National Aviation Day “celebrates the history and development of aviation” every August 19th (Orville Wright’s birthday). Powered flight is one of humanity’s greatest inventions and from its inception to the present day, Western New York has been a center of aviation innovation, technology and history. For example, after the Wright Brothers, Glenn Curtiss from Hammondsport, NY was arguably the most important aviation inventor at the dawn of flight, developing light-weight engines and ailerons. He went on to found Curtiss-Wright, headquartered in Buffalo, which was America’s second largest company by 1945. A long line of proud aviation companies come from WNY including Curtiss-Wright, Bell Aircraft, Consolidated Aircraft, SKF Aeroengine, Moog, Servotronics, Calspan and Astronics (Insyte is proud to count many of these companies among our clients). These Buffalo manufacturers produced many revolutionary aircraft and technologies from early biplanes like the famous “Curtiss Jenny” and America’s first jet, to the first plane to break the sound barrier and even the rocket motor that brought the Apollo Astronauts back from the surface of the moon. WNY innovation has played a critical role as humans ascended into the sky and beyond into space. We salute WNY’s long line of aviation innovators and manufacturers and wish you all Happy National Aviation Day!
