Historic Aerospace Sites

Hammondsport

Hammondsport, New York, USA
Year Selected 2024
Dedication 28 June 2025

Hammondsport is the proud hometown of Glenn H. Curtiss, a legendary figure in early flight and the Father of Naval Aviation. It was here, between 1904 and 1915, that Curtiss collaborated with other aviation pioneers, including Alexander Graham Bell, to foster significant advancements in the field. In 1908, John Newton Williams achieved the first U.S. manned vertical lift with a Curtiss engine. The Curtiss School of Aviation, founded in 1910, witnessed Blanche Stuart Scott’s historic flight as the first woman to solo an aircraft in the U.S. In 1920, the Aerial Service Corporation was established, later known as Mercury Aircraft Inc., developing the pioneering T-2 Mercury Chic aircraft and contributing to the nation’s efforts in World War II by manufacturing P-40 tail sections for Curtiss-Wright in Buffalo. Their legacy continues today as Mercury Integrated Manufacturing.

Image: Hammondsport Launch 1913

Gollenberg Hill

Stölln, Germany
Year Selected 2024
Dedication 24 May 2025

Otto Lilienthal (* 23. Mai 1848 in Anklam) flog hier mit selbstkonstruierten Gleitflugzeugen erfolgreich über Distanzen von bis zu 250 Metern, bevor cr am 9. August 1896 tödlich abstürzte. Wilbur Wright schrieb 15 Jahre später: “… er war ohne Frage der größte der Vorläufer, und die Welt schuldet ihm viel.”

Otto Lilienthal (* Mai 23, 1848 in Anklam) had successfully flown here over distances of up to 250 meters in mono- and bi-plane gliders of his own design before a fatal crash on August 9, 1896. Wilbur Wright wrote 15 years later: “… he was without question the greatest of the precursors, and the world owes to him a great de

Image: Otto Lilienthal performing one of his gliding experiments, 1895

Kitty Hawk, NC

Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
Year Selected 2013
Dedication 19 August 2013

On 19 August, the AIAA Historic Aerospace Sites Committee dedicated Kitty Hawk, NC, as a historic aerospace site, following a decades-long negotiation with the U.S Park Service. A historic marker was unveiled at a 0930 hrs ceremony as part of the First Flight Society’s National Aviation Day at Kitty Hawk. At this site on 17 December 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright achieved the first sustained, controlled heavier-than-air flight of an aircraft, opening a new era of transportation throughout the world. Their pioneering spirit continues to inspire succeeding generations to dream, aspire, innovate, and create without limits. A full-scale replica of the Wright Flyer made by the AIAA National Capital Section is on display at the pavilion at the Wright Brothers National Monument, which is part of the park. Park information can be found at www.nps.gov/wrbr/index.htm.

Image: Tony Springer dedicates Kitty Hawk, NC.

Pitcairn Field

Willow Grove, Pennsylvania
Year Selected 2013
Dedication 1 June 2013

The AIAA Historic Aerospace Sites Committee dedicated Pitcairn Field, in Willow Grove, PA, as an AIAA Historic Aerospace site, during an 11:00 a.m. EDT ceremony on Saturday, 1 June. On this site, on 18 December 1928, Arthur Rawson, followed by Harold F. Pitcairn, flew a Cierva C.8W Autogiro. This was the first successful rotary wing aircraft to fly in America. Pitcairn Field – Willow Grove became the center of American Autogiro development and manufacture. Pitcairn and his associates were awarded the 1930 Collier Trophy. The development of the helicopter in America was made possible in part by the rotary-wing patents held by Pitcairn.

Image: On this site, on 18 December 1928, Arthur Rawson, followed by Harold F. Pitcairn, flew a Cierva C.8W Autogiro.

Lunken Field

Cincinnati, OH, USA
Year Selected 2012
Dedication September 2013

Beginning in the 1920s with Dixie Davis’ barnstorming and flying lessons, this site was a center of civil aviation activities. Several aircraft companies started here, including the Lunken Family’s Aeronautical Corporation of America (Aeronca) and the Metal Aircraft Corporation. The Embry Riddle Company delivered passengers and mail here, and it was the site of the first government-approved U.S. flight school. Embry Riddle formed the Aviation Company in 1928 here, which became American Airways in 1930, the predecessor of American Airlines.

Image: Cincinnati Municipal Airport – Lunken Field | Credit: redlegsfan21; Wikipedia; CC BY-SA 2.0

Pearson Airfield

Vancouver, Washington
Year Selected 2012
Dedication 8 September 2012

8 September 2012: The AIAA Historic Aerospace Sites Committee designated Pearson Airfield, in Vancouver, Washington, as a Historic Site. Pearson Field is one of the oldest operating airports in the United States and served as a major military airfield in the interwar years. In 1905, a dirigible originating from the nearby Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition landed at Fort Vancouver Polo grounds, initiating an enduring and illustrious connection to aeronautics and record-breaking endurance flights. Starting in 1923, the airport played a key role in the development of U.S. Air Power and general aviation in the Pacific Northwest. The dedication ceremony occurred on Saturday, 8 September 2012. (Image: Gelantine was a privately owned, corporately sponsored dirigible, built by Thomas Scott Baldwin’s company Baldwin’s Airships, Balloons, Aeroplanes of New York City. On the morning of September 19, 1905, the Gelatine, piloted by Lincoln J. Beachey, ascended from the grounds of the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition on the shores of Guild’s Lake in Portland, Oregon, landing 40 minutes later at the Vancouver Barracks (Pearson Airfield today) in Vancouver, Washington. The flight is considered the first aerial crossing of the Columbia River and the first account of controlled powered flight in Washington. Credit: Pearson Air Museum).

Image: The Gelatine, piloted by Lincoln J. Beachey, on the morning of 19 September 1905.

Bell Aircraft Manufacturing Plant

Wheatfield, New York
Year Selected 2012
Dedication 14 August 2012

On 14 October 2012, The AIAA Historic Aerospace Sites Committee designated the Bell Aircraft Manufacturing Plant, in Wheatfield, New York, as a Historic Site. The ceremony took place at the Calspan Corporation facility. The Bell Aircraft Corporation was an aircraft manufacturer that designed and built several types of fighter aircraft during World War II, but is most famous for the Bell XS-1, the first aircraft to break the sound barrier. It is recognized for the development and production of America’s first jet fighter and many other successful X series of aircraft. The Bell 47 helicopter and military helicopters changed the world of vertical flight. Critical contributions to the space program include the rocket engine that lifted Apollo astronauts from the lunar surface.

Image: Early photo of the Bell Aircraft Manufacturing Plant, in Wheatfield, New York.

Space Park (TRW/Northrop Grumman)

Hawthorne, CA, USA
Year Selected 2011
Dedication December 2011

Beginning in 1961, at what was then the Ramo-Wooldridge Corporation, the dedicated employees of Space Park designed and built more than 100 of the world’s most technically challenging satellites, rocket engines and astronomical observatories. The technologies they developed and continue to develop, led to such breakthroughs as NASA Pioneer 10, the first spacecraft to leave our solar system; the descent engine for the Apollo Lunar Excursion Module; the Defense Department’s Milstar satellite communication network; NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System “Switchboard in the Sky” and astronomy and science satellites such as the Chandra X-ray observatory.

Image: Space Park Quad | Credit: Funhistory; Wikipedia; CC0

Delta Airline Headquarters

Atlanta, GA, USA
Year Selected 2011
Dedication November 2011

This site commemorates the historic partnership between Delta Air Lines, the City of Atlanta and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. On March 1, 1941, Delta officially moved its corporate headquarters to Atlanta on leased airport property, constructing offices and Hangar 1, the largest aircraft hangar in the Southeast. In 1947, the complex doubled in size, with Hangar 2 and an executive building, housing the office of Delta founder C.E. Woolman. Today, the original 1940s buildings of Delta’s headquarters are the oldest existing facilities on Atlanta airport property.

Image: Delta Air Lines headquarters in Atlanta, GA | Credit: Bud; Wikipedia; CC BY 2.0

Bremen Airport

Bremen, Germany
Year Selected 2011
Dedication Bremen 6 October 2011

The AIAA Historic Aerospace Sites Committee designated the Bremen Airport, in Bremen, Germany, as a Historic Aerospace Site. A historic marker was unveiled on 6 October during a 1:00 p.m. ceremony at the airport in the Bremmenhalle, the airport’s exhibition hall, located on the roof of Terminal 3. Bremen Airport was founded in 1909. In 1924, German aviation pioneers Henrich Focke and Georg Wulf founded the Focke-Wulf company on the site. On 26 June 1936, Henrich Focke’s Fw 61, the world’s first fully operational helicopter, made a successful maiden flight at the airport, piloted by Ewald Rohlfs.

Image: Bremen Airport, in Bremen, Germany.

Site of Thaddeus S.C. Lowe’s 1861 Balloon Reconnaissance Demonstration Flight and Aerial Telegraph Transmission

National Mall, Washington, DC
Year Selected 2011
Dedication 11 June 2011

The AIAA Historic Aerospace Sites Committee designated the site of Thaddeus S.C. Lowe’s 1861 balloon reconnaissance demonstration flight and aerial telegraph transmission as a Historic Aerospace Site. The site is on the National Mall, in front of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum. A historic marker was unveiled during the Air and Space Museum’s celebration of Civil War history, which took place Saturday, 11 June on the National Mall. (Pictured: The Civil War balloon Intrepid. Credit: National Air and Space Museum.

Image: The Civil War balloon Intrepid.

Getafe Airbase

Getafe, Spain
Year Selected 2008
Dedication May 2011

On 17 January 1923, Juan de la Cierva’s C.4 Autogiro made its first successful flight at this site with Lieutenant Alejandro Gómez Spencer at the controls. The Cierva Autogiro was the first practical rotorcraft, and many aspects of its design were critical to the development of helicopters and other vertical lift aircraft. Between 1920 and 1924, Juan de la Cierva tested four prototype Autogiros at Getafe; and after numerous attempts, solved his control problems with flapping blade hinges.

Image: Airplanes on the tarmac at Getafe Airbase, Getafe, Madrid, Spain. | Credit:  Miguel303xm; Wikipedia; CC BY-SA 2.5

Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory (known today as Calspan)

Buffalo, New York
Year Selected 2010
Dedication 1 December 2010

On Wednesday, 1 December 2010, The AIAA Historic Aerospace Sites Committee designated the Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory (known today as Calspan), in Buffalo, New York, as a Historic Aerospace Site. The facility started as a research facility for the Curtiss-Wright company and was donated to Cornell in 1946. Since then, this facility has touched every aspect of aviation and space research. Every military aircraft and space vehicle developed in the United States from the end of World War II to present day has been tested at this facility.

Image: Calspan, in Buffalo, New York.

Central Yacht Basin in St. Petersburg, Florida

St. Petersburg, Florida
Year Selected 2010
Dedication 29 October 2010

On Friday, 29 October 2010, The AIAA Historic Aerospace Sites Committee designated the Central Yacht Basin in St. Petersburg, Florida, as a Historic Aerospace Site. The Yacht Basin is the site of the first commercial airline flight in the world, on 1 January 1914. The first passenger was Abraham C. Pheil, a former St. Petersburg mayor, and the pilot was Tony Jannus. The Tony Jannus Distinguished Aviation Society honors achievements in aviation in his name. In the photograph, AIAA Region II Director Alan Lowery and the current St. Petersburg mayor Bill Foster unveil the plaque as members of the Tony Jannus Society and the Florida Aviation Historical Society look on. Randal Allen, the Central Florida section chair, is third from right.

Image: AIAA Region II Director Alan Lowery and St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster unveil the plaque.

Tidbinbilla, Honeysuckle Creek and Orroral Valley Tracking Stations

Canberra, Australia
Year Selected 2010
Dedication 25 May 2010

AIAA Immediate Past President Dave Thompson designated the Tidbinbilla, Honeysuckle Creek and Orroral Valley Tracking Stations outside Canberra, Australia, as Historic Aerospace Sites. The three stations were established to support NASA’s Deep Space Network, Manned Space Flight Network and Spacecraft Tracking and Data Acquisition Network. Among other notable achievements, these stations played a key role in supporting the Apollo 11 Moon landing, with the Honeysuckle Creek station providing the first historic pictures of man walking on the Moon on 20July 1969 (21 July 1969, in Australia), as well as voice and telemetry contact with the lunar module. The ceremony was attended by AIAA members, current and former tracking station employees, and the U.S. Ambassador to Australia, who praised Australia’s contributions to the space program.

Image: AIAA Immediate Past President Dave Thompson at the Historic Site Ceremony in Australia.

NASA/North American/Boeing Industrial Site

Downey, California
Year Selected 2010
Dedication 21 May 2010

The AIAA Historic Aerospace Sites Committee designated the NASA/North American/Boeing Industrial Site in Downey, California as an AIAA Historic Aerospace Site. Its rich history included the companies EMSCO Aircraft, Security Aircraft, Champion Aircraft, Consolidated Vultee, North American Aviation, Rockwell International, and Boeing North American Rockwell. A few of the many air and spacecrafts developed here include the X-15, the Apollo capsule and the Space Shuttle. Over 80 AIAA members and former employees attended the ceremony, which included former AIAA president George Muellner and Boeing Senior Vice President Rick Stephens.

Image: Plaque unveiling for the Downey Industrial Site. Left to Right: Tom Messmer, Vice President, IRG; George Muellner, former president, AIAA; and Rick Stephens, Senior Vice President, The Boeing Company.

Igor Sikorsky Airport and Vought-Sikorsky Plant

Bridgeport, CT, USA
Year Selected 2009
Dedication September 2013

Many important aircraft were developed and tested at this field and the adjacent Vought-Sikorsky aircraft plant, including a fighter, the XF4U, that later became the Corsair. But this site is best known for the work done here from 1939- 1942, with the design, construction, testing and demonstration of the first practical helicopters flown in the United States. Igor Sikorsky and his team pioneered the VS-300 helicopter, featuring the configuration that has since become the convention for most helicopters. Their work placed the helicopter in the public consciousness to the degree that by 1943, the U.S. was experiencing a “helicopter craze,” with literally hundreds of entrepreneurs seeking to imitate them, thereby establishing the U.S. helicopter industry.

Image: Aerial image of Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Bridgeport, Connecticut

Eglin AFB

Eglin AFB, FL, USA
Year Selected 2009
Dedication 9 September 2022

The Valparaiso Bombing and Gunnery Base, activated 14 Jun 1935 under command of Capt Arnold H. Rich, was renamed Eglin Field in 1937 for Lt Col Frederick I. Eglin, U.S. Air Corps. The first missions of Eglin were to provide both bombing and gunnery training for new pilots and testing of Army Air Corps aircraft and other systems. Eglin’s dual role of training and testing continued through World War II, with the establishment of the Air Corps Specialized Flying School and the Air Proving Ground Command. Today, Eglin continues to provide state-of-the-art munitions testing, personnel training and other combat support capabilities for the Air Force, DOD, industry and U.S. allies.

Image: Eglin AFB aircraft parking apron in 1964. | Credit: U.S. Air Force; Wikipedia; Public Domain

NASA Ames Research Center, Moffet Field

Mountain View, California
Year Selected 2009
Dedication 25 August 2009

The AIAA Historic Aerospace Sites Committee officially designated the NASA Ames Research Center, Moffet Field, California as a Historic Aerospace Site. A historic marker was unveiled during a ceremony at the center on Thursday, 25 August 2009, at 10:00 a.m.

Image: NASA AMES Research Center – Moffet Field

Houston Municipal Airport Terminal

Houston, Texas
Year Selected 2009
Dedication 18 April 2009

The AIAA Historic Aerospace Sites Committee designated the Houston Municipal Airport Terminal, also known as the 1940 Air Terminal, at the William B. Hobby Airport, Houston, Texas, as a Historic Aerospace Site. A historic marker was unveiled at noon on 18 April 2009, as part of the annual “Hobbyfest” program. Read the press release for complete details. (Image: Hobby Air Terminal, 1940)

Image: the 1940 Air Terminal, at the William B. Hobby Airport, Houston, Texas

Vandenberg Air Force Base

Santa Barbara County, California
Year Selected 2009
Dedication 30 March 2009

Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Ceremony was held at 1:00 p.m. on 30 March 2009 to officially designate Vandenderg Air Force Base, California as a Historic Aerospace Site; reception immediately followed.

Image: Vandenberg AFB, California, 1960

FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center

Atlantic City, NJ, USA
Year Selected 2008
Dedication 8 June 2022

This Federal Laboratory has played a pivotal role in creating our modern air traffic control system. Established as the National Aviation Facilities Experimental Center in 1958, the Technical Center’s research and engineering achievements, and its direct support to airports and FAA air traffic control facilities have led to the highest level of safety in air transportation. For more than 50 years, the Technical Center’s world-class laboratories and top-notch technical expertise have made it the cornerstone for aviation advancements in air traffic management, communications, navigation, airports, aircraft safety, and security.

Image: FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center | Credit: FAA

Dunsfold Aerodrome

Dunsfold, United Kingdom
Year Selected 2008

Description coming soon.  Please check back periodically.

Image: Dunsfold Aerodrome, aerial view | Andy Mabbett; Wikipedia; CC BY-SA 3.0

NASA Stennis Space Center

MS, USA
Year Selected 2007
Dedication April 2008

This rocket propulsion test complex was created to flight- certify all first and second stages of the Apollo Saturn V rocket. The first test-firing occurred on April 23, 1966. Subsequent to the Apollo Program, these test stands were modified to support the testing requirements of the Space Shuttle Main Engine. Every astronaut who traveled to the moon aboard Saturn V Rockets and into space aboard the Space Shuttle, did so on rocket stages and engines that were first proven flight-worthy on these test stands.

Image: An aerial photo shows all three NASA Stennis Space Center (SSC) test complexes. | Credit: NASA; Wikipedia; Public Domain

Woomera Test Range

Woomera, Australia
Year Selected 2007
Dedication 22 May 2007

The Woomera Test Range is a national icon in Australia and is the site where Australia’s involvement in missile and rocket technology and testing began more than 75 years ago. From this site, over 250 British Skylark sounding rockets were launched, some with Australian payloads; a series of indigenous sounding rockets and military systems were developed; Australia’s WRESAT satellite (1967) and the UK’s Prospero satellite (1971) were launched; and innumerable test & evaluation trials for the [Australian] Department of Defence took place. Woomera Test Range, managed and operated by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), continues as a vital strategic asset for the testing of aerospace systems and the conduct of space-related programs including pioneering hypersonic rocket launches.

Image: Skylark Sounding Rocket launches from the Woomera Range Complex, 1961

Additional Resources

• AIAA Plaques listed on the Historical Marker Database
• List of All AIAA plaques