Early Aviation History in Vancouver - Vancouver, Washington
Posted by: BruceS
N 45° 37.457 W 122° 39.409
10T E 526752 N 5052361
Marker giving information about an early aviation event in Vancouver.
Waymark Code: WMJ9XY
Location: Washington, United States
Date Posted: 10/16/2013
Views: 4
Text of marker:
Early Aviation History In Vancouver
Even before the advent of a U.S. Army Air Service fiedl at Vancouver Barracks in 1921 and the eventual dedication of "Pearson Field" in 1925, aviation had early hallmarks at Vancouver Barracks.
As part of the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition in Portland, Oregon, eighteen-year-old Lincoln Beachey piloted 23 controlled flights in an airship named the City of Portland.
The flight on September 19, 1905 landed on the parade ground of Vancouver Barracks, where Beachey delivered a letter from the President of the Lewis and Clark Exposition to General Constant Williams, command of Vancouver Barracks. This was the first powered, controlled flight over the Columbia River, and the state of Washington.