FIRST - Wisconsin Aviator
N 42° 31.312 W 088° 59.431
16T E 336501 N 4709641
Arthur P. Warner was Wisconsin's first pilot, the first to build a commercially built "aeroplane" and the first to buy an aircraft for business use.
Waymark Code: WM2F6R
Location: Wisconsin, United States
Date Posted: 10/23/2007
Views: 20
The historical marker reads:
"The nation's first commercially built "aeroplane" was assembled and flown here November 4, 1909, by Arthur P. Warner, Wisconsin's first pilot. Self-taught, Warner was the 11th American to pilot a powered aircraft and the first in the U.S. to buy an aircraft for business use.
Built by Glenn H. Curtiss, the biplane was "sister" to the aircraft in which Curtiss won the Bennett trophy race in Rheims, France, August 29, 1909. Inventor and manufacturer, Warner used the aircraft in research and to publicize his automotive products. He developed the automobile speedometer, automotive and machine tool accessories, and built the first electric power plant in Beloit. For his contribution to the aviation and automotive industries, Warner was posthumously elected to the Wisconsin Industrial Hall of Fame in 1962.
Erected 1964"
The Plaque at the base of the marker reads:
"BELOIT WISCONSIN AVIATION MEMORIAL
Commemorating the making of early aviation history in 1909, Early Bird ARTHUR P. WARNER of this city, purchased, assembled and taught himself to fly a Curtiss Pusher Aeroplane at Turtle Ridge on nearby Highway 15.
Awarded by THE EARLY BIRDS OF AVIATION
an organization of pioneers in Aeronautics
who flew solo before December 17th, 1916.
Dedicated, 1963"
FIRST - Classification Variable: Person or Group
Date of FIRST: 11/04/1909
More Information - Web URL: [Web Link]
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