The Wright Flying School, also known as the Wright School of Aviation, was operated by the

Wright Company The Wright Company was the commercial aviation business venture of the Wright Brothers, established by them on November 22, 1909, in conjunction with several prominent industrialists from New York and Detroit with the intention of capitalizing o ...

from 1910 to 1916 and trained 119 individuals to fly Wright airplanes.

History

Orville Wright began training students on March 19, 1910 in

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County, Alabama, Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the Gulf Coastal Plain, coas ...

at a site that later became

Maxwell Air Force Base Maxwell Air Force Base , officially known as Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation under the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The installation is located in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. O ...

. With the onset of milder weather that May, the school relocated to Huffman Prairie Flying Field near

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, Ohio, Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County, Ohio, Greene County. The 2020 United S ...

, where the Wrights developed practical aviation in 1904 and 1905 and where the Wright Company tested its airplanes. They also had a facility in

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Geor ...

run by Frank Coffyn. Some of the earliest graduates became members of the

Wright Exhibition Team The Wright Exhibition Team was a group of early aviators trained by the Wright brothers at Wright Flying School in Montgomery, Alabama in March 1910. History The group was formed in 1910 at the suggestion of balloonist Augustus Roy Knabenshue. ...

Sites

US National Park Service marker at Huffman Prairie Flying Field

* Huffman Prairie Flying Field near

Notable students

*1st Lt. Henry H. Arnold (1886–1950) *1st Lt.

Thomas DeWitt Milling Thomas DeWitt Milling (July 31, 1887 – November 26, 1960) was a pioneer of military aviation and a brigadier general in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He was the first rated pilot in the history of the United States Air Force. He received his flig ...

(1887–1960) *

Calbraith Perry Rodgers Calbraith Perry Rodgers (January 12, 1879 – April 3, 1912) was an American aviation pioneer. He made the first transcontinental airplane flight across the U.S. from September 17, 1911, to November 5, 1911, with dozens of stops, both intentio ...

(1879–1912) started on June 5, 1911. Within a week, his instructor was letting him takeoff, fly, and land the airplane, but when he asked to be allowed a solo flight, the instructor said "no". Rodgers then bought the training airplane, a Wright Flyer Model B, the first to be privately owned. * Oscar Brindley (1885–1918) *

Walter Richard Brookins Walter Richard Brookins (July 11, 1889 – April 29, 1953) was the first pilot trained by the Wright brothers for their exhibition team. Biography Brookins was born in July 1889 in Dayton, Ohio to Clara Belle Spitler (1873–1947) and Noah Hols ...

(1889–1953) * Howard W. Gill (1882–1912) *

Oliver LeBoutillier Oliver Colin LeBoutillier (24 May 1894 – 12 May 1983) was an American aviator and flying ace. Serving with the British Royal Naval Air Service and Royal Air Force in the First World War, LeBoutillier scored 10 aerial victories, witnessed the dea ...

(1894-1983) *

Philip Orin Parmelee Philip Orin Parmelee (March 8, 1887 – June 1, 1912) was an American aviation pioneer trained by the Wright brothers and credited with several early world aviation records and "firsts" in flight. He turned a keen interest in small engines into ...

(1887–1912) *

Leda Richberg-Hornsby Leda Richberg-Hornsby (November 1886 – August 25, 1939)
''New York Times''. Aug 26, 1939. was an A ...

(1886–1939) *

Marjorie Stinson Marjorie Claire Stinson (July 5, 1895 – April 15, 1975) was an American aviator, airmail pilot, pilot instructor, and stunt pilot. She trained at the Wright Flying School, and earned her Fédération Aéronautique Internationale license in 191 ...

(1895–1975) *

Edward Stinson Edward Anderson Stinson, Jr. (July 11, 1893 – January 26, 1932) was an American pilot and aircraft manufacturer. "Eddie" Stinson was the founder of Stinson Aircraft Company. At the time of his death in 1932 in an air crash, he was the world's ...

(1893–1932) * J. Clifford Turpin (1886–1966) * Arthur L. "Al" Welsh (1881–1912) learned to fly and then in the summer of 1910 became an instructor at the Wright Company's flying school. *

George William Beatty George William Beatty (August 28, 1887 – February 20, 1955) was an American pioneer aviator who set early altitude and distance records, including one record set on the same day that he flew his first solo flight. Early life Beatty was born ...

(1887–1955) was taught by Al Welsh, taking his first lesson on June 24, 1911 and soloing on July 23, 1911. That same day he flew as a passenger with Welsh to establish a new American two-man

flight altitude record This listing of flight altitude records are the records set for the highest aeronautical flights conducted in the atmosphere, set since the age of ballooning. Some, but not all of the records were certified by the non-profit international avia ...

of ; and on August 5, 1911 Beatty broke his own record, flying to with Percy Reynolds as his passenger.

References

External links

Pioneer Flyers Who Trained At Wright Brothers Field
{{Authority control Aviation history of the United States Wright brothers History of Montgomery, Alabama Educational institutions established in 1910 1910 establishments in Alabama