Dayton deserves a soaring monument of national stature
The Wright Brothers taught the world to fly.”
I saw those words on a billboard while driving home from Dayton International Airport. It’s a thought that understates what the Wright Brothers accomplished. Their achievement changed our world, opening possibilities that could scarcely have been imagined in their day. Who would have thought, for example, that a person born before that historic 1905 flight might also have witnessed Neil Armstrong in 1969, a native Ohioan, walk on the moon?
Visitors to St. Louis are greeted by the Gateway Arch, a 630-foot-tall monument commemorating westward expansion, a phenomenal era in 19th century American history. While worthy of recognition, how does that compare to the achievement of flight, an unparalleled advance that would change not only our country, but our world?
Dayton, it is time to claim our rightful place in history. It is time to dispel any confusion regarding the origin of the first flight and the hometown of the brothers who were first to successfully operate a practical aircraft.
The Wright Image Group formed in 2005 to create “The Triumph of Flight, a monument acknowledging the phenomenon of flight. Our board has long held that the achievement of flight merits national recognition. They created an awe-inspiring design — a spectacular 144-foot-wide stainless-steel facsimile of the Wright Flyer III, supported by a dramatically angled backlit pedestal and anchored by streaming steel cables depicting the exhilaration of flight.
They identified what appeared to be an ideal location, the intersection of interstates 70 and 75. That site, however, had limitations. For one, it was too far from Dayton proper. And expansive plans had increased the cost to a level that could not be supported.
How would visitors to Dayton know that they arrived at a vibrant center of excellence in aviation, past and present? The billboard that had acclaimed the teaching prowess of the Wright Brothers has since been repurposed.
All a visitor driving into our city from the airport might see is a tiny image of a Wright Flyer perched atop a “Welcome to Dayton” sign near Stanley Avenue. The Wright Image Group abandoned the I-70/I-75 site, first in favor of the Wright Brothers Factory in West Dayton. The fire at that site was tragic, and now the city has withdrawn its support.
The group has since shifted its focus to the possibility of building on or near McCook Field. That site is clearly visible to an estimated annual 120,000 passersby on I-75, and is close enough to Dayton to become a new addition to the city’s skyline. McCook, among the nation’s first airports, offers an important tie to the area’s aviation heritage. It merits a monument of its own.
Dayton has a phenomenal history. The Wright Image Group has an inspiring vision for the future. It is time for Dayton’s citizens, planners, political leaders and champions of industry to rally behind the idea that Dayton merits a monument that memorializes an event that occurred right here, in the skies over Dayton.