Wright Brothers

Dan Patterson, producer of Blue Skies and Tailwinds, takes his Sinclair Community College aviation students to Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park.

A century of aerospace growth has propelled Dayton to new recognition. The report highlights the area's long-standing ties to military innovation, which Dan Patterson digs into for the latest episode of Blue Skies and Tailwinds.

Dan Patterson tells the story of the early years of aviation and the race for new planes to fly higher and faster than anyone thought possible.

The weeks before the Wright Brothers' historic 1903 flight were filled with broken shafts, fierce weather, and a three-day journey to North Carolina's Outer Banks.

The Wright family mansion in Oakwood, Ohio, was the dwelling place of the world’s first pilot, Orville Wright. It has now been memorialized with a bronze and granite marker.

The Schockman Lumber Group acquired the Requarth Lumber Company. Its history includes sales of lumber to the Wright brothers and surviving Dayton's 1913 flood.

Once the Wright Brothers had invented a practical and consistently flyable machine (what we now call an airplane) in 1903, they began developing the aviation business.

In 1924, the aviation industry was 20 years removed from the Wright Brother's first flight. The world took that knowledge created by the brothers and literally took off.

WYSO community voices producer and aviation historian Dan Patterson offers some perspective on why the Miami Valley has become a hub for USAF investment and innovation.

The historic Wright Company Factory site in West Dayton was severely damaged by a fire back in March. Now, U.S. Rep. Mike Turner has proposed $4 million dedicated to restore the buildings through a House Appropriations Committee bill.

A sculpture of the 1905 Wright Flyer III has found a new home at the Wright Dunbar Historic District, after many years in downtown Dayton and then two years in storage.

The future of the historic Wright brothers’ airplane factory in West Dayton is up in the air after it was heavily damaged by a fire in late March.