![]() ![]() On August 2, 1909, the Signal Corps officially accepted the Wright airplane, the first purchased and put into service by any government. ![]() Both Wilbur and Orville returned to Fort Myer in 1909 with a new airplane and successfully completed the trials. Midway through the trials, on September 17, 1908, the Wright airplane malfunctioned and crashed, severely injuring Orville and killing his passenger, the Army’s official observer, Lt. Army Signal Corps advertised for bids for a two-seat observation aircraft, and Orville Wright came to Fort Myer, Va., with a Wright machine to demonstrate and attempt to meet the Army’s performance requirements. Army, who had already been developing an aeronautical program with lighter-than-air vehicles. After bringing their design to a level of practicality in 1905, the Wright brothers set about finding a customer for their invention. The National Air and Space Museum famously has in its collection the original 1903 Wright Flyer, but the Museum also possesses the 1909 Wright Military Flyer, the world’s first military airplane. Just as most recognized the airplane would change the world in general, many foresaw, with a fair degree of accuracy, that the airplane would have profound implications for warfare and military defense. Almost from the outset of successful human flight following the Wright brothers’ breakthrough flights in 1903, the application of this new technology for military purposes was discussed and speculated upon. It is the centennial of military aviation. But the summer of 2009 also marks another meaningful event in aerospace history. This summer, the world is marking the 40th anniversary of one of the greatest milestones in aerospace history, and one of the most remarkable of all human achievements-the first Moon landing by Apollo 11. The 1909 Wright Military Flyer on display at the National Air and Space Museum. ![]()
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