AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2017 - 30

PILOT BRIEFING
FIRST LOOK

'Triumph of Flight'
A new monument to soar above
the Wright brothers' hometown
BY DENNIS K. JOHNSON
WHEN PILOTS think of the Wright brothers, images of the sandy
dunes at Kill Devil Hills on North Carolina's Outer Banks usually come to mind. There, at the site of the first powered airplane
flight, stands the Wright Brothers National Memorial. It's appropriate that a national monument stands on that historic spot, but it
should be remembered that Orville and Wilbur made most of their
early flights above a prairie in Ohio. A group of aviation enthusiasts in Dayton-hometown of the Wrights-is working to erect a
soaring monument dedicated to the two inventive brothers, as
well as other pioneers of aviation throughout the past 114 years.
The "Triumph of Flight" monument will be erected just outside Dayton, rising high above the intersection of two interstate
highways-not far from Huffman Prairie, where the Wright brothers developed the first practical airplane, the Wright Flyer III. It
should be visible from the two highways-on which 53 million cars
pass each year-from up to three miles away. The design calls for a
270-foot-tall steel pedestal topped by a 1905 Wright Flyer III replica with steel mesh wings spanning 144 feet.
The pedestal will rise out of a reflecting pool, surrounded by
curved steel walls with reliefs depicting historic achievements in
aviation, from the Wright brothers' first flight in 1903 to the first
steps on the moon in 1969, and into the twenty-first century. Aviators
portrayed in the tableau will include many sons and daughters of
Ohio, including astronauts Neil Armstrong and John Glenn, and
Nadine Nagle, a World War II Women's Airforce Service Pilot who
flew fighters and bombers in support of the war effort.
The grounds below the monument will include a modest science, technology, engineering, and mathematics learning center,
an exhibition space, and a theater. The promoters proudly assert

ILLUSTRATION of planned Wright monument.

that "it will inspire millions of people throughout the world,
reminding everyone that Ohio is the birthplace of aviation."
Supporters formed the nonprofit Wright Image Group in 2006
to erect the monument and to educate people about the significant
role that Dayton and Ohio played throughout the history of aviation.
The Ohio state legislature recently authorized $250,000 to continue
design and development, and a bill is being discussed that would create the Ohio Aviation Hall of Fame, which would be based on the site.
The Wright Image Group has raised about 10 percent of the
projected total $20 million cost, and it is beginning a capital construction fund drive to locate corporate sponsors and private
donors who will contribute a large portion of the cost. The land for
the monument has been pledged by a local Dayton property developer and the architectural and engineering studies are complete,
including wind tunnel tests (with some assistance from NASA) to
ensure the replica Flyer won't fly away in a high wind.
Organizers believe that such a tall, imposing monument could
become an attraction for Dayton on par with the Gateway Arch in
St. Louis. Economic impact studies project the monument could
bring $70 million in tourism to the area and create 800 jobs.
WEB

www.wrightmonument.org

WEB

www.wrightmonument.org

HEADLINES THAT AFFECT YOU

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2017