Dave Driskill in front of the NPS Fairchild FC-2W2.
Dare County Regional Airport Museum
Early pilots, mechanics, and inventors helped to usher in an age of limitless possibilities as humans sought the boundries of flight. With each attempt, pioneers of the air pushed past aviation's humble beginnings and brought along changes that would improve the science, safety and efficiency of flight. Modern aviation rests on the successes and failures of these giants.
In June 1937, the world's first transpolar flight flew from Moscow, Russia, over the North Pole, and landed at Pearson Field at Vancouver, Washington. Discover the fascinating story of this historic achievement in aviation history.
Did you know that the Tuskegee Airmen included women? Sergeant Amelia Jones worked for two years during WWII in the 99th Pursuit Squadron under Colonel Benjamin O. Davis, commander of the Tuskegee Airmen. She was honored for her service in 2014.
Locations:Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, Grand Canyon National Park
Lt. Alexander Pearson was a trailblazing pilot of early aviation. His groundbreaking flights, including the first aerial survey of the Grand Canyon and breaking the world speed record in 1923, made him one of the United States' most celebrated early aviators. Today, Pearson Field and Pearson Air Museum, a part of Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, are named after him.
The accomplishments of Amelia Earhart in the field of aviation were many. She is best remembered as the first woman to make a solo flight across the Atlantic, May 20-21, 1932. For this achievement Vice President Charles Curtis awarded her the Distinguished Flying Cross on July 29, 1932.
Throughout human history, many people have challenged themselves and each other to see who could be the "best." Aviators are no exception. From the dawn of flight up to the present day, pilots have been a particularly competitive group as they vied to see who could fly the fastest, the highest, and the farthest. Many of them have also battled to see who could achieve an aviation "first."
Aleutian Islands World War II National Historic Area
The Brigadier General George P. Scriven House, located at 1300 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W., at the intersection of New Hampshire Avenue and N Street, currently serves as the headquarters building of the National Society Colonial Dames XVII Century. The impressive, 3-story townhouse typifies the high Victorian, upper-class home found in DuPont Circle in the late 19th century.
From 1895 to 1922, this was the Columbus, Ohio, home of famed World War I aviator Edward "Eddie" Vernon Rickenbacker. Eddie, a leading race car driver prior to World War I, joined the American Expeditionary Force as a sergeant and staff driver in 1917. He sailed to France the next month with John J. Pershing and his staff.
Charles Lindbergh, Jr. is renowned as the aviator who accomplished the first nonstop solo trans-Atlantic flight from New York to Paris in 1927. He became an overnight success after completing this milestone in aviation history.
