbury, North Carolina.  She was in the fourth class of WASPs (Women Airforce Service Pilots) who graduated from the civilian military [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by Kirk, Stephen. Wilbur Wright was born in Indiana in 1867. Orville Wright was born in Dayton, Ohio, four years later. During their boyhood in Dayton, they published and printed a small newspaper. As adults, they [...] (from Tar Heel Junior Historian, NC Museum of History.)

by Williams, Wiley J. On 2 Mar. 1927 Congress authorized the establishment of the Kill Devil Hills Monument National Memorial to commemorate Orville and Wilbur Wright's achievement of the first successful flights of a [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Troxler, George W. WRIGHT, ORVILLE by George W. Troxler, 1996 19 Aug. 1871–30 Jan. 1948 See also:  Wright, Wilbur (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography); Wright Brothers in North Carolina [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Troxler, George W. Wright, Wilbur by George W. Troxler, 1996 16 Apr. 1867–30 May 1912 See also:  Wright, Orville (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography); Wright Brothers in North Carolina (from Tar [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)