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Happy Pan American Aviation Day! Today is the United States Federal Observance Day for the first flight of an airplane, the Wright Flyer, on December 17, 1903. The culmination of nearly five years of research and experimentation by Wilbur and Orville Wright, the Wright Flyer was the first piloted airplane to achieve controlled, sustained flight from its own power, although a catapult was required to launch it into the air. Charles Edward Taylor was the Wrights’ mechanic who designed the lightweight, aluminum internal combustion engine that powered the craft. Control was achieved through the use of wing warping for roll, a rudder for yaw, and a forward positioned elevator for pitch. The first successful flight took place #onthisday in 1903, on the Outer Banks of Kill Devil Hills near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, with Orville at the controls and Wilbur running next to the wing. See "Aviation Evolutions: The Jim Lund 1:72 Scale Model Airplane Collection", which features more than 200 models, on display, pre-security, in the Aviation Museum. http://bit.ly/AviationEvolutions This image was posted on December 17, 2018.

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This post mentions the following things involved with the SFO Museum collection: