First Flight in Georgia: Site of Ben Epps' Garage - Athens, GA
N 33° 57.544 W 083° 22.615
17S E 280367 N 3760163
Ben Epps garage was located here, and this is where he built his first plane that made the first flight in Georgia.
Waymark Code: WM5CP9
Location: Georgia, United States
Date Posted: 12/18/2008
Views: 5
First Flight in Georgia
Site of Ben Epps' Garage
Georgia's pioneer avviator, Benjamin Thomas Epps, was born in Oconee County in 1888. He opened Athens' first automobile repair garage at this location on East Washington Street in 1907. That same year, nineteen-year old Epps designed and built his first airplane here - a monoplne with an upright buggy seat, bicycle wheels, and a 35-foot wingsspan powered by a fifteen-horsepower French Anzani engine. Its successful flight earned him recognition as the father of Georgia aviation. Epps tested his aircraft and operated a flying service at what is now Athens-Ben Epps Airport. He died of injuries suffered in a plane crash in 1937 at the age of forty-nine.
2007.10 Erected by the Georgia Historical Society, Athens-Clarke County Government, Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame, and the Epps Cousins Club 29-5
FIRST - Classification Variable: Item or Event
Date of FIRST: 06/01/1907
More Information - Web URL: Not listed
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