Unwritten Record

DECEMBER 17, 2020

military took renewed interest in the Wright’s machine. 486, Air Force Magazine: [link]. Orville and Wilbur spent the next five years perfecting their designs and securing a patent. In May 1908 Wilbur travelled to France to demonstrate their flying machine and dispel claims that they hadn’t actually achieved flight.

Archiving 65

Archiving Agriculture Government Military 65

Unwritten Record

MARCH 1, 2022

Once the United States entered World War I, flying for non-military purposes became restricted to save resources for the military and the Stinson School of Flying was forced to close. As told in the November 1927 issue of The National Magazine , the pair encountered a ferocious storm over the Atlantic.

Archiving 53

Archiving Military Agriculture Manufacturing 53

Unwritten Record

SEPTEMBER 1, 2022

The oldest known government-produced film in our holdings is First Army Aeroplane Flight, Fort Myer, Virginia , which captured daring test flights of the Wright Military Flyer. According to Agriculture Department lore, this early filmmaking was done with a degree of secrecy. But what about the first government films?

Military 63

Military Government Agriculture Archiving 63