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

Biplanes to Rocket Science

Photographed By Craig Swain, December 26, 2007

1. Biplanes to Rocket Science Marker

Inscription. Here, on Wright Brothers Hill, on all sides you are surrounded by the vast research complexes and runways of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Problem solving done here since 1917 has taken aviators from Huffman Prairie Flying Field to the moon and back.

In the early 1920s, McCook Field near downtown Dayton proved too small to be safe for further experimental aircraft work. Community leaders formed the Dayton Air Service Committee, buying the lands surrounding this bluff and donating them to the federal government in 1924. Wright Field was then built, keeping the Army Air Corps engineering braintrust in town.

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base remains America's premier center for aeronautical research, development and acquisition, continuing engineering traditions that Orville and Wilbur Wright started when they first learned how to fly over these same fields in 1904.

Erected by 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 1917.

Location. 39° 47.713′ N, 84° 5.315′ W. Marker is near Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, in Greene County. It is in Bath Township. Marker can be reached from Memorial Road. The memorial center is

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off Kauffman Avenue, off South Broad Street (CR 444). Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2380 Memorial Road, Dayton OH 45433, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Cow Pasture to Flight School (a few steps from this marker); In Case of Floods ... (a few steps from this marker); In Commemoration of the Courage, Perseverance and Achievement of Wilbur and Orville Wright (within shouting distance of this marker); Final Honors (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Huffman Dam (about 600 feet away); Wright Field (approx. 0.8 miles away); Mormon Migration, Kirkland Camp / Facts About Kirkland Camp (approx. 0.9 miles away); Lockheed AC-130A (approx. 1.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

More about this marker. The background of the marker is a satellite photo of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base with portions of the base complex indicated. "Wright Field (1927) - Combat aircraft for World War II were designed at Wright Field. Experimental warplanes were test-flown from both fields in the 1940s." "Patterson Field (1917) - The airfield you see ahead honors Lt. Frank S. Patterson, a test pilot killed in a crash in 1918. At that time, the base was called Wilbur Wright Field."

Photos surrounding this satellite image include

Markers at the Overlook image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Craig Swain, December 26, 2007

2. Markers at the Overlook

a portrait of Lt. Frank Patterson, the space shuttle, a P-51 Fighter from World War II, and a set of space suits. The later carries the caption, "Spacesuits worn by early astronauts, such as Ohioan John Glen, were developed at Wright-Patterson in the 1960s. Early development work on the Space Shuttle was also done here."

Also see . . . Dayton Aviation Heritage National Park. Includes several locations within the Dayton area associated with the Wright brothers and aviation history. (Submitted on January 9, 2008, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia.)

View of Patterson Field from the Overlook image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Craig Swain, December 26, 2007

3. View of Patterson Field from the Overlook

Credits. This page was last revised on February 6, 2023. It was originally submitted on January 9, 2008, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia. This page has been viewed 1,404 times since then and 18 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on January 9, 2008, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia.