Blue Skies & Tailwinds commentator Dan Patterson, a pilot and aviation photographer, invites you to learn more about the Dayton region's aviation accomplishments from a century ago the first Friday of each month.
Well before the USA entered World War II after the Pearl Harbor attack, the US Army Air Force could see the storm clouds of war on the horizon and was taking steps to expand the air forces.
The aircraft which had been developed in the late 1930s and early 1940s were capable and effective. However, the real-time news from our allies was beneficial in how to modify them to be even better and be sure that we could compete in the sky. Once we were in the war, that kind of intelligence began to flow even more.
Wright Field was the focal point of that information and the decisions to modify and adapt our aircraft came from there. Bringing a production line at Boeing, Consolidated or North American to a halt for these adaptations made no sense at all. After all, FDR had promised and demanded that the USA produce over 50,000 aircraft in a year.
So newly built warplanes were flown to modification centers first to have the latest updates installed.
The Army took over the Dayton airport in 1940. Our local airport had been updated in the 1930s with Depression Era funds with willing workers and could accommodate more modern aircraft.
What happened next created the basis for what is now Dayton International Airport. The classic Army airbase layout of intersecting runways which were laid out to take advantage of the prevailing winds: north-south, east-west and a diagonal. The center of the base grew into eight large round-topped hangars with a huge concrete apron surrounding them.
Soon bombers and fighters were landing, being modified and sent to war.
In 1945, as the nation returned to a post-war reality, the Army sold the airport back to the City of Dayton for one dollar. The military modification effort was over. What the Army left us was a world-class airport that over the ensuing 80 years flourished and expanded into the asset we enjoy.
Recently, the Sierra Nevada corporation has rejuvenated the legacy of modifying large military aircraft. They made a statement about coming to Dayton to honor the Wright brothers and have built four enormous hangars on the north and east side of the airport with investments of nearly 100 million dollars and additional millions from the State of Ohio.
Those investments will result in jobs and confirms the vision of Dayton leaders from nearly a century ago who made sure that the home of the Wright brothers had a credible airport.
For WYSO, this is Dan Patterson wishing you Blue Skies and Tailwinds.
