Bath Township in Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Greene County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

A Tough Start after Kitty Hawk

Photographed by Pete Skillman, June 27, 2025

1. A Tough Start after Kitty Hawk Marker

Inscription. The first year at Huffman Prairie Flying Field was filled with frustrations, short flights, and crashes, Fickle winds and the vexing puzzle of how to control the flying machine as it moved through the air limited the total time aloft to only 49 minutes.

Only forty good flying starts were made here before early September. Most early test flights lasted only seconds. In the whole 1904 flying season, Orville went up just 41 times, and Wilbur only 37.

At Kitty Hawk we had unlimited space and wind enough to make starting eary with a short track....Here we must depend on a long track and light winds...While we are getting ready, the favorable opportunities slip away, and we are usually up against a rainstorm, a dead calm, or a wind blowing at right angles to the track.

Wilbur Wright to Octave Chanute,
June 21, 1904

Back to the Drawing Board
Orville had flown only 432 feet off the launch track when his flying machine nosed into the ground, as shown in this August 14, 1904 photo.

To keep curious eyes from reporting their progress and problems, the Wright brothers built their 1904 hangar near the fence far ahead. It was as distant from the trolley station as the Huffman property would allow.

Erected by

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Air & Space. A significant historical year for this entry is 1904.

Location. 39° 48.348′ N, 84° 3.626′ W. Marker is in Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, in Greene County. It is in Bath Township. It can be reached from Pylon Road. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: Pylon Rd, Dayton OH 45433, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Ohio’s Dayton Metro

and in the Miami Valley.

It is also in the American Midwest

and in the Corn Belt.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Miss that Tree! (within shouting distance of this marker); Corner Boundary No. 7 (within shouting distance of this marker); The First Airport (within shouting distance of this marker); 'Higher, Orville, Higher!' (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Birthplace of Flight (about 400 feet away); Follow the Flight Path (about 500 feet away); Huffman Prairie State Natural Landmark (about 500 feet away); They Had Done It! (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

Photographed by Pete Skillman, June 27, 2025

2. A Tough Start after Kitty Hawk Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on November 24, 2025. It was originally submitted on June 30, 2025, by Pete Skillman of Townsend, Delaware. This page has been viewed 120 times since then and 11 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on June 30, 2025, by Pete Skillman of Townsend, Delaware.