Celebrate National Aviation Day Every August 19

By NSC
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August 19 is National Aviation Day(Created with fonts & graphics from Creative Fabrica & TheHungryJPEG)

August 19 is National Aviation Day, celebrating all things aviation related.

It’s a day to remind ourselves of the wonder of flight. To marvel at how big, heavy metal tubes can overcome gravity to soar through the skies … And then come safely back to earth.

It’s also Orville Wright’s birthday, and that’s not a coincidence.

Orville and his brother Wilbur pioneered human flight. And Orville was the one who took the first successful plane ride. So it’s his birthday we celebrate.

The day also honors other aviators and the progress of aviation in general. But most especially the Wright brothers.

The day is an official National day (but not a public holiday). In 1939 President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a proclamation (USC 36:I:A:1:118) naming August 19 as National Aviation Day. The proclamation gave all future presidents the option to make the same declaration and request all government buildings fly the flag.

Orville was alive for this honor and lived to see it celebrated for several more years. His birthday was August 19, 1871. He died January 30, 1948.

It’s a Bird, It’s a … Plane?

Yes, it was a plane. And in 1903 it was a novel sight. A very novel sight, because a successful fixed-wing airplane flight* had never been seen before.

But on December 17, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, that all changed.

Orville Wright climbed into an airship and flew.

Granted he only flew for 12 seconds and 120 feet. But he flew!

And made history.

The anniversary of that first flight is celebrated as Wright Brothers Day.

So the brothers share a day dedicated to that first flight, but Orville also gets a day all to himself.

Is that fair? Especially since the reason Orville and not Wilbur made the first successful flight may very well have been the result of a coin toss?!

You see, the brothers actually were ready for a trial flight several days earlier. Like we still do today, they used a coin toss to decide who would go up. Wilbur won.

But in the end he lost. His flight that day got off the ground, but the plane stalled and he crashed in only 3 seconds.

The brothers made repairs and adjustments. And then it was Orville’s turn to try on December 17. As we know, that was the successful flight.

*Others had built and flown other kinds of aircraft. The novel part of the Wright brothers’ craft was the fixed wings and controls to, well, control it.

Scroll down for some ideas on celebrating this officially recognized, soaring holiday.

Ideas For Celebrating National Aviation Day

Spend the day in aviation related activities.

NASA usually has some activities for the day. Follow the NASA Facebook page to see what’s on tap for this year.

Take a look at the aeronautics section of the NASA website, too!

The Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina usually celebrates the day with talks, activities and lessons. If you’re nearby, consider checking it out.

Other air museums also have special events for the day. If there’s one near you, see what they have planned. Air museums we know of include:

The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (Washington, D.C.)
National Naval Aviation Museum (Pensacola, Florida)
National Museum of the Air Force (Dayton, Ohio)
EAA Airventure Museum (Oshkosh, Wisconsin)
Museum of Flight (Seattle, Washington)

Or visit a NASA Visitor Center. There are 14 of them around the country, although apparently 3 do most of the aeronautics research:

Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia
Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio
Ames Research Center in California

Some airports (usually smaller ones) also have programs open to the public and offer rides in small planes and helicopters to celebrate the day. Some of these airports also have flight schools that offer introductory flight lessons to the public (any time of year, not just for National Aviation Day).

Speaking of airports, there’s usually someplace near even bigger ones where you can watch planes take off and land.

End your National Aviation Day with an aviation-themed movie. Might we suggest one of these:

Build a model airplane. Don’t worry if you’ve never made a model before, you can get kits designed for beginners. So this could be a fun way to get started.

Will you be doing something special for National Aviation Day? Share!