Clyde Cessna in front of the 1914 monoplane. [Courtesy Kansas Aviation Museum]
Key Takeaways:
Wichita, Kansas, earned its "Air Capital of the World" moniker by incubating numerous early aircraft manufacturers, airports, and flying schools, spurred by visionary entrepreneurs and available capital.
Clyde Cessna, inspired by flight in 1911, built and taught himself to fly his monoplane, "Silver Wings," through many crashes before becoming an aerial exhibitor.
Cessna established Wichita's first aircraft factory, the Cessna Aircraft Company, in 1916, producing early monoplanes and operating a flight school.
In 1925, Cessna joined forces with fellow aviation pioneers Lloyd Stearman and Walter Beech to establish the influential Travel Air Company, further cementing Wichita's role in aviation.
Why on earth is Wichita, Kansas, known as the Air Capital of the World?
Perhaps because at one point it incubated 16 aircraft manufacturers, 11 airports, and a dozen flying schools, according to Wichita, Where Aviation Took Wing, an aviation history of the city published by the Greteman Group.
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