Today is National Aviation Day, a day established to honor aviation and our unique freedom to fly. From Chicago to Los Angeles to Miami, thousands of General Aviation pilots take to the skies because of the dreams and perseverance of two brothers. August 19th is the birthday of Orville Wright, who along with his brother Wilbur, created and introduced mankind to controlled, powered airplane flight.
In 1939 President Franklin Roosevelt proclaimed August 19th National Aviation Day. Today is a day of observance and not an actual public holiday. The intentions of National Aviation Day are to commemorate aviation, the founders and historical figures that have played a role in aviation throughout the years, from the Wright Brothers, to Amelia Earhart and all the others. Pilots routinely use the day to try and introduce others to the world of General Aviation and some visit the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. There are aviation museum's in virtually every state, from the two Smithsonian Air and Space Museums in and outside of Washington, D.C. to the US Air Force Museum at Wright Patterson AFB in Ohio.
To find an aviation museum in your state or nearby that you can visit today, or in the coming days or weeks, you can go to the Aero-web.org museum locator and select your state or a neighboring state for day-trip ideas.
You may also decide to take an introductory flight lesson in a general aviation airplane with a FAA Certified Flight Instructor. Visit your local airport and inquire at the many flight schools present around the area or go to AOPA's Let's Go Flying website to pull up a flight school locator, information on flight training, introduction to flight and request a packed informational packet on learning to fly.
The freedom to fly is unique and provides an amazing, different view of the world than most people ever experience. Flying as a passenger in an airliner restricts your view to a small, 1 foot oval window. To see the world as pilot's see it, watch this video presented by AOPA Live! and enjoy the vista's the pilot's enjoy.
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