Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park

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Huffman Prairie Flying Field Interpretive Center

The center is about two miles from Huffman Prairie Flying Field, where Orville and Wilbur Wright perfected their flying machine. As a result of a partnership between the National Park Service and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the exhibits and audiovisual media tell the story of how the Wright-Brothers developed their machines, and how their aeronautical research has been expanded and continued at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

The exhibits combine interactive media, videos, and artifacts with graphics and text to appeal to a wide range of age groups and levels of interest. As the visitor enters the building, above their heads is mounted the "Sky of Honor": exact scale models of military aircraft in chronological order, starting from the present and going back to the earliest days of flight.

A small theater built to resemble one of the Wright Brothers original flying schools shows a video which explains in more detail how a contemporary airplane flies. Throughout the exhibit, materials, finishes and stage set techniques are used to provide drama and immerse the visitor in the content.

Artifacts contributed by the Wright-Patterson Air Force base include an engine, ejection seat, pressure suit, and numerous models of aircraft for testing in wind tunnels. An interactive exhibit allows visitors to explore actual film footage of dramatic testing conducted by the air force on aircraft, ejection seats and wind tunnel testing.

Planning, Design and Fabrication: Explus, Inc./Christopher Chadbourne Associates

Audiovisual Programs: Explus, Inc.

Dayton Aviation Heritage NHP »