top of page
Search

January in Aviation History

  • Writer: Aviation Trail
    Aviation Trail
  • Jan 8, 2018
  • 1 min read


The first successful landing of a fixed wing aircraft on a ship took place on January 18, 1911 when aviation pioneer Eugene Ely set his Curtiss Model D Pusher down on a platform on the armored cruiser USS Pennsylvania in San Francisco Bay. It was also the first flight using a tail hook system. About two months earlier, on November 14, 2010, he had completed the first successful take off from a vessel when he flew from a wooden platform built on the bow of the USS Birmingham in Hampton Roads, Virginia. Earlier in 1910, Ely had started flying exhibitions for Glenn Curtiss. Curtiss was an advocate of the potential for military aviation, and drew the attention of US Navy Captain Washington Chambers, who was exploring this potential. Ely volunteered for the experiments, and went on to establish his legacy with these two historic flights. He continued to fly exhibitions, and was known for a daredevil style, which thrilled spectators. Just two days short of his 25th birthday, he crashed at an exhibition in Macon, Georgia, and was killed. Both Eugene Ely and Glenn Curtiss are enshrined in the National Aviation Hall of Fame.


 
 
 

Comments


Location

Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park 

16 S. Williams St., Dayton, OH 45402

Visitor Center:

For details and seasonal date schedules see https://www.nps.gov/daav/planyourvisit/hours.htm

or please call (937) 225-7705 for the current park schedule.

Parking:

From W. Third St., turn south on Williams St and then turn left on Fourth St. Go 1/2 block and turn left into the Visitor Center parking area.

CLICK HERE for a parking map.

See the Visitor Center page for details on hours and for a map.

NPS logo

Aviation Trail, Inc.

- In Partnership with the

National Park Service

wilbear trademark

®

Volunteer logo
  • Facebook Social Icon

Follow Aviation Trail

Follow Parachute Museum

Also see more about the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park on Facebook.  

Subscribe to "The Flight Log", the ATI electronic Newsletter, for updates and announcements

Congrats! You’re subscribed

Aviation Trail does not sell, share, or distribute subscriber information to third parties.

CONTACT AVIATION TRAIL, INC.:

Your email was sent successfully! Thank you for your interest!

To send messages with attachments use:

webmaster@aviationtrailinc.org

  or  avtrailinc@gmail.com

*The Parachute Museum archives were considered as perhaps the world's largest  private parachute collection when assessed by experts from WPFB and the Smithsonian Institute.  

© Aviation Trail, Inc. 2025

bottom of page